attending corporate social events

It's that time of the year again, when the HR departments across The Netherlands are setting up some of their biggest corporate events of the year. Though a lot of time and budget is invested in them, why should you bother? What is their importance?

Corporate events generally revolve around holidays in the country. Often December is a busy time for this, considering Christmas, Sinterklaas, and New years are all celebrated this month. In essence, the goal of the corporate events is very much in the spirit of the Holidays; bringing all the members of the various departments together and enjoying yourselves. This relaxation is very important to a good work-life balance, and over all, learning to be relaxed around your colleagues. Even from the companies perspectives, increasing the cohesiveness of co-workers is a massive benefit, as improving relations has a positive correlation on the productivity of workers.

Even so, it may be difficult to see exactly what these events can bring to you. As a quick break down, the two most important reasons these corporate events can be benficial to you are:

Build stronger team relationships: as you and your colleuges get closer together, you'll learn more about eachother. The push and shove that can come with corporaste events acts as a bonding moment. From a business perspective, making these kind of bonds is critical in creating a great team environment, and is essential for a great workplace. As a bonus, relationships built in the workplace tend to take a long time to build to a social level. However, these events can bring people together much quicker.

Free networking: The networking opportunities are work events are numerous and very useful for any employee at any stage in their career. Being given access to (potentially) every contact within your company means that, through socialising, you'll meet many new contacts.

After deciding whether to go to the event, you should want to present yourself in the best light possible. These events are a time to relax and not need to focus on your work load, so leave your work at the table! It is better to try and talk about your interests and other topics, and let your hair down around your coworkers. However, this does not mean you should ignore your professionalism. The people around you may become your friends, but you should remember that this is still a formal, professional event.

As well as this, it's important to plan around the event. Being late should be avoided as much as possible. Although this is an event aimed mainly at fun and relaxation, do not mistranslate this as meaning you're allowed to get drunk! If there is alcohol available, keep it social: no one is impressed by the person who can drink ten pints of beer, but can't walk out the door without falling on the floor.

Keep these tips in mind for any corporate events you may be having. However, if you aren't attending any corporate events, check out the Together Abroad entertainment page for events around major dutch cities.