honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, August 20, 2007

Screwing up at the office picnic just might be a career-buster

By Dana Knight
Indianapolis Star

Would you dare waltz into the office in only your underwear? Doubt it. But in the next month or so, plenty of employees will do essentially that.

We're talking about the ultra-casual business gathering — the summer office outing.

Best-case scenario: You'll have to bare your legs in a pair of shorts for a day at the park.

Worst case: Water is involved — which means a swimsuit. How in the world do you carry on an intelligent conversation with the boss while sucking in your stomach?

How do you walk to the buffet table without obsessing over the nasty cellulite on your upper thighs?

And plenty of other things go on at a workplace picnic that can get you in trouble. The cooler of beer. The game of horseshoes. The jokes.

"Any outing, even it if feels like a very casual kind of environment, it's still work, and it's still an extension of the workplace," says Andrea Cranfill, vice president of Flashpoint, a human-resource consulting company in Indianapolis.

Take a deep breath, release the tummy and listen up to a few tips that might help:

  • If you are going to wear a swimsuit, avoid the bikini or the Speedo. Cranfill suggests a shorts/tank combination that resembles what you would wear to the zoo with your kids.

  • Show up. You may not want to, but experts say making it a point to go to the outing, even if it's just for 30 minutes, proves you're a team player. The bosses will be there.

  • If beer or alcohol is involved, know your limit and stop well before that. "You have to go back to work with those people, and you don't want to be the one people are talking about saying, 'Wow! He got trashed,' " she says.

  • Competition. A volleyball game might be set up. Or horseshoes. Don't let your competitive tendencies overtake you. No poor sportsmanship. And if you happen to be matched up against management, would it kill you to lose?

  • Don't center the conversation on work-related topics. This is supposed to be a release from the daily 9-to-5 rat race. Get to know other sides of your co-workers. Cranfill suggests avoiding topics that are taboo at work, such as politics, religion and any jokes that are in poor taste.