"Christmas Lunch"

[pauln1964]

This annual "festivity" has just been completed. Oh good grief, that counts as nearly the worst I've ever been too (it even runs close the one with the boss who'd just given me a dire performance review (almost completely unjustified) and stopped my payrise for the year).

Usually these are fairly entertaining, if only because Jim, the boss, is a good guy to go out and have a decent meal and a few drinks with. This year of course Jim is no longer with us, having departed for parts Home Counties. The venue had been arranged by our new colleague, who (no fault of hers) called in this morning with flu. This left three of us. The "restaurant" proved to be a trendy wine/cocktail bar (without a non-smoking area) that did a little bit of food. One somewhat small mozarella and bacon salad and a glass of red later and I popped off to do a last bit of present shopping, which included raiding Sainsburys for a ham roll. No more booze than that as I have to drive later to pick up Penny from her impossible to park close to work and head home. I foresee asking my beloved to drive us to the pub this evening so that I can imbibe a little.

Comments

[raselhague.livejournal.com]

Sounds about on par with the Christmas lunches we have here.

Ours used to involve getting as many managers as we could together and heading to the pub for a bowl of chips. Which you shared with the person next to you.

We haven't bothered the last couple of years but I'm probably remembering it slightly worse than it was..

[curlwomble.livejournal.com]

We get it pretty good with Xmas lunch. Nice restauraunt across the way, wine bought by the Directorate Manager, extra 30 minutes sanctioned lunch hour. The Xmas party is during a work afternoon and subsidised, too.

Not as swank as what you get working for a Big Company, but at least it's not on a Thursday night witha free bar and expectations of work the next morning...

[oldnick.livejournal.com]

"Not as swank as what you get working for a big company".

Yeah - sure. 18 years here, first in private hands, and then in Ford's, three of those years as departmental Christmas bash organiser.

In that time...

Company subsidy = nil
Time off for Christmas events = nil
Free drinks = managers buying a round or two per year out of their own pockets.

[curlwomble.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I should've said 'Some Big Companies'. But given their record on man-management, I'm hardly surprised that they don't see the benefit in team spirit (or rightly see the damage it might cause)...