Office parties can be funny if the people who work together are close enough to have a great time, but in bigger companies, these parties are more like formal events, and they can be really boring. Many of us have been there, trying to have fun, but without a success, because those aren’t the people you want to be with, neither a place you prefer. But, these events are occasional, and they happen every once in a while, so we can try to survive them the best we can.
If you are a person who dislikes parties a lot, you may not be pleased with this invitation, and probably you aren’t obligated to go. But on some occasions, your presence is more than required, especially if you have an important role in your company, and you need to be there for the business partners. It gets even worse when they ask you to come together with your partner, without even thinking if you want to share your private life with them, or do you have a partner at all.
We are sure you want to avoid looking desperate, but there is nothing wrong with asking someone to join you at this party. Sometimes, it’s even better to go alone, but if it doesn’t work this time, you need to come up with some creative idea on how to do this.
There are a few solutions you can think about, and we will try to help you out with a few of them:
1. Invite your friend to come with you
You surely have a friend who is always ready to join you. At least, you will enjoy together the free corporate drinks and great food. Is there anything better than that? You will both have a great time together, and even the most boring office party in the world can become a little more interesting. And no one at work should know the real nature of your relationship or partnership. It’s important to act like a date, stay there meeting the required bare minimum of time, and then go home, or order some takeout to complete the evening.
2. Consider hiring an escort as an option too
If you visit londondeluxe.co.uk, you can find a woman to join you. If you can’t find a date regularly, or you don’t want to make your friends “suffer” from boredom, then these services can book you late dates. Escorts are always ready to jump in when needed. Maybe this is not the most popular option you may think about, but surely it helps if your date cancels last minute.
3. A family member can help you with this one
If you have a cousin or other family member who will gladly join you, then you can invite them to these office parties. It’s the same as the friends. You will enjoy the free food and drinks, get together through the boring talks and meetings, and then you will leave. The parties aren’t usually that long, so it would not be a problem for someone to jump in and fit the “open position” for that event.
4. Invite the person you want to date
If you are in that phase when you are messaging all the time, and you need to go out to meet them. If you are interested in this person, and you want to make the first step, mention this boring party you can both leave earlier and go somewhere else. Even though it’s not the best way to ask them out, there are real chances for them to accept the offer. Also, you will skip the unpleasant first minutes of the dates, and you will have a topic to talk about after the party. It’s a unique chance to “break the ice” and ask them out. Even if they don’t like the idea to go to an office party as your date, they will surely arrange something after that. At this point, spending an hour or two, just to meet this person after that, don’t sound that bad.
5. Go alone
If they insist to invite someone, but you don’t feel like that, you can simply tell them your partner or spouse can’t come. That will give you an additional excuse to leave early if you find this party too boring. Explain to them that you don’t mix your private life with professional activities, and they need to understand that. Going to the corporate parties alone isn’t scary at all. If they are asking so many questions, you can always stick to the story you don’t want to include your family in the business, and simply have your time there, until you are ready to leave.
The final thoughts
If your company is pushing too hard for you to bring a date to the corporate party, you are not obligated to do that, and this is the confirmation you need for that. Being the only single person there is not the end of the world. Just be relaxed, spend the formal time there as required, and after that, feel free to leave.
No matter if you have a partner, spouse, or a person you date, you shouldn’t feel obligated to bring them to office events. But, if you are single, you can consider some of these suggestions as an option too. If you have a solution, make sure you tell the date how long the party will last, and if they should act some interesting role.
Not going to that party is an option too, especially if you don’t have some specific role there. If you are a regular worker, who doesn’t hold a management position, you can simply skip this event, stay at home, and binge some show on Netflix. If you explain that to your boss nicely, they will understand – not everyone is able to go to corporate parties.
In the end, it’s up to you to decide what to do, and with who you will go to the parties.
