Australian Christmas parties axed by Citi and EY as Coles takes theirs ONLINE and Optus scale back

Corporate Australia has become the grinch that killed Christmas for thousands of workers as the traditional giant holiday parties are phased out across the country.

The traditional office Christmas party is a highly anticipated end-of-year celebration where new workforce legends are created, and careers are often destroyed as staff let their hair down.

Intimate moments between coworkers in the supply closet, drunken subordinates tearing bosses in the face, and loose-lipped managers making inappropriate comments have made the big party a must-see tradition.

But it seems those days are numbered as corporate execs play ‘Bad Santa’ and put kneeling troublemakers on their naughty list.

None of a number of major companies contacted by Daily Mail Australia said they were going to have a classic Christmas party this year.

Rising costs and the continuing fallout from the Covid pandemic, which has twice ruined Christmas for billions around the world, are to blame for the decision.

But business experts say the sanitization of Santa’s big night is a corporate strategy to avoid intra-office conflicts and potential lawsuits stemming from the mega-parties.

“In the modern office, it’s too easy to offend these days,” said a source.

“Combine alcohol with people who don’t know each other very well and it’s a powder keg.

“It’s just not worth the risk for large corporations.”

While many have scrapped his celebrations altogether, Coles has moved his online, crossing the last great line at office parties by inviting families of workers to join in as well.

The supermarket giant has revealed plans to host a virtual Christmas party this year with staff connected by video link from across the country.

They hope to bring the 120,000 workers and their families together in the internet revelry after trying out the virtual Christmas concept for the past few years during Covid.

“We are excited to be able to invite 120,000 team members from across the county to join the celebrations at our 2022 virtual Christmas party this year,” a Coles spokesperson said.

‘They have worked incredibly hard in our stores, distribution centers and our Store Support Center.

“The virtual event has been a huge success for us in recent years and allows all of our team members and their families to celebrate together.”

Channel Ten canceled its Christmas party entirely this year after the network was rocked by dismal ratings, canceled shows and high-profile resignations.

This year’s Christmas party was cancelled. Management said there was nothing to celebrate for Ten’, a source told Daily Mail Australia.

“Everyone is pissed off because they just wanted to let their hair down. It’s not the staff’s fault that people don’t care about these shows anymore and people don’t tune in to them.’

Optus, which faced public backlash over the devastating attack that revealed detailed information on 10 million customers, also scaled back its Christmas plans.

In the wake of the crisis, the Singapore-owned company insists its Christmas party will be very modest this year.

“We will have a small-scale gathering to thank our people for their hard work and customer focus,” an Optus spokesperson said.

International banking giant Citi canceled its Christmas party 15 years ago and hasn’t looked back since.

“Citi Australia has not hosted a Christmas party for all employees since 2007,” a spokesperson revealed.

“Instead, we encourage individual teams to organize their own celebrations and choose how they would like to celebrate the end of the year together. ‘

Accounting firm EY, formerly known as Ernst and Young, has also redlined the holidays in its annual budget.

The company was rocked by the tragic death of a staff member who threw himself from EY’s Sydney tower in August after attending staff drinks.

The firm employs 9,000 people across Australia, including 3,000 in Sydney, and says that’s simply too many people for one party.

Instead, EY allows individual teams of staff, already working closely together, to host their own tinsel and mistletoe celebrations.

Business NSW admitted there has been a decline in the number of large corporations planning mega-events to celebrate Christmas.

But the lobby group said it was still expecting an excellent holiday season as employees enjoy their first taste of the normality of the holiday period in three years.

“While there could be a potential reduction in the number of people attending large events, we expect to see more people celebrating overall through a greater number of smaller holiday functions,” CEO Daniel Hunter said.

“There is an overwhelming desire for businesses to celebrate the holidays, especially since so many of us have been stuck behind screens for the better part of the last three years.

“The pandemic has changed the nature of the everyday professional environment, in the sense that business units choose the days of the week that they come to the office.

‘This has brought these groups closer and, for the end-of-year celebrations, led to a greater focus on those 20 or so people.

“An intimate dinner or drinks seems, for now, to take precedence over large-scale events.

“But we predict that there will still be a desire for some companies to hold large events, and we actively encourage employers to allow their workers to celebrate.”