5 Personas You Meet At Every Office Party (And How to Meet Their Needs!)

The nervous newbie is your office’s typical newcomer, someone who is new to your office dynamics. They’re trying to figure out what to say and how to behave, and this can worsen if they happen to be of a shy disposition themselves. That said, you can also find the odd enthusiastic party person in this category as well. But despite their exuberance, they still remain new and probably lower down in the pecking order, which makes their needs common.

So, make them feel included! Strike a conversation, ask them about their favorite music and food, just do your bit to bring some holiday cheer.

Always going around armed with a (DSLR) camera, this person takes their social media duties a bit too seriously. Indulge them and you’ll see yourself featured on the company’s social pages in the best lighting, holding a sparkly drink strategically, in a very flattering pose. Rub them the wrong way and your pictures would be a meme template on the team’s Slack group for ages to come.

You may want to attempt to separate them from their camera and probably get them to enjoy the actual party for a bit.

Now on to the final persona of the party, the Influencer. As a sign of the times we’re in, every office, and therefore, every party is bound to have an influencer or two. This person is at the party with a mission in tow — that of leveraging the event on their social media accounts. To them, the world’s a stage and they’re the one and only star of the show.

Slickly ask them to put their phone away for just a bit and ask them to be present in the moment. You might get a glazed stare in return, but it’s definitely worth a try!