A lot has changed in the last five years. Many of us don’t work the same way we used to since the pandemic forced us to learn to do our jobs from home, and we naturally said a collective ‘no, thank you’ to returning to the office five days a week.

As such, many office-based jobs have shifted to a hybrid model of working that allows for flexible hours and options to work from home. While this increase in flexibility from employers definitely has its upsides, it’s come with a few pitfalls, too.

One of those, according to research by LinkedIn, is that almost a third of UK workers (30%) are attending fewer festive work parties than they did five years ago. Of the 1,000 workers who responded to the survey, 39% said they’re less likely to attend a formal networking event than before the pandemic, with that number rising to 48% among hybrid workers.

Of the most common reasons professionals gave for not attending these events, nearly a third (29%) said it was because they preferred to work from home.

We’re all aware how, especially in winter, when it’s dark and cold outside, the idea of getting dressed up and heading out to socialise after a day of working from home can feel like more effort than we can muster. Around 32% of workers said they didn’t want to extend the working day, 31% cited workload pressure and 26% said personal commitments were their reason for not wanting to attend a work event.

But while attending a work social event might feel like a frivolous, extra-curricular activity that we just don’t have time for in our busy lives, they could be a missed opportunity for networking.

Yes, your work Christmas do isn’t just an excuse to have a few drinks on your boss’s tab, it can also be the perfect time for a spot of networking – if you want it to be.

“It all depends on the individual and their own goals and energy levels as they end the year,” says Emily Button-Lynham, founder of EBC training, coaching and consultancy. “But I recommend my clients to use any opportunity to network and make connections. This doesn’t have to feel forced or inauthentic – networking is a social exchange between two people, so I advise following your curiosity and asking questions to whoever you interact with.”

Despite our reluctance to get into the spirit of the work festive party, we all understand the value of networking. Nearly three-quarters (72%) of workers said they see their professional network as valuable to progressing their careers.

“Having a strong professional network is key to career progression and incredibly crucial in enabling individuals to meet their career goals. There’s a gender network gap where women are 28% less likely to have as strong a network as men, according to LinkedIn data,” says Button-Lynham. “So less networking means fewer opportunities for women to nurture and grow their network, leading to fewer opportunities [overall]. This is also doubly impacted by the hybrid working environment, meaning it’s harder in your day-to-day work to get the exposure you may have had pre-pandemic.”

So, should, you use your work Christmas party as an opportunity for career progression?

“Any events related to work are work. So I recommend treating them that way, not as an opportunity to fully let your hair down, as you might with close friends. There should always be a level of professionalism,” suggests Button-Lynham.

“They tend to be outside the work environment, so people are more relaxed and it’s easier to have open and honest conversations with people about work, but also personally. I’ve had some great conversations at Christmas parties that really helped my progression to a director position when I was working in financial services. This is a great way to build trust and rapport with colleagues and senior leaders.”

To become a networking sensation, Button-Lynham suggests doing the three following things:

1. Get clear on your career goals. Where are you hoping to move towards in the next five years. The clearer your goal, the more you’re able to utilise conversations to dig deeper into the next steps, seek feedback and ask for further conversations and introductions.

2. Be authentic. Try to be yourself in any situation rather than pretending to be a version of yourself. The more you can follow your curiosity and have open and honest conversations, the better connections and impressions you will make.

3. If you’ve said you’ll follow up, do it. You’d be surprised how many people forget this — have a great conversation and never do anything about it. Discreetly note down people’s names and make sure to follow up in the new year, either to say it was great to chat and get to know you or to continue the conversation if there were valuable next steps.

Images: Unsplash