The Conversation Spain
Christmas 2020: Will there be a company dinner this year?
The popular saying goes that “coming without work should not be tolerated”, but there is one exception: company lunches and dinners. This year the traditional company Christmas dinners and meals will have to adapt to the limitations imposed by the expansion of the coronavirus. And the hospitality sector will also be affected The data of the hospitality industry in Spain The hospitality industry represents 6.2% of Spanish GDP, generates 1.7 million jobs and contributes about 17.5 billion euros to the public coffers of the ‘State, according to the data of the year 2019 of the pattern of the sector Hospitality of Spain. Due to the crisis generated by the pandemic, this association, together with the Spanish Federation of Food and Beverage Industries (FIAB) and the Association of Manufacturers and Distributors (AECOC) have created the platform Together with the Hospitality , in order to offer tools that allow hoteliers to maintain their activity. Following the platform, the sector has faced for months an unprecedented fall. The closure of more than 65,000 hospitality businesses is expected in 2020, with the loss of more than 350,000 jobs and a decrease in manufacturing of more than 50% compared to 2019. To this situation is added the 30,000 companies associated with the hospitality industry, whose joint turnover represents about 20% of national GDP. Christmas and restrictions The picture is bleak for restaurants and hotels. The Covid-19 puts at risk the company lunches and dinners this Christmas; hoteliers believe that the reduction in capacity and uncertainty before the evolution of the pandemic will result in a decline in reserves. There are many doubts and, above all, many unknowns, which should be resolved according to the evolution of the health situation. Doubts are growing about the Christmas campaign, one of the manufacturing mayoral periods in the sector, with business dinners, family and friends meetings, etc. During the 2020 campaign, and with the measures decreed by the different autonomous communities : closed hospitality, 50% hospitality, meetings of up to six people when the hospitality industry is open, working working at home and therefore no food service to companies … the situation is very complicated for the sector and large part of the hostels that assume that few business dinners are held this year. Company dinner: an ancient rite Where does this custom come from? The rite of celebrating a good feast around a table has been part of the cultural tradition, from fats to Romans, to Arabs and judgments. This tradition, linked to the various groups of social coexistence, came, over time, to the most numerous, fragmented and volatile group: the company. Custom became entrenched in corporate culture, mixing the formal with the informal. And it has taken nature’s letter around company food or Christmas dinner. It is true that not everyone in the company wants to go to dinner and for some it is rather an obligation. Mixing food with alcohol and being close to the head has always been a dangerous combination. Better to do as the saying goes: “Al vi, com rei; to the water, like an ox ”. From fellowship to advice to considerA meeting of this kind facilitates fun, fellowship and socialization with co-workers. And it allows for a more direct connection and no formal barriers to the organization’s hierarchy. If, in addition, there are good results and a positive business climate, it can become a great and fun time to celebrate. The particularity of the situation has given rise to a whole series of recommendations, suggestions and tricks to get out unscathed. The most delicate aspects of the meeting have to do with how to fraternize with bosses, peers or subordinates, the protocol at the table, the clothes, how much to drink, and what to do at the after dinner or dinner (drinks, dancing, karaoke. ..). The trap of informal business relationships manifests itself, in an unusual way, in this annual meeting and the list of unspeakable anecdotes grows every year. 2020: does it disappear from the rite or does it become virtual? The Covid-19 era has also affected this event. On the one hand, companies have suffered the devastating effects of the pandemic on their income statement and staffing. But on the other hand, whoever has kept their job needs some kind of motivation to overcome the wear and tear of a few emotionally complicated months. For its participants, the celebration of company Christmas meals or dinners will have as a reference the same rules as other social events: no more than six people per group and curfew. Therefore, the proximity, the spacious tables and the crowded places belong to the past. The subsequent cup will have to be faster than usual. Some companies consider avoiding and preventing the celebration of the traditional dinner to minimize contacts and thus minimize the risk of infection. Others, due to capacity restrictions, have decided to move the dinner and Christmas events to their own venues. The possibility of offering food vouchers to workers has also been raised, which will keep spending in the restaurant sector even if the spirit of fellowship of the Christmas dinner is lost. Additionally, another solution is planted that is more closely linked to the habits acquired in companies during this pandemic year: send dinner to the workers’ homes and have everyone connect to dine together virtually. There is no doubt that we do not expect a different Christmas and, as it could not be otherwise, it will also affect company meals. This article was originally published in The Conversation. Read the original. The signatories are not employees, nor consultants, nor put shares, nor receive funding from any company and organization that can benefit from this article, and have stated that they lack relevant links beyond the academic position cited above.