The Office Xmas Party

Over the next 3 weeks office xmas parties will be happening everywhere. The perils of a xmas office party are well documented – it’s the ultimate Christmas nightmare - you wake up the morning after the office party to find you've photocopied your knickers, smooched the office creep and fallen asleep on the boss' desk. The only consolation is that you're not alone (and we don't just mean all the other people kipping on the desk with you). Nearly everyone lets their hair down at the works Christmas do but it can have dire consequences.

Surveys show that work affairs are most likely to start at festive bashes - and some people insult their boss so badly they lose their jobs. So why do we go so mad? Psychologists say it's all part of our uptight British nature. For 51 weeks of the year most British people suppress their normal emotions about how they feel about other people they work with. And it's not just liking people that's the problem. Negative emotions have a tendency to bubble up at Christmas too. So you stay polite to the boss and put up with the office bore for the whole year. Then we add a paper hat and a glass of wine, and it all comes out. So how do you keep your cool at the Christmas party?

- First, and most crucially, don't drink too much. Alcohol loosens tongues and will allow you to say things you will truly regret later.
- Second, try to avoid people who you know get your goat. For instance, if the office bore drives you mad on a normal working day, he's likely to push you over the top at a boozy, hair-down end-of-the-year bash. So avoid places where you can be cornered. Keep a close friend in the office primed, too, so he or she can come to your rescue if you start to look hassled.
- The same thing goes with your boss. If there's chemistry between you, avoid the temptation to flirt too much, which can lead to trouble, and if you can't stand each other adopt the same tactics as you can use on the bore. Never forget that this person can sack you.

If all of these conditions make the party sound unacceptably tedious, simply don't go. Instead, organise an alternative night out - on another date - with the people in the office who you genuinely like and admire. In this current economic climate the last thing you want to do is loose your job.