Fun, the silly season, events, and managing risk

In a time when connection is key to our workplaces, how do we keep the good, the positive, and manage the risks during the upcoming silly season? Or in any big event that we do – conferences; celebrations; you get the drift.

There is an expectation that we get together and have fun collectively.

I’ve recently seen people in person who I haven’t seen before or in while, and there were hugs (almost) all round – consensual hugs of course, and no hugs where there was not the vibe! My point is, people can get excited seeing one another and sometimes do not pick up on the ‘let’s wave at arm’s length’ vibe, especially when affected with alcohol or other drugs.

We work hard through the year, relaxing and having fun together is important.

And so are other things – safety, physical and psychological; events that are free of harassment and bad behaviour. So that everyone has fun.

There are important things that we can all do to make this a positive time. Our end of year events need to change and adapt along with changing legislation and social expectations.

We need to retain the positive and risk manage the other components. Some things to consider:

• What time of day or night will you hold the event? Who is excluded if you have a before work breakfast event or an after-work evening event? Are you expecting employees to attend on their own time? How does that relate to the Right to Disconnect? Tip: When there might be increased risk, I’ve organised a family breakfast event. Tip: If attendance is important, then consider holding it in work time. The most popular events I have organised are those that are lunch time ones.

  
  

• Will you serve alcohol, and if so, how much? Unlimited? A set number? Who will monitor that? How will you manage the amount people drink? Who is responsible for that? Tip: I’ve previously limited alcohol to 2 drinks per person using a stamp on wrists and ensured that the whole leadership team knew that it was their collective responsibility, not mine being HR. Tip: I prefer licensed venues because they have Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) responsibilities, and sometimes security. If it is elsewhere, I ask staff who have completed RSA to support (and rewarded that).
  

• Not everyone drinks alcohol, some use recreational drugs – how will you handle this? Tip: It’s about communicating expectations and setting explicit requirements and expectations on behaviour and conduct.
  

• What diversity do you have in your workplace? Ensuring that there are many non-alcoholic options, that it is not a matter of just orange juice or water is important. For diversity as well as people who for many reasons do not wish to drink alcohol.  Tip: a good variety of non-alcoholic drinks can also encourage people to alternate those with any alcohol that they choose to consume.

  
  

• Food – arrange lots of food interspersed throughout the event, starting at the time the event starts. Tip: I am organising an event at present and chose primarily from the gluten free and vegetarian options. Ask for dietary requirements and make sure there is something for everyone.
  

• Who is charged with acting when there is a ‘joke’, behaviour or comment that is inappropriate? Tip: It’s the whole leadership team, a collective responsibility.

  
  

• The Positive Duty – you need to do the work before the event and avoid it happening in the first place. The policy, reminders and training, risk assessments. You can be held liable if you have not implemented all reasonable measure to eliminate unlawful conduct. Interestingly, you do not need a complaint, an incident or a problem to have happened. Tip: Reach out, now is the time – run the training, re-communicate the policy, do the risk assessment.

  
  

• Respect at Work – You need to take decisive action and focus on actively preventing unlawful conduct. It’s not enough to respond after it occurs.Under the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth), organisations and businesses have a positive duty to eliminate, as far as possible, the following unlawful behaviour from occurring:

  • discrimination on the grounds of sex in a work context

  • sexual harassment in connection with work

  • sex-based harassment in connection with work

  • conduct creating a workplace environment that is hostile on the grounds of sex

  • related acts of victimisation.

• Sexual harassment is a psychosocial hazard. Have you got your risk register started? Tip: Your Psychosocial Risk Register should be a living document. If you haven’t started, start now with sexual harassment and continue progressively to other hazards. Again, reach out if you need support.

• Who has caused concerns at other events? Who walks a fine line in their behaviour? Could you talk to them individually about expectations?
  

• What type of culture do you have? Have you done bystander and upstander training?

• How will people get home safely? At night, if they have been affected by alcohol. Tip: Encourage people attending to think about how they will get home in advance. The leadership team should be monitoring people are okay as they are leaving, and that there are safe travel plans.

The tips above are all well and good. What do you need to do to manage the risks that arise as part of your event/s? What culture are you building around this?

At a minimum I suggest that you:

1. Review your Sexual Harassment Policy and ensure that it covers social functions
   

2. Send a communication before the event – remind people of behaviour expectations, that policies and the code of conduct apply at the event, including outside normal working hours and at any event connected with the workplace. Let them know - if you see something, say something. Let them know in advance how and when they should raise it as well as with who. And if your people attend other events, for instance suppliers or customers, consider these too.

   
   

3. Check when you last had training on the policies and ensure it was fairly recent.

   
   

4. Complete a Risk Assessment – what are the hazards and what will you do to control those, mitigate or minimise, eliminate?

This should be a fun time for everyone, and there is much we can do to try to make that the case.

AI generated image of a Christmas grinch dressed as a princess