If you’ve ever been to an after hours holiday party sponsored by the company or organization that you work for, you may have observed uncharacteristic and peculiar behavior from your colleagues as well as the people you report to and/or whom report to you. Perhaps you were the person demonstrating uncharacteristic and peculiar behavior that one wouldn’t consider professional amongst professionals. It’s easy to resort to judgments about the human beings we work with and around when they courageously step outside of their office personas and transform into human beings that we no longer recognize and didn’t know existed.

The definition of having a good time is broader than some would expect when parties are centered around the human beings who work at “The Office.” It’s important to celebrate life professionally, but it’s even more important to tread lightly and avoid the needles of unprofessionalism when you’re surrounded by people who rate your job performance and for whom you do the same.

How comfortable are you navigating after hours work celebrations?

How much of your whole self, if any, do you bring into those spaces and places?

Have you ever gone beyond what’s professionally acceptable at a work celebration and if so, how did you determine you’d gone too far?

How can you help your team to self-police themselves after hours by seeing and adhering to reasonable boundary lines when they haven’t been established?