英國辦公室聖誕派對:狂歡變夢魘?Wish you a merry office X mas party
What day is it when your boss tells you to dress up, drink champagne and dance around in front of your co-workers? The clue is the Santa hat on top of your head. For those of us working in the UK, you’re not allowed Christmas Day until you’ve had “Office Christmas Party Day”.
什麼樣的日子裏老闆會讓你在同事面前盛裝打扮，暢飲香檳，翩翩起舞呢？而你頭頂的聖誕帽便預示着這一天的來臨。對於我們這些在英國工作的人來說，不參加“辦公室聖誕派對”，就不準過聖誕。While Chinese companies are planning their Spring Festival gala to congratulate themselves on what has (hopefully) been a good Year of the Dragon, people in the UK are recovering from their office Christmas parties, which took place in early December.
當許多中國的公司正在策劃春節聯歡會，慶賀龍年佳績（希望如此）之時，英國人剛剛從十二月初的辦公室聖誕派對中回過神來。There’s usually an “Awards Ceremony”, with typical prizes going to the “Office Clown”, “Most Annoying Laugh”, or (as I was once crowned) “Owner of Messiest Desk”.
通常會有一個“頒獎典禮”，開設“辦公室小丑”，“最惱人之笑聲”或“最亂辦公桌主人”（我曾經獲得過一次）等特別獎項。
Most companies also stage a traditional Christmas pantomime – a performance, usually of a well-known fairy tale, in which men play women and women play men. One of my first Christmas memories is of being forced to watch my father’s Christmas panto. The sight of him in a sparkly dress, pink high heels and a blonde wig has stayed with me forever.
同時，大多數公司還會獻上一部傳統的聖誕童話劇—通常是人們反串演繹童話名著。我對聖誕節的最初記憶是硬着頭皮觀看父親出演的聖誕童話劇，看到他穿着亮片禮服，粉色高跟鞋，戴着金色的假髮，這些記憶永遠抹不去。But it’s not just the hapless children of employees who often find the whole experience rather embarrassing. Even without plays and cross-dressing, everyone knows they will have to spend an evening with their colleagues and boss. A recent survey found that almost a third of British workers hate office Christmas parties. Even more, 70 percent, said they did not want to socialize with their co-workers.
然而，不僅僅只有那些倒黴的員工子女們會覺得整段經歷羞愧難當。即使沒有反串表演，所有人都清楚自己講不得不與同事和老闆共度良宵。最新的一項調查顯示，幾乎三分之一的英國職員痛恨辦公室聖誕派對。甚至有百分之七十的人表示不想與同事進行社交活動。As is normal in awkward circumstances, people turn to the (often free) alcohol on offer – and that’s when things start getting messy. According to a survey released this month, one in three employees at banking firms in London have “behaved inappropriately” with a colleague of the opposite sex at their office Christmas party because they were drunk.
正常情況下，當人們身陷尷尬之中時，會投向酒精的懷抱（通常這些都是免費的）——而這正是把事情搞砸的開始。根據12月份發佈的一項調查顯示，在倫敦的銀行機構中，平均每三名員工，就有一個因爲醉酒而對公司的異性同事“行爲不當”。Luckily for party-haters, things are changing. Many people now work over Christmas or New Year, although this didn’t stop employees of the Royal Court Theatre in London from staying up all night for their party.
幸好對於那些討厭派對的人來說，事情正在發生轉變。許多人選擇在聖誕或新年加班，儘管這沒能阻止倫敦皇家大劇院的員工通宵達旦地籌備他們的派對。But even rich lawyers say the days of extravagant celebrations are over. According to a lawyer from Clifford Chance, the three-course meal and open bar at a private member’s club with a rooftop swimming pool was “fairly sedate”.
但是，即便是富有的律師們也紛紛表示奢侈的慶祝活動已經一去不返了。高偉紳律師事務所的一名律師稱，在配有屋頂游泳池的私人俱樂部裏，一頓三道菜的飯再加上免費酒吧，這些已經算是“相當莊重”了。“Later on a few people tried to go swimming in the pool,” he said. “But I’d left by that point.”
“隨後一些人會去泳池游泳，”他說，“而那時我就會選擇離開。”Still, smaller budgets won’t stop the office Christmas party from being a nightmare for many workers. It’s just as easy to embarrass yourself with cheap wine as it is with expensive champagne, and to cause enough shame to last until your first day back at work in 2013.
儘管如此，預算縮水無法阻止公司聖誕派對淪爲員工噩夢。無論是廉價的葡萄酒還是昂貴的香檳，這些都能輕而易舉地令你身陷難堪，而你的窘境將一直持續到新年開工之日。
