Employees at companies that have cut back on the annual “julebord” (Christmas party) don’t necessarily go through the holiday season with no shared Christmas cheer. They simply arrange their own parties.
“Some firms are having tougher times, others have internal regulations they must abide by,” Even Bolstad of employers’ group HR Norge told newspaper Aftenposten recently. The entire public sector, for example, doesn’t budget for employee parties and increasing numbers of private companies are no longer making the company julebord a priority.
“But what we often see is that employees take the initiative to get together themselves,” Bolstad said. “They arrange and pay for the parties themselves.”
Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) is among major employers that no longer invite staff to a Christmas party. “No, no gifts internally or externally either,” SAS spokesman Knut Morten Johansen told Aftenposten. “Many employees form nice groups that go out on their own, though, and pay for it themselves.” SAS has suffered huge losses for years, but recently has logged some improved results.
Views and News staff
