The lines are constantly being blurred between what constitutes the workplace and what constitutes a 'social event.' Should comments made outside of the workplace be subject to workplace legal responsibility? And should HR be always 'on duty' at social events with work colleagues? This week, a lawyer sued Clayton Utz over comments that were made on a work night out and at a work ski weekend. In a survey released earlier this week, it was found that nearly half of Australian workers have witnessed the bullying of a colleague. According to a 2010 study of American workers by HR solutions firm Adecco, 40% of workers say they've either embarrassed themselves or know someone who has at a work party. One in 10 of those surveyed said they knew someone who had been fired for inappropriate behaviour at a work party. Trish Hickey, Pfizer ANZ HR director, pointed out the difficulty of applying HR policy to an 'out-of-office' activity. "I think there is a distinction from a policy perspective between official work or work-sanctioned functions and social functions which just happen to involve colleagues," she told Human Capital. "You would hope that for the most part, colleagues exercise good judgment in observing certain standards of behaviour when in non-work social settings with their colleagues. But I don't think you should expect a policy to do that for you. "It's probably not reasonable for employers to be accountable for the lives and actions of employees when incidents occur out of the work environment." Gary Taylor, an HR executive based in Saudi Arabia, said that if a distinction between a work and social event is made beforehand, it can prevent company grievances. "Let it be known, perhaps in the invitation, that such functions are not compulsory, proving it is not a work function, and that it is a purely social event," he said. "Therefore, any bullying or sexual harassment allegations would be 100% private, and pursued through the criminal justice system, not the company grievance procedure." However, HR professional Louise Marshall told Human Capital that if a company initiates a function, there is a work relationship with the event and it should be read that work behaviours still apply. "A customary reminder about the company's code of conduct would be a handy attachment to the invite to remind people of their obligations," she said. "A few helpful hints to remind staff that using the end of year bash to get a skinful and tell the HR Manager what her problem really is, doesn't do you in good stead for promotion and that you are not only less funny with buckets of alcohol, you are also less attractive and even less capable of singing." Taylor said it's difficult for HR managers to truly feel 'off duty' at a social event and they often feel they need to be aware of employee behaviour and company policy. "The HR manager will - probably by their very nature - end up playing policeman or chaperone, based on the common sense principle, rather than an inherent part of the job description," he said. "Perhaps this is just defensive behaviour, as any problems are likely to cross the HR desk in the morning anyway." According to a Human Capital poll, 47% of readers believe that HR should always set a good example. Only 14% said that "out of office" hours should be just that. Taylor said it's difficult to apply rules to work-social events, particularly when alcohol is involved. "How do you tell adults they can get tipsy but not blotto, and what they can say or do to whom? People will see it as nannying and the immature few will try to demonstrate that they can break rules when on their own time." Taylor suggested a few HR guidelines to go by, including:

  • Never invite clients to these events, to avoid them seeing what they shouldn't
  • Don't have hard liquor on the tab
  • Try not to have hours of free drinks time before people get to eat anything
  • Quietly ask a few trusted people to play chaperone, and to help with the "organising" of the event. This could include the possibility of driving someone home who really needs help.

Marshall highlighted another important factor for employees to remember: "If you feel the urge to take all of your clothes off and jump in the pool, consider staying down there long enough to review your new limited career options."