Tom and Curley poll: Cash or office party? Which would you prefer

It’s office party time and somewhat surprisingly, plenty still spawn all sorts of bad behavior.

KIRO Radio’s Tom and Curley were amused to hear about a number of lawyers who make a pretty good living dealing with everything from drunken bosses going after interns to guys doing some pretty inappropriate dancing with the CEO’s wife, as detailed in a recent NPR story.

Co-host Tom Tangney admits – with just a hint of jealousy – he’s never gotten to experience an out-of-control office soiree.

“We’re such a family company. I just haven’t been to any of these crazy parties,” he says slightly longingly.

The conversation sparked a deeper debate: does the office party actually serve any real purpose?

John Curley says his dad, long ago, gave his employees a choice: Christmas party or $75. Needless to say, most opted for the cash.

Tom’s not surprised.

“I think just about every employee I know would take the $75 in cash because the problem is most of us don’t want to actually mingle,” Tom says.

But he does argue they still have some value.

“So you may not know somebody from sales or even talk to somebody from sales. The idea is to bring people together.”

Needless to say, John isn’t buying it.

“It’s $75, take it and run. There’s friends and then there’s people in sales.”

So which would you prefer, awkward conversation with the IT guy or the cold, hard cash?