Christmas parties — can you handle the truth? Why Christmas parties are the perfect setting to gauge workplace happiness

There’s that iconic line in the classic 1992 military legal drama ‘A Few Good Men’ that I’m sure many of us have attempted to parody after a few good drinks.

“YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!!!” thunders Jack Nicholson at a young Tom Cruise as he does his best to defend his questionable ethics as a colonel in the marines.

(Long story short for those who haven’t seen it — Cruise, the upstart Navy Lt. Daniel Kaffee is attempting to break Nicholson, the hard-nosed Col. Nathan Jessup, into lifting the veil of secrecy around internal punishments of crimes that should probably be tried in a public court. You know… like murder.)

Anyway, with the festive season upon us, it got me thinking about how office Christmas parties can be the ideal place to test whether you’re ready to ‘handle the truth’ from your team as a leader.???

Be ready to hear “stuff”

When staff pluck up a bit of dutch courage at the end of year office bash, it can be like listening in to a live pulse survey.?

Not in a voyeuristic or unethical way at all — but the opportunity to really listen to people in a relaxed environment is a pretty rare occurrence.?

There are so many unspoken cultural barriers and formalities in the workplace that act to suppress the true feelings people may have about any number of topics. It might be that a perceived hierarchical imbalance is preventing them from speaking their mind, or it could be as simple as people just wanting to go to work, do their jobs, not ruffle any feathers, and go home again.

And that’s cool too.

Respect the baring of souls

With great privilege comes ever greater responsibility. If you’re going to ply your entire staff with alcohol and 80s dance hits, then don’t expect them to act like they would in the lunchroom back at the office.

And if you’re not ready to handle the truth, then you’ve probably got the wrong idea about the concept of a Christmas party.

Christmas parties are like a decompression chamber, and that inevitably brings along with it a level of candour and release that can make it feel like someone busted open the suggestion box and read them all out loud.

If you’re a manager or director, embrace the unsolicited honesty that will most likely come your way. It’s a bit of a big deal to have people place their trust in you to the extent where they’re baring their souls.

Is this off the record?

I really love the pulse surveys we do through Culture Amp. I’m not one to get offended by constructive criticism. I openly welcome and encourage it. I’m far from perfect and I can only learn by making mistakes like anyone else.

And it’s part of the reason why I look forward to picking up on happiness and sentiment by acting as the sounding board at our party every year — any feedback is good feedback — even if it’s supercharged by Sambuca shots and Fireballs!!!

Good culture starts with being open and honest and always having room to improve. And always being ready to ‘handle the truth’ is the first step towards a healthier, happier workplace.