In light of the calamities that struck Cebu in the last quarter of the year, several local government units as well as private companies and citizens have opted to forgo their Christmas parties.
Some, though, have chosen to go ahead. In this season of parties, I’m not about to rain on your parade. It’s your call to party or not. No judgement from me. After all, life has to go on. And life should be celebrated.
Some of your employees may have narrowly escaped death or destruction of property when typhoon Tino and Uwan came and the magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck. Or some of them may have lost loved ones as well as life savings during the spate of calamities.
After this string of tragedies, a celebration this year could turn out to be more meaningful as we remind ourselves that life should be celebrated whenever we can as things can change adversely overnight and life can be cut short abruptly.
And when better to celebrate life then during Christmas when work stops even if only for a few hours or service to clientele halts even if only for a day so we can pause, gather and feast on food, fun and friendship.
But while employee Christmas parties are great opportunities to bond with one another and celebrate life, together, Christmas parties should be funded by the organizations that actually hold them.
For as long as I can remember, it’s been a practice for corporate clientele during the Christmas season to send letters to their suppliers, soliciting donations for their corporate Christmas parties.
Truth be told, I find this practice not only abhorrent but unethical.
How can it be good business practice to have your suppliers fund your employee Christmas parties? It does not matter what you ask for: money or goods. The point is that you NEVER ask.
If your suppliers offer to make a donation for your Christmas celebration, it is up to you to accept or reject such an offer. The point is that you NEVER ask for such a thing.
You. Never. Ask.
It’s like a gift. If someone gives you a gift, you either accept it or give it back. But you NEVER ask for it. Because a gift is something that should be freely-given, not coerced or emotionally blackmailed out of you.
You NEVER ask for a gift.
But this practice of “asking for gifts” is so well-entrenched in Filipino culture, it’s been normalized. Is this the consequence of blindly imbibing custom and tradition? Just because you’ve been doing something for a long time doesn’t mean you’ve been doing the right thing all this time.
It’s not a bad idea to take a break from blindly following what’s been done for generations and start thinking for yourself for a change.
I’ve never found it appropriate or amusing for anyone to ask for a gift. I’ve always found it degrading, sorely unethical and utterly shameless. But many actually find it perfectly palatable to ask for gifts during Christmas. And it is exactly the same thing when you ask for donations, whether in cash or in kind, during your Christmas parties.
You are asking for gifts — something you should NEVER ask for.
The last few years have been bleak for many. A number of businesses haven’t recovered from the pandemic. The spate of calamities in the last few years as well as the last quarter have brought destruction of property and loss of lives. We’re all just trying to survive.
But life has to go on. And life should be celebrated.
A Christmas party, though, is not a charitable cause. And business organizations and local government units are not charitable institutions. If you must party, don’t make others pay for it. Party with your own money. Please.