Halloween can be scary at work, and not just because of the sugar-induced behavioral changes in colleagues who overdo it on the candy. It’s the one day of the year when the normal rules about what to wear to work don’t apply, and all too often, people end up inadvertently crossing lines that offend, embarrass or gross out their colleagues.
Here are five rules for celebrating Halloween at work that will ensure you have a good time — without becoming the office fright show.
1. I f you’re new to the workplace, a sk about Halloween costumes and traditions ahead of time. You might not mind being the only person in your workplace dressed as a goblin, Maleficent or James Spader’s character from “The Blacklist.” But if being the only one in costume is likely to make you feel awkward, make sure you check ahead of time to see if others are planning to dress up. This is especially helpful if you’ve started your job since last Halloween and haven’t yet had a chance to see how your office observes the holiday. Otherwise, you might end up having an uncomfortable day as the only person who’s out of business attire.
2. Don’t wear a costume that’s too revealing or in any way sexually provocative. Despite the trend of increasingly provocative Halloween costumes, work is not the place to dress up as a naughty nurse or a sexy Disney character — or a sexy anything, for that matter. Halloween isn’t license to violate the rules of decorum that are normally in play at work, and your co-workers shouldn’t see any more of your body than they do on any other day of the year. It doesn’t matter how clever or fun your costume is — keep yourself reasonably covered up.
3. Don’t wear a costume that plays on racist or ethnic tropes. Costumes that are caricatures of another ethnic group aren’t OK, and neither is dressing up as a member of a group that has been systemically oppressed. That means no American Indian or geisha costumes. And while blackface is widely understood in the U.S. to be offensive, reports every fall show that apparently that information hasn’t reached everyone yet, so it’s worth mentioning here, too. In fact, in 2011, students at Ohio University started the “we’re a culture, not a costume” poster campaign to educate people about racially insensitive Halloween costumes. The campaign has spread to other campuses and has been gaining traction nationwide.
And this isn’t just a courtesy and decency issue, although that’s certainly part of it. Employers in the U.S. have a legal responsibility to ensure their workplaces don’t constitute a hostile environment for employees on the basis of protected classes, which include race, ethnicity and national origin.
4. Don’t wear anything that will make it impossible to talk to a client or your co-workers. If your costume makes it hard for you to talk or hear, it’s probably not well suited for the office. Here’s a good litmus test: If you were called into a last-minute meeting with a potential VIP client and your company’s president, would you be comfortable in what you’re wearing? Would they be comfortable? As fun as dressing up for Halloween can be, your main goal at work is still to get work done. So if your costume is interfering with that, it might be better saved for an after- work party or neighborhood trick-or-treating.
5. Don’t hassle others who don’t dress up. Not everyone enjoys dressing up for Halloween, and that’s OK. Sometimes people in the pro-costume group give people who don’t dress up a hard time for not getting into the holiday spirit or not having a sense of fun, which is a good way to sour your relationship with co-workers. It’s safe to say that if someone didn’t dress up, he or she doesn’t want to be given a hard time about it. Enjoy the costumes of the people who did dress up, and let your other co-workers be costume-free in peace.
Alison Green writes the popular Ask a Manager blog, where she dispenses advice on career, job search and management issues. She’s the author of “How to Get a Job: Secrets of a Hiring Manager,” co-author of “Managing to Change the World: The Nonprofit Manager’s Guide to Getting Results” and the former chief of staff of a successful nonprofit organization, where she oversaw day-to-day staff management.
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5 Rules for Celebrating Halloween at Work originally appeared on usnews.com
