Survival depends on a few rules
IT may be the most wonderful time of the year, but do not be fooled: the festive season is also fraught with danger.
The risk of bad decisions, personal and professional, is heightened considerably near Christmas and New Year.
If you have changed jobs in recent months I probably do not need to tell you you have already made a bad decision.
The last hire usually has the worst shifts over the holidays and if, by chance, you get it off, you do not have enough annual leave banked to be paid.
End-of-year work celebrations are the most common setting for a pre-Santa shame spiral.
Do not let the liquid courage fool you: now is not the right time to ask for a pay rise.
Nor is it the time to tell your colleagues what you really think of them, or give the boss advice on how to do their job.
You do not want to be the person who flashed their secret tattoo, did the worm in a skirt, lost the watch their wife gave them as a birthday present or was put in a taxi before the sun went down. And you definitely do not want to be the person whose embarrassing tale becomes so inscribed in company Christmas party history your name is used as an adjective long after you have swiped out of the building for the final time. “Do you think the new guy will do a Tom this year?” Gift shopping, giving and receiving also presents a raft of opportunities for bad decisions. The last thing you want is to disappoint your loved ones with a cheap, thoughtless, nonexistent or downright offensive gift. Hint: your girlfriend does not want an iron, cooking class or gym membership. Start your shop too early? Miss the sales. Start too late? All the good stuff is sold out.
Blindly re-gift something you got last year without being able to remember who gave it to you? Reckless.
Don the Christmas sweater? You feel hot and look ridiculous.
Drinking on Christmas Eve also comes at a risk — particularly if you are responsible for the neat, quite timely wrapping of gifts for small children.
You do not want blurry vision as you assemble that bike or swaying legs while you move the swing set into place.
Food consumption has short and long-term repercussions. My only tip: pass on Christmas Day breakfast but eat that second piece of pav.
You are going to put “eat healthy” on your New Year’s Resolutions list anyway.