Is #MeToo changing the office holiday party?

The spiked eggnog may not be ladled out as freely this year at staff holiday parties if at all.

With the #MeToo movement and a growing public consciousness about what is and isn't appropriate behaviour at work, a lot more businesses are taking free alcohol off the table, and some are cancelling the party altogether.

"There's been a few that have been booked here that when you follow up to rebook them for the following years, they will say we are not doing it this year," said Grace Rents, the catering and conference services manager at the Marlborough Hotel in Winnipeg.

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For the parties that have continued, open bars are becoming a thing of the past and even cash bars aren't making nearly as much money, she said. CBCspoke to multiple restaurants who all agreed there has been a change in holiday party culture.

Businesses are having a lot of conversations around #MeTooand the responsibilities to make safe work environments, including parties, said Barb Bowes, president of Winnipeg human resources firm Legacy Bowes.

The phrase #MeToo was started more than a decade ago by activist Tarana Burke, but more recent allegations of sexual assault against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, other celebrities and politicians and people in power, millions of women have shared their experiences online.

Time magazine named "The Silence Breakers" its 2017 Person of the Year last week.

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Bowes said many of her clients are "extremely sensitive to the issues that could occur with sexual harassment and alcohol." One even hired a security guard for their holiday party.

"This whole hypersensitivity about sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour, it can occur more often in an environment where there is alcohol," she said.

"They are just not taking any chances whatsoever."

Many of her clients have taken the free bottle of wine off their holiday party tables, have a designated party-picture-taker or the businesses have just cancelled the traditional party altogether.

The trend is moving towardlower-cost and more activity-based parties, she said. Many businesses are choosing to do a lunch or potluck, or choosing to donate the holiday party budget to a charity.

When it comes to the future of the holiday bash, Bowes said she thinks businesses will start to "keep it low key, keep it low cost and keep it safe for everybody."