Silly or Sane Season - it's your choice

What a week! Whilst we do not have an official Melbourne Cup holiday as our Victorian friends do, the first Tuesday in November's festivities lend themselves to a variety of extra curricular activity for Management and their staff across our fair city.

Judging by the amount of fascinators being donned on public transport, women walking precariously down city streets in heels definitely not designed for the office, not to mention the array of brightly coloured shirts and ties - Corporate Brisbane decided to turn it on this year.

It would be fascinating to hear a foreigners perspective watching the antics of party goers on the day and how that perception would change from the early hours of Tuesday morning when grooming is impeccable, to the early hours of Wednesday morning when their finest hour is well and truly behind them. The common cry being "Why do we do this to ourselves?"

It begs the question - why do we and how much is too much lee way from Management? To allow individuals the freedom of the afternoon to use at their own discretion seems to be the norm, whether a staff function has been organised or not. It seems to be the exception rather than the rule, to be expected to return to the office. Indeed the race that has been held since 1861 seems to be the race that stops a nation working for an afternoon.

Interestingly, the race was run on Saturdays during the war years but reverted back to Tuesday afterwards. It would have been unthinkable to stop it all together.

Melbourne Cup day is a public holiday for all working within metropolitan Melbourne and parts of regional Victoria. For Federal Public Servants it is also observed as a holiday in the entire state of Victoria. One assumes this includes Federal Politicians. Clearly it is a day where people are expected to party.

Whilst Codes of Conduct in the workplace are well and truly prevalent, it does seem that Management turn a slight blind eye on Melbourne Cup Day and office Christmas parties. These days either bring out the best and the worst in all of us. Good intentions turn to mush if the drinks keep getting topped up out of your control. The trick is to keep that control and be aware of what is being consumed, food and water being more important than the alcohol. Common sense of course. But that is the first thing that flies out of this window anyway.

Happy Silly Season everyone and in every sense of the word, take care. Be good to your employees and give them the respect and the lee-way they deserve and relish in. And employees be good to yourselves. Earn the respect and the lee-way. And remember that you are remembered just as much from your behaviour outside traditional work hours as you are from within them. Have fun - up to a point. And this is speaking from personal experience, just know what that point is and stick to it.