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It is inevitable that when a company is stingy in their arrangement of some off-the-clock bonding, there are going to be protesters. Not everyone feels it necessary to do trust exercises with their colleagues, especially when it is on their own dime.
In this story, a man working at a tech shop took issue with the business he worked for organizing a weekend ‘retreat’ which required employees to pay for gas and a shared hotel room. He promised to join some workshops on Friday, but declined to take part in the rest of the weekend as he had promised to babysit for his sister the day after.
Following this, his manager criticized him for missing out, and he was excluded from the new project at work in favor of those who had taken part. The employee wanted to know if he was the issue.
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AITA for skipping a 'mandatory' weekend retreat that wasn’t paid or reimbursed and now getting iced out of a promo?
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'Shared rooms, meals 'light', and none of it counts as work hours': 27-year-old tech employee refuses to go on mandatory team retreat, manager excludes him from work project afterwards
Being a team player is not a secret code for accepting exploitative work practices.
Nonetheless, that is exactly how many employers like to treat it. Certain workplaces have a tendency to do egregious things in the name of 'teamwork', and anybody who doesn't want to play along can often face professional consequences. While it is true that somebody who is truly averse to working well in a team can be a hindrance to the success of a company, that doesn't mean that every single thing they come up with to bring people together and boost morale is a good idea. It's a delicate balance.
Over the past few years, the concept of company retreats has become a lot more popular with some businesses looking to encourage their employees to bond and be better at their jobs. They have the potential to do something good, but generally speaking, it is essential for the workplace to assume the costs and organisational responsibilities related to such an enterprise.
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