As the year comes to a close, human resources executives across the country may feel some trepidation regarding the annual company holiday party in the face of numerous reports of inappropriate sexual contact occurring in the workplace. These fears may explain the scaled-down fetes employers are planning this year, according to a new survey released Tuesday by global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
According to the annual survey on holiday party plans, conducted in October and November among 150 human resources representatives across the country, nearly 80 percent of companies plan to host holiday parties this year, approximately the same as last year. However, 11 percent of employers will not hold a holiday party this year after holding them in the past, up from 4 percent in 2016 and the highest percentage since 2010, when 24 percent of companies did not have parties.
