Many companies treat their employees to a year-end party to reward them for their hard work and celebrate the start of a new year.

许多公司都会在年末时举办年会，在庆祝新年到来的同时，以示对员工辛勤工作的嘉奖。

With performances, concerts, drinks, snacks, and lucky draws, it seems like the perfect chance to go wild with joy.

现场音乐与演出、酒水饮料、各种美食、幸运抽奖……年会似乎是恣意狂欢的绝佳时机。

But annual year-end parties can be more “official” or formal than you may think. Career experts advise everyone to behave accordingly.

但事实上年会比你想象得要正式得多。职场专家们建议大家要注意行为得体。

“Remember that for most companies, especially the foreign ones, an annual office party is still a business function,” said Ren Zhijiong, 26, a deputy director at Aceona.com, a recruitment website in Shenzhen.

“要记得对于大多数公司，尤其是外企而言，年会仍旧是一项职场商务活动，”深圳人才招聘网站——红桃网副总监任志炯（音译）说。

“It may be presented as an entertaining, fun social occasion, but it’s a type of business event.”

“尽管年会可能表现为一种集娱乐性和趣味性为一体的社交聚会形式，，但它仍然是一种商务活动。”

According to Ren, others will remember your behavior at the party when considering you for other business or social events, such as taking a client to lunch or attending a charity dinner to receive an award on behalf of the company.

任志炯表示，别人会记得你在年会上的表现，并以此判定是否派你去参加其他的商务和社交活动，比如邀请客户共进午餐，或是出席慈善晚宴并代表公司领奖。

In fact, year-end parties can be a “burden”. Employees may be invited by their boss or colleagues to perform in a show together, such as singing or dancing.

事实上，年会会成为一种“负担”。有些员工可能会受老板和同事之邀参加集体表演，比如唱歌或跳舞。

“You need to sacrifice your personal time after work or even on weekends to rehearse for such programs,” said Su Xiaomei, 27, an HR manager at Shanghai Handi Trading Co Ltd. “It can be difficult to escape by making excuses as your manager may be rehearsing with you.”

“你需要牺牲掉自己的工作时间，甚至周末休息的私人时间来排练节目。”上海汉帝贸易有限公司人力总监、27岁的苏晓梅（音译）说道。“你很难找借口推脱，因为你的上司会跟你一起排练。”

In this case, a performance is also an assignment. But the good news is that you may well be able to use such occasions to advance your career.

在这种情况下，演节目变成一项任务。但好在你可以利用这种场合为自己的事业添砖加瓦。

They can be a great opportunity to demonstrate your ability to work hard in a team, say HR managers.

人事经理们认为年会是展现一个人团队协作能力的绝佳时机。

Often, annual parties are an invaluable opportunity to meet CEOs and other senior executives whom you may not have met before or seldom have the opportunity to speak with.

年会往往成为接触CEO及其他高管的宝贵机会，此前你可能连这些人的面都没见过，更别说当面交谈了。

It’s also a chance for you to let your co-workers know how much you appreciate their support and assistance.

同时年会上你也可以借此向同事们的支持和帮助表示感谢。

“Never be late for rehearsals and respect others. Being supportive and patient in any role leaves a good impression,” said Su.

“排练时切忌迟到，并记得尊重他人。不论你的角色是什么，表现出支持和耐心的态度会为你赢得好印象。”苏晓梅如是说。

Career experts and professionals had further suggestions on making the most of year-end parties.

就如何充分利用年会这个问题上，职场专家及相关专业人士提供了更深入的建议。

The first step is to seek out all the individuals you want to talk to, either during rehearsals or at the party itself. This can include your colleagues, clients and supervisors. You could thank your boss, for instance.

第一步是要找出你想要与之交谈的所有对象，不管是在彩排中还是在年会上。他们可以是你的同事、客户以及上司。例如，你可以借此向老板表示感谢。

“Prepare topics, such as their department’s newest product release or their favorite sports team,” said Gao Liankui, 29, a product manager at IBM China Procurement Company.

“准备好话题，比如他们部门最新发布的产品，或者他们喜欢的球队。”国际商业机器采购(中国)有限公司产品经理、29岁的高连奎（音译）建议道。

“You can talk business, but don’t talk about it too much. After an appropriate time, excuse yourself and move on.”

“你可以谈生意，但别花太多时间。可以适时找个借口离开然后去跟下一个人聊天。”

It’s also important to pay attention to your personal behavior. Zou Xiaofei, 25, a client service executive at China Electronics Shenzhen Company, once saw a colleague get drunk at an annual party – he harassed a female co-worker, insulted his boss and then passed out under a table.

时刻注意个人举止也十分重要。深圳中电投资股份有限公司客服主管、25岁的邹晓飞（音译）称自己曾目睹一位同事在年会上贪杯后骚扰一名女同事，并对老板出言不逊，最后烂醉如泥倒在桌子底下。

“After that, he hid himself until he resigned,” said Zou.

“在那之后，他一直没脸见人，最终辞职走人。”邹晓飞说。

“Few companies can tolerate such behavior and it may cost you your career.”

“几乎没有哪家公司会容忍这种行为，而这可能会葬送掉你的职业。”