We never did. One hour potluck during lunchtime, maybe a white elephant with $10 limit.

No one is in the mood for a holiday party, but our management is forcing an in office one. We don't have enough space for all of us to even work (many of us are at giant tables in the open, even though we handle confidential matters). No one is in the mood for this, and I don't even know how those of us who have calls with outside parties are supposed to handle them in light of the lack of private space and the demand that this ridiculous potluck party occur for 2 hours.

Wow. I drink very little (one glass of wine a month, sometimes zero), and I don't mind events in a bar. You go, have one drink, mingle a bit, and head out.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Traditionally, my office does an all hands meeting, followed by a potluck and team building games. We aren’t even doing that this year.
Someone is putting something together for after hours, but those typically aren’t very well attended. We asked for input, roughly 1/4 want to meet at a bar. I won’t do that.

Why not?

I don’t like bars. They smell, it’s dark, and way too loud.
Plus, I find it sleazy to be hanging out at bar in the evening without your spouse.

DP, but I don't understand why people think it's fun to mix alcohol and work.
I don't want to get buzzed with people I work with, and I don't want to drink before commuting. And of course I can (and would) get a non-alcoholic drink but then why are we meeting in a bar?

Because they can host a lot of people, they're open late, and you don't need to order dinner. The bigger the group the more difficult it becomes to solve the problem of headcount/budget/time. Plus, non-drinkers can get something at a bar, but you find the unicorn location that can host a big group for free without minimum spend and doesn't serve alcohol, and some of the drinkers complain.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Traditionally, my office does an all hands meeting, followed by a potluck and team building games. We aren’t even doing that this year.
Someone is putting something together for after hours, but those typically aren’t very well attended. We asked for input, roughly 1/4 want to meet at a bar. I won’t do that.

Why not?

I don’t like bars. They smell, it’s dark, and way too loud.
Plus, I find it sleazy to be hanging out at bar in the evening without your spouse.

DP, but I don't understand why people think it's fun to mix alcohol and work.
I don't want to get buzzed with people I work with, and I don't want to drink before commuting. And of course I can (and would) get a non-alcoholic drink but then why are we meeting in a bar?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Traditionally, my office does an all hands meeting, followed by a potluck and team building games. We aren’t even doing that this year.
Someone is putting something together for after hours, but those typically aren’t very well attended. We asked for input, roughly 1/4 want to meet at a bar. I won’t do that.

Why not?

I don’t like bars. They smell, it’s dark, and way too loud.
Plus, I find it sleazy to be hanging out at bar in the evening without your spouse.

Anonymous wrote:Fed workers in general hate each other so hard to have a party. I used to go to happy hours, celebrate birthdays, go to coworkers weddings, parents funerals, heck we even do ski trips sponsored by company. We all liked each other.

Feds seem to hate work, hate coworkers.

I recall my super friendly company where we go to each other weddings and had a almost weekly Thursday happy hour I invited my whole dept to my beach house 120 miles away for a big BBQ and Keg party and told anyone could stay over. I had like 50 show up in a Saturday. I invited their spouses, gf and friends.

But Feds don’t do that even once a year wirg pay during work hours

I’ve been a fed since I was 25. I’m now almost 46. I’ve been to weddings, funerals, graduations, showers, etc. One of my cws, a good friend, hosted my personal baby shower. I met with my cws, current, and former, to do something fun and social at least once a week during the shutdown. Sorry you haven’t had a good experience.

Anonymous wrote:Fed workers in general hate each other so hard to have a party. I used to go to happy hours, celebrate birthdays, go to coworkers weddings, parents funerals, heck we even do ski trips sponsored by company. We all liked each other.

Feds seem to hate work, hate coworkers.

I recall my super friendly company where we go to each other weddings and had a almost weekly Thursday happy hour I invited my whole dept to my beach house 120 miles away for a big BBQ and Keg party and told anyone could stay over. I had like 50 show up in a Saturday. I invited their spouses, gf and friends.

But Feds don’t do that even once a year wirg pay during work hours

Weddings and keg parties ... you're nostalgic for your 20s, that's all. Feds are overwhelmingly older (average age is close to 50 I think), married with kids, involved in their communities (scouts etc). People at that stage of life rarely drive 120 miles away to get drunk with anybody let alone coworkers.

We have a cookie exchange. Not even a potluck.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fed workers in general hate each other so hard to have a party. I used to go to happy hours, celebrate birthdays, go to coworkers weddings, parents funerals, heck we even do ski trips sponsored by company. We all liked each other.

Feds seem to hate work, hate coworkers.

I recall my super friendly company where we go to each other weddings and had a almost weekly Thursday happy hour I invited my whole dept to my beach house 120 miles away for a big BBQ and Keg party and told anyone could stay over. I had like 50 show up in a Saturday. I invited their spouses, gf and friends.

But Feds don’t do that even once a year wirg pay during work hours

LOL! If Feds had replied that they liked having such holiday parties this same troll would be screeching about them wasting taxpayer dollars.

I did not say to spend tax paydollars or have it on company time. But for instance my old dept was so then a women we all liked got married she invited all 40 in my dept to wedding with a guest and all 40 of us did attend. When My Mom died my Moms wake had half my co-workers at after work.

My company did not have paid events. One year I think I hung out with coworker after work maybe 40-50 times. All my friends knew my co-workers and such and a few friends had equally fun co-workers.

I was at a conference last week and a two C level people at major places. Think like Citigroup and Barclays both said in 2026 their main goal is LUNCH for employees. The staff is back to work and they dont know how to eat lunch with coworkers or even interact with co-workers anymore. The almost six years of being adrift since Covid and new hires since 2019 or new grads since 2019, the concept of going out to lunch co-workers is not something they know how to do and they are missing out on so much mentioring, networking, career enhancement.

Anonymous wrote:Fed workers in general hate each other so hard to have a party. I used to go to happy hours, celebrate birthdays, go to coworkers weddings, parents funerals, heck we even do ski trips sponsored by company. We all liked each other.

Feds seem to hate work, hate coworkers.

I recall my super friendly company where we go to each other weddings and had a almost weekly Thursday happy hour I invited my whole dept to my beach house 120 miles away for a big BBQ and Keg party and told anyone could stay over. I had like 50 show up in a Saturday. I invited their spouses, gf and friends.

But Feds don’t do that even once a year wirg pay during work hours

LOL! If Feds had replied that they liked having such holiday parties this same troll would be screeching about them wasting taxpayer dollars.

Fed workers in general hate each other so hard to have a party. I used to go to happy hours, celebrate birthdays, go to coworkers weddings, parents funerals, heck we even do ski trips sponsored by company. We all liked each other.

Feds seem to hate work, hate coworkers.

I recall my super friendly company where we go to each other weddings and had a almost weekly Thursday happy hour I invited my whole dept to my beach house 120 miles away for a big BBQ and Keg party and told anyone could stay over. I had like 50 show up in a Saturday. I invited their spouses, gf and friends.

But Feds don’t do that even once a year wirg pay during work hours

Anonymous wrote:Traditionally, my office does an all hands meeting, followed by a potluck and team building games. We aren’t even doing that this year.
Someone is putting something together for after hours, but those typically aren’t very well attended. We asked for input, roughly 1/4 want to meet at a bar. I won’t do that.

Why not?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Now that doge is gone, are agencies having big, multi-hour “holiday parties” during working hours?

Should be after hours.

People go to private sector parties because they're nice (open bar, free food, DJ, raffle) and because your career suffers if you don't go.

Federal parties are paid for by attendees, organized by volunteers, can't have alcohol, and you don't meaningfully hurt your career by skipping something that happens after hours. An evening party is a nonstarter. Just say you don't want them to have parties.

One agency I worked for had a giant annual party with booze and a DJ (paid for by agency). Other two agencies had boozy parties paid for by staff during work hours.