Fewer companies hosting holiday parties after MeToo

An
activist holds a #MeToo sign during a news conference on a Title
IX lawsuit outside the Department of
Education.

Alex
Wong/Getty Images

• While companies are feeling better about the economy,
  many aren’t hosting holiday parties because of concerns about
  #MeToo, according to a new survey.
• Only 65% of companies surveyed say they’re holding a
  holiday bash this year — the lowest percentage since
  2009.

While the economy is going strong, fewer companies are holding
holiday parties this year. That’s because some executives are
concerned about inappropriate conduct as highlighted by
the #MeToo movement, according to a new
survey released this
week by staffing consultancy firm Challenger, Gray &
Christmas, Inc.

Only 65% of companies say they’re going to hold a holiday
celebration this year — the lowest level since the depths of the
financial crisis in 2009, the survey shows.  

“The low number of corporate celebrations does not appear
to be due to economic reasons. Companies are sitting on tax
savings and generally report a thriving economy,” said Andrew
Challenger, vice president at Challenger, Gray &
Christmas.

Rather, unease about holding holiday festivities stems from
the potential for sexual harassment and inappropriate workplace
behavior, according to the firm.

In the survey, 58% of companies that are having a
celebration this year reported they have talked about
inappropriate behavior with their staff.

“The fact that nearly 60% of companies that are having
parties have real concerns about inappropriate behavior shows
that HR departments nationwide are responding to this particular
issue,” Challenger said. 

In addition, 27% of companies said they’ve never held a
holiday party, the lowest percentage since Challenger first
issued the survey.

“We have never seen so many companies report that they
never have holiday parties. The number could be due to several
factors, including potential liability following the #MeToo
movement,” Challenger said.

Meanwhile, companies surveyed reported higher
confidence in the economy compared to a year ago. The percentage
of respondents who said they thought the economy had improved
over last year rose to 62% from 48% in 2017.

The firm pointed out that another factor in the decline of
corporate celebrations is probably the rise in the number of
staff working remotely, which makes it harder for employees to
convene for an office party. 

The survey spoke to 150 human resources executives during
October for the survey.