Washington - There’s a big difference between socialising with colleagues at a bar or a company party and inviting them into your home.
That’s because breaching the professional-domestic divide is like making a high-risk investment – with the potential for great social reward comes the threat of total career ruin.
The risk side of that calculation is especially potent if you are fairly early in your career. Say you aspire to mix your regular friends with your work pals – what if the former group’s entertaining behaviour has not yet graduated from beer bash to cocktail party? Add that to the fact that your budget and home may be modest, and the prospect of inviting older colleagues over feels increasingly awkward.
More senior professionals, meanwhile, may also hesitate to invite subordinates, wondering if their younger colleagues will meet their entertaining expectations – and if showing off their comfortable quarters and fancy foodstuffs may breed resentment.
Issues of property value aside, alcohol – a necessary ingredient for any get-together – conjures the stumbling spectre of further embarrassment. What if your free-spirited friends embarrass you in front of your boss by getting too drunk or saying something inadvertently offensive?
What if you embarrass yourself in front of your boss by getting too drunk or saying something inadvertently offensive?
An off-the-cuff remark made while sloshed may become a treasured inside joke with your colleagues – or it may result in burning shame at Monday morning’s staff meeting.
Here are five crucial guidelines:
* Take your cues from your office’s culture. If it is rigid and hierarchical and doesn’t encourage socialising, perhaps leave your colleagues off your guest list. If its tenor is friendly, informal, and collaborative, go for it.
* Only invite colleagues you like. A common e-mail domain name does not ensure you will have anything to make small talk about.
* But don’t be overly exclusive. Invite less than half the class, or invite everyone. There’s no excuse for leaving out one or two people just because you’re not as close to them as you are to your other colleagues.
* Don’t misplace your inhibitions. Stay sober.
* Let the superior make the first move. Don’t randomly invite your boss to a small dinner party. Some bosses shy away from socialising with underlings, which is why it’s a good idea to have a clear sign – like an invitation to a party at their house – that it is okay to extend an invitation of your own. – Slate