Mischief under the mistletoe?

BY THE time Jan Metcalfe had known her company's new chief executive a few hours, she was taking his tie off with her teeth.

The receptionist at dance radio station Galaxy 105 found herself dancing with the record company boss at a night out which preceded a big board meeting.

"The DJ said to take off an article of clothing with your teeth without touching them, so I took his tie off. I wouldn't have done it in normal circumstances! That's the trouble with me - I never think!" she says.

The 42-year-old had joined the rest of the radio station's staff for a meal and drinks in Sheffield.

"I didn't drink that much, but I had gone straight from work and hadn't had any tea. There was a dance floor right along the middle of the restaurant and as soon as we had finished eating we were all up dancing."

Jan had to pluck up all her courage when it was time to take coffee to board members during the crucial meeting the next day. "All the executives burst into fits of laughter and he laughed too!"

Jan, who lives in Rodley and has worked at Leeds-based Galaxy 105 for almost two years, has sons aged 20, 18 and 16, and the older two often accompany her to parties and clubs. "I'm more of a big sister than a mum. The middle one has just left home and I miss him like mad!" she says.

One chef at a Bradford hotel tells how he and his colleagues clocked the fact that the head waiter and waitress had disappeared from their works Christmas party. They went on a search for the missing pair - and found them in bed together at the hotel they all worked at.

And a solicitor in the district hired a magician posing as a client to pull big pieces of fluff and other objects from his staff's ears in mid-conversation. Next Christmas, he plans to hire someone to pose as a drunk waiter to spill drinks and insult the guests!

Fights, flirting and forgetting what you've done are all part of the festivities, says research by office supplies specialist OfficeSMART.

More than nine out of ten workers who responded to an anonymous questionnaire reported embarrassing behaviour, ranging from arguments and fights to affairs started under the mistletoe.

Men were nearly twice as likely to wake up in the morning and not remember what had happened the night before. And the research says only two-thirds of women and less than one in three men actually make it home after the bash - in fact, one man said he literally spent the night in the dog house.

The Industrial Society warns bosses not to let harassment or bullying at Christmas parties ruin a year's hard work.

Debra Allcock, campaign manager for the society, says managers should beware the three faces of the ghost of working Christmas past. These are:

The Christmas Bully, who might inadvertently pressurise people into joining in the fun, even if they hate office parties;

The Festive Letch, who harasses female staff;

The Seasonal Shirker, who forgets his managerial responsibilities and allows people to drive home from the office after drinking, or accepts "bribes" in the shape of free gifts.

Debra says managers should loosen up at office parties. "But the boss shouldn't get too playful!"

Less than a fifth of office parties are held in the workplace - and the average company spends £80.59 per employee.

Those top ten office Christmas party regrets in full:

1 Insulting the MD or direct line manager

2 Obnoxious drunken behaviour

3 Telling colleagues a few home truths

4 Colleagues remembering those home truths the next day

5 Being sick in public

6 Learning intimate details of a colleague's sex life

7 Experiencing intimate details of a colleague's sex life

8 Fighting with other members of staff

9 Being caught on camera

10 Causing damage to the venue

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.