6 in 10 have experienced drunk colleagues at the Christmas party

27.11.2025 - Christmas party season is well underway, and the alcohol-awareness organisation Av-og-til has a clear message. “The Christmas party is not the event where you should make a fool of yourself,” says Secretary General Ragnhild Kaski.

The figures come from a new survey carried out by Respons Analyse on behalf of Av-og-til.

Kaski believes the survey highlights the dilemma managers face when it comes to alcohol.

“The majority of Norwegians think there is too much drinking at workplace Christmas parties. While some are preparing for a heavy night out, others hold back because they do not want to take part. Our advice to leaders is to talk about alcohol expectations before the Christmas party. This may help avoid difficult situations afterwards,” says Kaski.

“The Christmas party is not the event where you should make a fool of yourself. You will meet your colleagues again at the coffee machine the next day. If you lash out at someone or behave inappropriately, you should expect a reaction from your employer, even if it happened at the Christmas party,” Kaski says.

Norwegians are very divided on how many drinks are appropriate at a workplace Christmas party. The average is 4.2 units. The survey also shows a clear gender difference. More women than men believe there is too much drinking and more women than men have experienced colleagues who were too drunk.

About the survey

The survey was conducted by Respons Analyse on behalf of Av-og-til. It was carried out in early November 2025 among 1,066 respondents aged 18 and older.

1. Have you experienced colleagues or managers becoming too intoxicated at a workplace Christmas party?(Asked to people who have attended Christmas parties)

                    Gender             
                    Total   Men   Women
No. of cases        806     369   437  
Yes                 58 %    53 %  63 % 
No                  42 %    47 %  37 % 

2. How much do you agree or disagree with the following statement:“There is too much alcohol consumed at workplace Christmas parties in Norway”?

                                Gender             
                                Total   Men   Women
No. of cases                    1066    491   575  
Completely disagree             4 %     5 %   3 %  
Somewhat disagree               8 %     11 %  4 %  
Neither disagree nor agree      33 %    37 %  29 % 
Somewhat agree                  35 %    29 %  41 % 
Completely agree                20 %    18 %  23 % 
Completely + somewhat disagree  12 %    16 %  7 %  
Somewhat + completely agree     55 %    47 %  64 % 

3. How many alcohol units do you think are appropriate to drink at a workplace Christmas party?

                             Gender             
                             Total   Men   Women
No. of cases                 1066    491   575  
0 units                      3 %     3 %   2 %  
1 unit                       2 %     2 %   2 %  
2 units                      11 %    9 %   13 % 
3 units                      19 %    14 %  23 % 
4 units                      17 %    16 %  19 % 
5 units                      15 %    17 %  13 % 
6 units                      10 %    10 %  9 %  
7 units                      2 %     3 %   2 %  
8 units                      3 %     5 %   1 %  
9 units                      1 %     1 %   0 %  
10 units or more             3 %     6 %   1 %  
Don't know, I do not drink   7 %     7 %   7 %  
Don't know, I do not attend  7 %     6 %   8 %  
Average alcohol units        4.2     4.6   3.9