FRED KHUMALO: The end of year party
Year-end parties are like the proverbial curate’s egg: some parts are bad, others good
Year-end parties are like the proverbial curate’s egg: some parts are bad, others good. The good part about these jamborees is that colleagues get to socialise in a properly open environment with seniors, who share a joke or two with subordinates they barely recognise. But therein lies the danger: with booze having loosened the tongues, familiarity can get stretched to unacceptable levels. Before you know it, there is hanky-panky in a dimly lit corridor, or somebody has vomited into the boss’s lap.
These parties are even worse for freelancers like me who are invited by clients who would have met you only once, if that. You get there, you’re an outsider. So you try to stick with the person you usually deal with, even if it’s only by e-mail or on the phone. But then the senior client feels slighted: why is this freelancer not showing respect by hanging out with me — if, that is, said freelancer has some clout. So, what I do is politely decline invitations to my clients’ year-end...
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