Fear Of Sex Transgressions Is Bridling Holiday Parties

What a difference a year makes. A survey released in November by executive outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas finds pronounced shifts in how companies are planning for holidays parties this year, likely the result of the attention now being paid to sexual harassment.“Employers are currently very wary of creating an environment where inappropriate contact between employees could occur,” said Andrew Challenger, a Challenger vice president. Last year’s survey found 62 percent of companies serving alcohol at their holiday party, the highest percentage since the firm started doing its survey 10 years ago. This year the number was down sharply to 48.7 percent. One way to avoid creating a dangerous party environment is to skip it altogether, and the number of companies taking that route is significantly up.