It’s Halloween. Which means every desk, breakroom, and conference table in America is currently drowning in fun-size Snickers, questionable candy corn, and those mysterious orange-and-black wrapped peanut butter things that no one admits to liking but somehow always disappear.
Sharon from the C-suite is wandering the halls with a basket, distributing treat bags like she’s running for office. The receptionist in the main lobby has a cauldron – an actual cauldron – overflowing with enough sugar to send the entire accounting department into a collective coma. And somewhere, right now, a well-meaning manager is herding neighborhood kids through the office for “corporate trick-or-treating” because apparently, regular trick-or-treating tonight won’t be enough.
We’ve turned Halloween into an organizational event. Complete with costumes (half-hearted at best, mildly inappropriate at worst) and enough chocolate to fund a small nation’s GDP.
And ya know what? I’m not mad about it.
Sugar as Social Currency
Candy at work isn’t just about candy. It’s a goodwill gesture and sometimes a peace offering. It’s a tiny, foil-wrapped attempt at connection.
That bowl on Linda’s desk? It’s an invitation to all passerby’s to “Come chat. Stay awhile. Let’s pretend we’re not all stressed about the Q4 goals for five minutes.” The fun-size Twix isn’t the point; the chance to connect with each other is.
And in workplaces where people are siloed, remote, or just too damn busy to have real conversations, candy becomes shorthand for approachability. It’s low-stakes, non-threatening, and you don’t need an agenda or a calendar invite to grab a Reese’s cup and just say “hello.”
Nice.
Paging Willy Wonka
Now, let’s also be honest: some of this Halloween hokum at work is pure unadulterated theater.
First of all, we have the companies that mandate “fun” – the ones that strongly suggest (read: require) participation in the costume contest or the pumpkin carving competition. Because nothing communicates “we care about employee engagement” like passive-aggressive emails about “Halloween spirit.”
Secondly, there will aways be people who go overboard while merrily shouting “I absolutely LOVE Halloween!” as soon as Labor Day has ended. Bev decorates her cubicle like a haunted house (complete with moat and hoot owls), Jared in Help Desk wears costumes that make sitting at a computer physically impossible, and Mavis hands out treat bags with handwritten notes like she’s auditioning for Employee of the Month.
It’s exhausting just watching them.
But still…
Observing how your organization handles Halloween reveals quite a bit about your organizational culture.
Do members of the Leadership Team participate or just observe from their corner offices? Are people genuinely enjoying the moment or are they white knuckling their way through mandatory merriment? Is the candy accessible to everyone, or just the people on certain floors?
And what about paying attention to the folks who don’t participate? The employees who may have dietary restrictions, religious considerations, or just a general aversion to participating in sugar-fueled chaos? Because even something as small as Halloween candy can create an “in” group and an “out” group. And those little exclusions add up.
But Halloween, just as with other holidays at work, can be joyful.
Today presents you with opportunities for human-to-human connection – maybe while dressed like a Labubu or a Louvre Jewel Thief! So hand out those Kit Kats, participate in the costume contest, and have a bowl of eyeballs on your desk.
Sometimes it’s just nice to get a break from the usual tedium or intensity – whichever way your particular workplace swings – and enjoy the day.
Boo!
