With Christmas quickly approaching, it can only mean one thing – work Christmas parties! And with work Christmas parties comes dancing on the table, hangovers and lots of embarrassing stories to tell the next day. But what are the top Christmas party confessions among the UK’s employed?
Following a survey that revealed 56% of workers think it’s important to celebrate with their colleagues over Christmas¹, a new study from event specialists AYRE Event Solutions delves into the top office Christmas party confessions among Brits².
The results reveal the top five Christmas party confessions among working professionals, and falling over drunk takes the top spot:
- Falling due to being too drunk (18%)
- Sneaking in their own alcohol (15%)
- Calling into work sick the next day due to being hungover (14%)
- Kissing a coworker (14%)
- Sneaking home buffet food from the party (14%)
The insight indicates that over five million³ Brits are guilty of falling over because they were too drunk at a work Christmas party. This comes as no surprise as a recent report revealed that two-thirds of drinkers in the UK over-indulge in alcohol over the festive season more than they usually do and workers are more likely to feel pressured to drink at their work party than at other times of the year⁴.
AYRE reveals that whilst both men and women are prone to falling over when drunk, women are 43% most likely to make this merry mistake. The most common confession for each age group was falling over, except for over 55’s as the majority of that age group say they have kissed a coworker.
One of the regions most likely to fall over drunk includes Yorkshire and Humber, with 30% of Brits located here prone to stumbling over after a festive drink.
Perhaps most shockingly, the survey reveals that over four million employed adults in the UK are set to call into work sick over the Christmas period, which could significantly impact businesses Christmas deadlines.
The industries most likely to go wild at an office Christmas party are education (25%), finance (20%), marketing (44%) and transport (33%). According to the study, women are 15% more likely than men to sneak alcohol into a venue, and 45-54 years olds are the worst culprits for stealing alcohol from other tables (21%).
The survey results indicate that kissing a coworker is also among the top Christmas party confessions regarding love and relationships. A staggering 4,480,000 UK workers confessed, with men 27% more likely to kiss their colleague at the office Christmas do.
The West Midlands region takes the top spot for kissing a coworker, with 16% of the working population admitting to the scandal; this equates to over 400,000 workers in the West Midlands. The industries most likely to kiss a coworker at the office Christmas party include IT and telecommunications and arts and culture.
Becki, 26 from North Yorkshire shared her work Christmas party confession with AYRE: “At my very first job following uni I was so excited to indulge in free food and drink! I got ready with some of my best work colleagues and we headed over to the party but when I saw the table plan I noticed I was actually sitting away from my friends and with my head of department and the managing director of the company.
“I was so nervous that I downed a couple of glasses of prosecco to boost my confidence. Unfortunately for me, this only made things worse and when the starters were being brought out to the table, I was actually dancing by myself on the dancefloor with the whole company staring at me. I missed all the food and can’t remember much of the party after that. When I got into the office on the following Monday I couldn’t even look anyone in the eye I was so embarrassed!”
Managing director of AYRE, Chris Ayre, commented on the study: “Celebrating the festive season with your colleagues is important. It’s a chance to let your hair down and toast to all your hard work over the past 12 months.
“At work Christmas parties you often see a different side to your colleagues that they may not be able to share in the workplace. But it is important to still keep in mind that you’ll be heading back to the office on Monday morning and you don’t want to do anything too embarrassing!
“Over the years we’ve worked on many Christmas parties from creative industries to big corporate events and I can tell you, we’ve seen a lot of funny stories unfold at all of them but we’ll keep these to ourselves!”
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