Halloween is a holiday celebrated across the globe and presents an opportunity for parties and social gatherings at home and at work. Whilst the costumes, pumpkins, toffee apples and trick or treating can all be regarded as harmless fantasy fun, Halloween can present situations that can cause very real issues in the workplace.
Like many holidays, Halloween has evolved into a commercial and seemingly secular event and an opportunity for some themed frivolity. However, in a workplace setting it is important to remember its origins, which are rooted in, or at least heavily influenced by, the Christian church. Halloween, or All Hallows Eve, comes before All Hallows Day, the start of the period in the liturgical calendar dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints, martyrs and all the faithful who had departed this life. It is also believed that the day was initially celebrated as part of the Gaelic harvest festival period marking the end of the harvest season, with possible pagan influences as well. In short, it is important to consider, when planning a possible event at your company associated with Halloween, that there are those who choose not to recognize or celebrate it for religiously motivated reasons. Some Christian groups and individuals do not celebrate it due to its historical connections with paganism and witchcraft, whilst many orthodox Jews and Muslims do not due to its connection to the Christian faith. Jehovah’s witnesses, of course, do not celebrate holidays at all. Any Halloween festivities at work must be sensitive to these beliefs and take care not force Halloween upon those that hold them.
As with all holiday-themed office social events, but it appears more particularly with Halloween, the risks involved with costumes can be high when it comes to causing offence. In the UK last month, supermarket chain Asda, owned by Wallmart, was forced to remove from sale and publicly apologise for a Halloween costume they had christened ‘mental patient’, a crude attempt to tap into horror-movie folklore but in fact an item that cause huge offence to anyone who had suffered any form of mental difficulty or illness. Costumes can present a chance for employees to shed their conservative work apparel for something outlandish, contaversial, risqué, or even just inappropriately revealing, which can have a range of unintended and unwanted consequences within a work environment. Couple that with an understandable tendency for some employees to consume a fair amount of alcohol at such events, and the risk of some HR-related problems rises still further.
It is important for firms to provide their employees with opportunities to relax, express themselves and enjoy the company of their colleagues in a social setting, but make sure they control the conditions of that setting and ensure that nobody falls foul of the rules.