Halloween
Office Halloween Costumes are one of my guilty HR pleasures. It is up there with interviewing a young co-ed or delivering a pink slip to the office bully. My favorite is reporting a 20% lower salary on a punk-ass employee when asked for a reference check. These are all things I obviously won’t admit to getting satisfaction from when I am out in public. When I received a reference check on an ex-employee, that was a pain in my ass.. I can’t help myself. “OMG, you are going to hire him? I feel for you already! Run for the hills! You didn’t hear it from me, but. . . . ”
I can’t publicly admit I enjoy crude and tasteless Halloween costumes. But deep down, I do. I love walking around the building, seeing the freak show, and taking notes. Yes, I mean the employees and their over-the-top company spirit.
I repost this blog every Halloween. Each year, I tweak it a little. I can’t help myself. It’s so much fun to guess who will inspire an inappropriate office costume.
Some things never change at work
People get drunk at holiday parties, act awkward at summer picnics, and wear wild Halloween costumes. Like Santa on Christmas Eve, HR is busiest on two days. These two days are the day after the holiday party and the day after Halloween. If companies didn’t have problems, I’d be out of a job. So, thank you, Lord, for the dumbasses.
Don’t get me wrong. I support team-building activities. Halloween costumes can be great for that. I love it when a department dresses as a theme. It shows they worked together and shared a common goal. It can be simple, like “Men in Black.” Or elaborate, like the crew of the Starship Enterprise. That’s usually a tech department thing.
I struggle when a team dresses as “Pimps and Hoes.” But hey, they still worked together. That’s something, right?
I won’t admit this publicly
Seeing the little crumb snatchers come to work in their costumes is cool. Parents and children in a matching theme are the best. Curious George and the Yellow Cowboy was memorable. The above-pictured pair, a prior VP of Biz Dev I had the good fortune to work with, comes to mind. This costume fits him, and he pulls it off beautifully. Call me the Grinch who Stole Halloween, but to me, this is an HR “tell.” When parents bring their kiddies to work, it is a subconscious sign that the parents like their job. If they hated the place, they would treat the office like the home of a sexual offender.
Predictions for this year’s inappropriate office Halloween costumes
- Lance Armstrong on steroids: I imagine someone is going to come into the office with his junk pulled backward in a skin-tight bicycle suit. Tattered ribbons around his neck indicating that the medals were ripped off his neck wouldn’t be a surprise. (Lance made this list last year as well).
- Lindsey Lohan with an ankle bracelet and a jumpsuit in a lovely shade of Prison Orange
- Psy and some Gangnam Style Dancers (I would personally LOVE to see this one done well)
- Honey Boo-Boo
- Sandusky. . please, any form of this would just be wrong!
- Snookie made the list last year, but this year, I expect a preggo Snookie
There is always the employee who needs to push the envelope regarding inappropriate office Halloween costumes. Unless it is Elvira sporting cleavage with a short skirt and fishnets, I will probably not be amused. Elvira might be able to get some work done. The productivity of the folks around her will be like her costume: minimal.
This is probably not a good idea for those considering coming to work in your grubbiest, most unprofessional clothing. Halloween is not “Casual Day,” and Casual Day is not Grubbies Day. This is the worst form of costume abuse, in my opinion.
Your true self
Office Halloween costumes come in all shapes and forms. Drunk behavior is a reflection of your true self (mean drunks and friendly drunks). Costumes can be interpreted as a reflection of how much respect one has for their customers and co-workers.
Me? All the house lights were turned off at 5, extra “beware of dog” signs, and business casual as usual in the workplace.
See you at the after party,
HRNasty
nasty: an unreal maneuver of incredible technique, something that is ridiculously good, tricky, and manipulative but with a result that can’t help but be admired, a phrase used to describe someone who is good at something. “He has a nasty forkball”.
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Sam Parker
October 30, 2013Hey! Was just tweeting this and noticed a wee typo… In the sub heading about predictions I think it out to be this year’s possessive. Please feel free not to publish my comment, no one will ever know 😀
This article made me LOL, and remember that I still don’t know what honey boo boo is…
HRNasty
June 21, 2014Sam, better late than never, was going through the posts and am just now seeing this. Thank you so much for taking the time for the heads up. Really appreciate it.