Greetings once again. I am now back from my little trip to Prague and have much to tell. However, I’ll split it up over a few days for everyone’s sake, and once I get some of the photos back.

Where did I put my Scrooge hat?

Now that we’re well into the festive season, it’s nice to see the efforts that people make in offices around the land. Often sober, drab places spring into life with a definite mood swing, a bit of colour and that certain something which typifies Christmas.

People who barely acknowledge one another throughout the rest of the year seem to start talking, and the banter increases. It’s a pity in some ways that people can’t keep this mood going throughout the full year but if doing so would mean having to hear another minute of piped Christmas music then I for one would be happy to doff the Scrooge hat and say “Humbug!".

You see, that’s one of my pet hates: Christmas songs. Not carols, which although I’m not a religious person, I can associate with the true meaning of Christmas. No, I mean the inane rubbish that crops up all over the place. At first I am oblivious to it - even if it does start to appear in late October - but after a while, like a chilling damp, it’s difficult to ignore.

A trip to the local supermarket can become torturous; the tinny screeching of Christmas hits of yesteryear played on an endless purgatorial loop. I pity the poor staff who have to put up with this each and every day during the festive period. It’s meant to be heavenly and uplifting music, but for those poor souls it must be hell!

Of course, there exists that rarest of things: a good Christmas song. Some are pretty decent, catchy tunes; others have commendable charitable intent. Nevertheless, I just have to ask myself “How do they cope?” when thinking about the folks subjected to the musical equivalent of Chinese water torture.

Secret Santa

Apart from the music, however, I’m generally pretty much in favour of Christmas in the workplace. I really like the way that teams pull together and do ‘inclusive’ things, such as the ‘Secret Santa‘. For those of you who haven’t heard of this, it’s a kind of arrangement whereby everyone puts their name into a hat, the names are mixed up and then everyone pulls a name out, the idea being that the name that the ‘drawer’ buys a Christmas present up to a certain value for the ‘drawee’. It can be humourous, useful, alcoholic, and hopefully all of the above. Apart from the fact that there’s usually someone who breaks the rules and overspends, it’s a great thing to encourage a bit of team-bonding.

Writing articles like this can feel a bit like ‘rant rant rant’ (and frequently is), but at times I like to hear what you lot have to say. So, I invite you all to tell me what festive fun is taking place in your call centre or office, or join me in the debate over Christmas music.

Look forward to it!

John