Work schedules mandatory 'fun meeting' during unpaid lunch: 'I think morale actually dropped more after that'

Author image for JR Atkinson
JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Sep 19, 2025 10:00 PM EDT

As Liz Lemon once said, "Ain't no party like a Liz party 'cause a Liz party is mandatory." And this struck a chord with a nation because it revealed something about the nature of mandatory parties. That mandatory parties are not fun. The fun of a party is that you're choosing to be there. You think you might have a good time, so you willingly surrender some of your free time in exchange for the chance. And you can leave at any point. A mandatory party is not a party, it's a meeting… or a hostage situation. 

This doesn't stop some workplaces from implementing these events, though. Employers get it in their heads that this is a good idea, and then they subject everyone to it. Usually, though, they have the decency of offering them during working hours (aka you're getting paid to be there). That's not what happened in this story, though. No, in this story, these employees were basically paying to party. All for an event that they were resisting in the first place. 

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  • Businesspeople celebrate at work.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • If this sounds like an affront to you, then scroll on. Below, you'll find the story of a group of unlucky employees who found themselves subject to a mandatory party, and you'll be able to read reactions from commenters who understood just how outrageous a request this was. Read on for all of the details. 

  • My company made us attend a MANDATORY FUN meeting... during our unpaid lunch

    At my last job, management decided morale was LOW so they organized a mandatory fun - meeting with pizza and team- building games. Sounds fine, right? Except they scheduled it during our lunch break... which is unpaid.
    via u/Nammmieee
  • So we had to sit in a conference room playing charades with our boss while our stomachs growled and the clock ticked. Someone asked if we could just eat and relax instead, but nope, participation was part of being a team player. We basically paid in lost break time for the privilege of fake-laughing at our boss's bad puns. I think morale actually dropped more after that.
    via u/Nammmieee

  • Commenters agreed this was outrageous.

    Efficient-Choice2... . • 5h ago I've had something similar happen but it was a workshop during lunch on learning how to set boundaries to avoid burnout at work. I didn't go and said it was because I was setting boundaries to avoid burnout. I didn't last much longer at that company.
    via u/Efficient-Choice2436
  • Nammmieee OP • 4h ago Yep! Nothing screams We care about your well- being like stealing your only actual break to lecture you about burnout.
    via u/Nammmieee
  • Nammmieee OP 5h ago . Imagine being so bad at management that you can't tell the difference between "fun" and "forced."
    via u/Nammmieee
  • Luneth⚫5h ago If they forced you to be there they need to pay you. Tell HR you need to modify your hours to include the mandatory meeting in your time off.
    via u/Luneth_
  • A man in a sequin tie holds a glass of champagne.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • [deleted] 5h ago Pretty sure that's illegal in the US if it was mandatory. In my state it's definitely illegal because breaks are part of our laws (30min every 5 hours).
    via u/[deleted]
  • WithoutAHat1.4h ago Mandatory means they have to pay you. I would have taken lunch at a later time. Because the event is separate from your standard day.
    via u/WithoutAHat1
  • Unhappy_Energy_741 5h ago If it's not paid, then it is not mandatory.
    via u/Unhappy_Energy_741
  • NORBY9k • 3h ago my I had this happen. I put it on time sheet. I was required to be there, so I'm required to be paid. They tried to take it off my time sheet. I called the state labor board. Long story short owner made HR apologize to 250ish people and everyone got paid 2hrs of overtime for her stupid party.
    via u/NORBY9k
  • . who_you_are • 4h ago I don't care "when" it will happen. If it is mandatory, it is mandatory to pay me. If it is around the job (eg.some meeting about insurance), that is onboarding, so pay as well.
    via u/who_you_are
  • GibsonBluesGuy • 3h ago The floggings will continue until morale improves....
    via u/GibsonBluesGuy
  • Internal-Disaster-61 4h ago "There is Kool aid over there on the table, make sure you drink it all up.'
    via u/Internal-Disaster-61
  • drew101 4h ago The company I used to work for started a program called the "Fun Police" their time in any division counted as an unpaid break, participate or not you're not getting paid, while they're there.
    via u/drew101
  • pwnageface • 4h ago Ngl, I constantly skipped these at a job where they tried the same sh. I'd just make myself busy and move to another area and start working in solitude while everyone else ate the crappy catered food we got (overpriced BBQ, bad pizza
    via u/pwnageface
  • etc.). They had like 7 or 8 of these before my immediate boss, who was superchill, caught on and asked me about it. I told her how I think these are bulls and if they I want to reward us they can give us cash bonuses and whatnot. She agreed and
    via u/pwnageface
  • always let me find things to do instead of attend. I really don't get the point of them. Anyone who actually thinks. they're fun is either 1) full of sh or 2) makes so much money there they dgaf. For the rest of us, we'd rather be left alone for our unpaid lunch. Im paid to tolerate you during work hours- off hours off. you can
    via u/pwnageface
  • Curious-Ad-8367 4h ago I wouldn't sign a union card to end this type of nonsense ./s
    via u/Curious-Ad-8367
  • KidenStormsoarer 3h ago if it's mandatory, it's paid. there's no wiggle room in this. ask them how you submit the overtime.
    via u/KidenStormsoarer
  • aerojonno 1h ago Happened to me once. As soon as the meeting was over I went straight to the exit and didn't come back for an hour. When I got back they asked where the f I'd been. "Lunch break"
    via u/aerojonno
  • But there was food in the meeting "And it was appreciated but it was still a meeting."
    via u/aerojonno
  • the VWC 4h ago I took a project management course that explained a few schools of thought on employee morale and one really spoke to me. It had two stages of employee morale. The first stage is the "basic" employee needs like
    via u/theVWC
  • salary, benefits, working conditions, etc. If the employee doesn't feel these needs are being met, their morale will be low. If the employee does feel that these are adequate, while nobody is going to say no to a pay increase it doesn't tangibly make morale any higher. That's where stage 2 comes in.
    via u/theVWC
  • Stage 2 is morale boosters like events, team building, etc. When stage one is satisfied, stage two can increase morale even higher. The theory was very clear that the second stage does nothing for morale unless stage one is met, though. That's where companies fall short. If you didn't get your bonus a pizza party isn't going to make everyone love their jobs again.
    via u/theVWC
  • At the time I had skipped the Christmas party for the past two years and had no interest in a couple of other events that the new HR guy organized, so it really made. sense to me. After that I had a head to head with the owner and had many of my concerns addressed, and while I don't think of the theory as the reason I've noticed it, I'm interested in doing the extra things again.
    via u/theVWC
  • . 4h ago If it is pizza, it means team lunch. So understandable for it to conduct during rest break hours. It is not an everyday occurence. But yes, these team acitvities are often forced and made mandatory, which is jeopardizing the only free time and rest time you've had.
    via u/IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
  • NiSiSuinegEht • 3h ago If it's mandatory, I better be paid for it. If I'm not being paid, you have no right to tell me how to use my time. Sure, fire me, there are better places to work.
    via u/NiSiSuinegEht

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