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Business Benefits of Special Occasions

March 20, 2000

"We participate in celebrations for the joy they offer and what they reveal to us.  At the same time, especially in the work place, ritual and ceremony have functional consequences.  They address issues that otherwise interfere with an organization's ability to accomplish important goals and objectives.  Generic functions of celebrations include:

* Building relationships among individuals, strengthening bonds across diverse subcultures, and knitting the community together.

* Leveling the hierarchy to provide a common ground where bosses, managers, and employees can intermingle freely without fear.

* Summoning the collective spirit, which creates energy, excitement, commitment, and loyalty.

* Establishing a connection between historical roots, current realities, and future dreams;

* Allowing intangible values and visions to be experienced and appreciated.

* Transforming difficulties into opportunities, tragedies into growth experiences, losses into gains.

* Providing access to life's deeper lessons and creating true learning organizations.

* Providing a safety valve to discharge drives, relieve tension, express emotion, and deal with conflict.

* Creating a forum for sharing stories, breaking bread, dancing and linking joy with work (Deal & Key, 1998, pp.26-27)."

Reference: Deal, T.E. & Key, M.K. (1998).  Corporate celebration: play, purpose, and profit at
work.  San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.

When was the last time your organization had a celebration?

Corporate Celebration is available on loan from the OSU Leadership Center.  A complete listing of all the Leadership Center's resources is available on our website www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~leaders

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Created: 2009-01-02, Updated: 2009-02-02