Mandatory Employee Party... (1 Viewer)

Any of ya'll ever come across these? The restaurant that I host at is requiring all of their employees to attend a mandatory party this coming Monday. Are we getting paid for it? No. Do I want to spend a day with some people I don't care for at all? No. I won't be going. Three thousand dollars could be much better spent at the community kitchen or raising the employees hourly wage from 5 f'n 50 an hour. Free thinkers are dangerous. Had to vent.

You don't really want to continue working there, do you? Skipping mandatory meetings is a good way to end up in the unemployment line. Don't let the fact that it is being called a party fool you. Mandatory meetings are very common in the business world, and they will sometimes try to entice you there with food and drink.

- Steve

Let's not confuse this with a meeting. People are compensated for their time at a meeting. I am just doing this job part time while I attend my university. I have no plans to be doing this at all the rest of my life. My goal in life is to become a professor at a university and spread the good word around...ie escape the rat race!

If you don't attend then be prepare to find another job.

Grin and bare through it if you can, you may find attending the dinner easier then finding another part time job for school.

It's despicable to hear about this corporate
politics horseshit. I'm glad I'm leaving my job
and putting this kind of nonsense behind me.

Kind of what sounds like what we have here called Brown Bags, most of them are somewhat non-important in stature but some of them the corporate tends to really push you to go although it isn't mandatory per se. Since I work for a small cog in a large cassette (to bring it to bicycle terms), there are a lot of products we produce that others may not be familiar with so as a point of interest and stuff, we have brown bags that are mostly just informal demostrations, discussions, etc. during lunch hour which is unpaid. Every now and then they have training ones to show how to do something but for the most part, they're just informative things.

I never go to any of them cause it is my lunchhour and I typically would rather get up and go for a walk outside and things like that. I figure if it was important enough, it wouldn't be on my dime. And if it's interesting, I might go but I agree that "mandatory" meetings on non-work hours is silly. Doesn't mean I wont go if I felt my job was on the line, but doesn't mean I'll be happy. Of course, free food and drink is typically enough for me to go to anything for a short while.

Jay

If you are an hourly employee (i.e. - paid by the hour), and the company is "requiring" you to attend, they probably have to compensate you by law. May want to investigate that with your local labor board. Their contacts are all over the required postings in your common areas (probably the break room). But, as Robert states, if you call in the Feds, then be prepared to find another job because supervision will make your life a little tough.

If you are salaried, all bets are off.... We have quite a few "dinners" that are really just a charade for budget planning sessions.

Good Luck, how long is this meeting anyway ?

Unless this is another area where food service has different rules, they cannot mandate you to attend a function and not compensate you. Although, either way, I would certainly attend if you want to keep the job. If you detest the idea that much, certainly you should be looking for another place of employment.

When you work for someone else, be it an individual or large corporation, from time to time they ask you do things that seem silly to you. If you can't do that then I agree with the others that say look for something else. Good luck though, it exists everywhere unless you are self-employed, then you can make your own rules that your employees think are silly.

If the restaurant otherwise treats you fairly, is a place that you enjoy working at, or out of necessity is an otherwise tolerable place to work, then attend the party.

You may be surprised, it may be enjoyable, you may get to know people that turn out to be friends or aquaintences that may someday be of help to you. On the other hand maybe you'd go and end up feeling you wasted your time. Well, those things happen, at least they'll feed you.

What's the reason for the party? Maybe the restaurant is being sold, maybe the owners are handing out bonuses to everyone that attends, who knows. By the way, why do you work somewhere where you dislike everyone?

So to answer your original question, have we come across this before. I'd think almost everyone has, I certainly have many times. What have I done, I go. I value my job, wish to continue to remain employed and understand that I don't always have to agree with these things and unless there's some moral reason I should object, I prefer not to bite the hand that feeds me and my family.

Even a professional job advice columnist agrees with the consensus here:

http://bostonworks.boston.com/globe/...s/091502.shtml

Sometimes you just have to do things you might not really want to do, and which seem unfair. NOT doing these things may invoke consequences, but, of course, the choice is yours as to whether or not that is a risk worth taking.

Professors NEVER have to do silly things without being compensated for it (except by free food and drink).
Never!


Cees

I was just thinking of that. I went to a hell of a lot more boring, mandatory functions as a professor than in any other job I've ever had. Hell, the wasted Saturday mornings at graduation (having to sit there in a cap & gown and try to stay awake) add up to more than enough time to watch dozens of dvds.

Show up, chat with everyone for thirty seconds, make sure to say "Hi" to your boss, "Hows it going, whats new, did you buy that Harley yet?" then say "excuse me for a minute", walk out the door and go home.

Garrett has a great idea. If (insert relative here) made his/her plans to see you before you heard about this party, aren't you obligated to honor the 1st request?

As for me, if it is a party, then I'd show up bombed. Or at least, pretend that you are bombed. Just don't get obnoxious.

Maybe the next "party" will get a proper name (unless it is a real party - then all bets are off).

Glenn

I am not a professor, but it is my understanding that the academic community is much more cut-throat and political than most jobs (at least until you get tenure). If you are adverse to doing things like attending an unpaid mandatory meeting, I would think that you should re-evaluate your career plans.

Sounds similar to a company Christmas Party to me, except in the summer.

I don't get paid to attend our Xmas party every year. I don't enjoy it. I do go however.

Being a college prof isn't going to shield you from this stuff, it's going to require more of this type of thing in fact, then your average corporate or government job.

A good friend of mine is a college professor, and none of the "meetings" or parties are called mandatory, but they all are if you ever wish to get tenured.

Even though this isn't a career job for you, I'd still recommend going because you could actually benefit from it. What better situation to practice working on the phony laugh and smile often required at these things than to do so while at a job you don't really care much about?

Same thing happened with me when I worked in my college's gameroom while a full-time student. Every so often they'd hold these award luncheons for the college's student staff and give out cheap plastic awards, I guess to increase morale or some other bs.

I always thought it was a pointless waste of time, but:

1) Boss would be pissed if I didn't go
2) I had some friends that went to the meetings too so it wasn't that boring

You work in a restaurant, all I did was work the cash register for a poolhall. Just go.

And if they fork out $3000 for food and liquor it isn't totally unpaid for, is it? How many employees does the restaurant have?


Cees

It has about 60 employees. My main beef with not wanting to go is because I feel that this money could be spent in many better ways such as a large donation to a community kitchen or upping some of the employees wages. I certainly don't need a raise hike considering I live with my folks and can easily pay my bills but some of my fellow coworkers could definitly use another dollar or two to help them out. Also overbearing hierarchial structures telling me what to do on my spare time isn't my idea of a life.