This is news that seems trivial, but it is not.
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The City of Montreal has just announced that it will no longer pay for the Christmas parties of its employees.
The City Council’s message is simple: if they want a party, they have to pay for it.
I will answer you with a fairly simple formula: I see the behavior of mean people here: cheap people, if you prefer.
A company is not just a place where the individual, like an automaton, shows up every day to earn a living. A company is a living environment where an important part of our existence takes place.
And this, although today we tend to change jobs often, even if we no longer spend our lives within the same company.
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avarice
What is a corporate Christmas party? It’s the time of year when potential friendships can come to fruition, when everyone makes a little effort to look good, and that’s not unimportant in our radically unglamorous times.
Obviously, there are always busy bozos putting on a show. They can spoil the party. But there are always some in life, whatever the environment.
A Christmas party is also an opportunity for the company to thank its employees. She reminds them that they are not just trading chips, but people, who have the right to decompress.
Above all, it must be said, that such a party does not represent a crazy expenditure. I would even say that a company that does not have the means to provide such a party for its employees (except in exceptional circumstances, obviously) does not know how to manage itself well.
I guess the question is does my statement apply to both public and private?
My answer: yes. I would even say: absolutely. An employer, private or public, must treat its employees with respect and consideration.
We must not confuse the organization of such a party with the insane expenses of those who take advantage of the State to allow themselves a luxurious lifestyle, combining great restaurants and great trips, at the expense of the taxpayer. The two situations have nothing to do with each other, whatever those who love nothing more than saving money at the expense of the normal world may think.
Behind all this, we find the essential question of community.
We live in fragmented, disintegrated societies, broken into a thousand pieces, where individuals are left alone, which then pushes them to close themselves off, to lose themselves, in the virtual universe, where life no longer smells, no longer smells smell it makes no sense, it has no taste anymore.
community
Opportunities to meet new people or transform a superficial relationship into friendship are becoming rarer and rarer.
Therefore, a moment of coexistence in the company at the end of the year is not too much.
All this may seem useless, secondary, trivial.
On the contrary: the company has its role to play in the deatomization of society. This is the real problem behind celebrating Christmas.
