Business Gazetteer - Survive the Christmas party

Published on Tuesday 2 December 2008 20:49

CHRISTMAS PARTY Table dancing is 'never a winner'

WITH the festive season getting underway, recruitment website fish4jobs has offered its top ten tips for surviving your office Christmas party.

Top of the list are: "Pace yourself – remember it's not a drinking competition just because the drink is free"; "drink plenty of water in between the alcoholic drinks"; and "if there is food on the night do try and line the stomach. It really does help."

Also covered in the top tips are kissing under the mistletoe – "just because you have had a drink and you fancy the guy or girl in accounts, doesn't mean that you can launch yourself on them at the Christmas party" – and dancing on the tables: "never a winner, even if your boss is up there grooving away to Abba with a bottle of champers in one hand and the receptionist in the other".

Other tips include "always make sure you have enough money to get home safely" and "if you are stuck somewhere or in a pickle, call a friend and let them know what you are doing", as well as advice to pre-book a taxi or book a hotel.

Oh, and sleep – apparently "no matter how hard you think you are, we all need our sleep, especially if you have work the next day".

KILLER QUOTE

WHERE the Great Depression was solved by building roads and bridges, what this economic crisis needs is green innovation in both energy and applications. Being green, especially in these times, is not a luxury."

Ben Verwaayen, chairman of the CBI's climate change board

GOOD DAY

Gadget freaks

NOKIA yesterday launched its new flagship N97 mobile phone, to a chorus of oohs and ahhs from lovers of all things techie.

The N97 includes a touch screen and will take on Sony Ericsson's X1 and Apple's iPhone when it hits markets around the world next June.

BAD DAY

Corus

THE Dutch arm of Corus, the steel company owned by India's Tata group, has requested government support to "furlough" 4,600 staff. Corus wants to lay off the workers for six weeks, with the government paying 70 per cent of their salaries and Corus the remainder.

FACT OF THE DAY

418m

BUSINESSES are saving an estimated 418 million a year on the cost of dealing with employment law, according to the UK government's Department for Business.

Free advice and simple online tools have helped more than a million small firms to cut the time and money they spend on compliance, officials claimed.