St. Patrick’s Day offers HR leaders a unique opportunity to bring some lighthearted fun to the workplace while fostering cultural awareness and inclusivity. The holiday is celebrated by hundreds of countries worldwide, each with its own individual way of honoring all that Irish culture contributes to the world.
Fortunately, your plans need not be as elaborate as dying a local waterway green or hosting a parade. Even something as simple as wearing a different color or facilitating exciting games and raffles can foster camaraderie in your office. Here are a few ideas to enliven your St. Patrick’s Day celebrations while ensuring sensitivity and compliance.
A Few Ideas for Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day With Your Team
If you want to plan a memorable St. Patrick’s Day celebration, here are a few ideas to get you started.
Wearing Green
Ireland is known as the Emerald Isle because of its lush green landscape. You can encourage your employees to wear green to celebrate Irish heritage and culture. Though many organizations host full-on costume contests and parties, wearing green is a simpler alternative that allows for a festive atmosphere without all the pressure.
To keep your celebration compliant, remind employees that your dress code is still in place. Don’t forget to inform them that all clothing items — even the green ones — should adhere to your established policies.
Hosting a Potluck
Offer green snacks, desserts, or drinks as a fun little pick-me-up throughout the day. You can take things a step further by hosting a potluck with traditional Irish foods such as soda bread, fried cabbage, or shepherd’s pie.
If your office has policies governing food sharing due to safety precautions, it may be best to have the potluck catered by a restaurant or a professional service. If employees do bring items to share, such as Irish coffee or snacks, make sure to remind them about prohibited ingredients, including alcohol or nuts.
Changing the Ambiance
Decorating the office can be an excellent way to encourage a celebratory change of scenery. It doesn’t have to be over the top, either. Instead, simple decorations like shamrocks, leprechaun figurines, and green streamers would likely be enough to create a fun and festive environment.
Try to avoid using any decorative items that could be offensive or seen as promoting cultural stereotypes. Doing so can help you avoid inadvertently creating a hostile work environment or, at the very least, contributing to a negative company culture.
Distributing Lucky Charms
Luck is one of the most prominent themes of St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. Fortunately, it can be easy for your office to participate by organizing a “lucky” raffle using golden tickets, chocolate gold coins, or mini lucky charms.
It’s important to ensure that the activity is inclusive and everyone gets to be a part of the celebration. With that in mind, you should give every employee a chance to win something fun. Stretch the activity out through the whole day with random raffles to build excitement and anticipation.
Playing Themed Games
Create space for fun and laughter with a few trivia or game segments with a St. Patrick’s Day theme. Let your employees answer questions about St. Patrick’s Day history on the spot. You can also consider setting up a scavenger hunt to find some leprechauns or hunt down their pots of gold to keep employees engaged throughout the day.
To keep this activity fun and avoid offense, it’s a good idea to verify all of your facts before executing your trivia games. Leave out any questions or answers that are aligned with stereotypes or false information.
Tips for Maintaining an Environment of Inclusion and Respect
All of your employees should feel respected when they walk into the office, and hosting appropriate cultural celebrations is part of making that happen. As you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, consider using the occasion to educate employees about Irish history and culture.
This doesn’t have to include an elaborate presentation. You can simply share fun facts or host a brief informative session. Making such an effort can help remind employees to remain culturally sensitive as they celebrate throughout the day.
Additionally, you can ensure the celebration remains inclusive for all employees by steering clear of stereotypes and overly commercialized items. Before the celebration, offer employees the chance to have input on items or experiences that should be avoided or language that might be offensive.
Balance Inclusivity and Compliance With Fun and Excitement This St. Patrick’s Day
With any form of cultural celebration in the workplace, it’s vital to ensure that every member of your staff feels welcomed and included. To that end, your company culture should avoid elements that can be considered inaccurate or offensive. Furthermore, your celebration (and any you sanction) must align with your established policies.
Additionally, you should aim to stay in line with legal regulations to avoid increasing your compliance risk. If you have yet to develop clear and compliant policies around cultural celebrations, there’s no need to stress about it — VirgilHR can automate the process for you.
We offer access to a self-service chatbot and HR experts who can help you save time on legal research without compromising your compliance. Schedule a demo today to see how VirgilHR can help you gain peace of mind as you celebrate the luck of the Irish.
Sources: https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/celebrations/article/st-patricks-day
