Can my employer compel me to attend a barbecue?

A fairly recent change of leadership at my place of work has instituted a more assertive management style along with workforce reduction measures and endless internal marketing which trumpets the efforts of the on-message clique to relentlessly pursue excellence in all they do.

All staff are now told that they must attend a barbecue which seems like a fairly cynical attempt at forced jollification to me. To be honest I'd rather make my own arrangements for lunch and work through as normal. It's not as if there's nothing to do.

My contract contains the usual, for my industry, "and any other duties as may be deemed necessary from time time" clause so the answer is probably "yes", but it really grates under the current circumstances to be told where and what I have to eat for lunch.

Are you paid for your lunch break? If so yes. If not then no.

I'd sack you for being a miserable ****.

do you want to be seen as the guy how doesn't interact with others i.e. a party pooper?

I wouldn't think they can compel you by quoting your contract, but depending on the setup in your company you might make things difficult for yourself if you don't I suppose.

Is it free?

Always the decider for me.

Tell 'em you're vegan.

I'd sack you for being a miserable ****.

😀

Is this a one off event or every lunch?

If it's a one off, jut go you pr1ck! Why make life hard for yourself?
If it's every lunch… start looking for another job, as you're not right for the new culture.

@TJ – salaried so "yes" as I suspected.

Thanks Barry 🙁

I've been to these events in the past and enjoyed them, helped out with the cooking as well and tidied up after.

I do tend to find "works dos" of this sort a bit odd. I'm not the most gregarious person, but I don't think any of my colleagues would think me a party pooper. At the moment it feels like another demonstration of "because we can" management.

Something in the Guardian a while ago about how a good proportion of meetings are called simply as a power exercise – "look how many people's time I can waste". This feels like one.

@ Southern Yeti

Who the hell are you?

Be eternally grateful to have a job, and to get free food,when you dont have a job only the kids get free food.

Salaried or not you will still have hours of work. Your contract should state a normal weekly hours and from your normal daily hours you can work out if your lunch time is in paid for time.

Its almost certainly not paid for time I bet.

Just go play along why stick your head above the parapet just to get shot at when all you have to do is eat free food instead?

No such thing as a free lunch they say 😉

I'm certain I'll go and enjoy the company of a few of my colleagues.

Just felt the need to vent a bit.

Thanks

A forum user?

Pr1ck was meant in the nicest possible sense, but it's what I would think if someone who worked for me started quoting their contract to try and get out of a bit of team building.

Join a union and tell them you're not going.

Your career will go ace.

@ project – point taken.

Fun with sauce:

And if they are forcing you to attend a barbeque, they have no idea how to manage people.
I suspect your working life will get an awful lot worse very quickly, usually does with idiots like that in charge.

On the other hand, free food, yay!

I was going to say you ought to join a union, and quick, but with your attitude you could probably start one.

They did this at my work, started compulsory "team lunches". So I go to them, and then I get back to the office and I take my lunch break. So far so good

@ Southern Yeti – I've no objection to team building. But if that's what it is I expect to know a bit more about it than "we are having a barbecue and you've all got to go". Maybe it's more of a communication thing. It does have the sense of an "offer we can't refuse".

PS – That "nicest possible sense" doesn't come across very well in type.

@ cynic-al – I am in a union and my career is going fine. If not this particular job right now.

My attitude to my work has taken something of a dive over the past couple of years. It's sometimes an effort to stay cheerful and productive.

I used to be ambitious and creative. I was energetic, enthusiastic and loyal. Used to ask new colleagues if they were "in for the long haul" as I thought my employer was worth commitment. I would put in lots of out of hours work and enjoy what I was doing. I'm a pretty cheerful person by nature.

Now it's difficult not to feel cynical and it feels completely against my grain to be so. TBH it's making me rather unhappy.

I have begun to get some work in outdoor and environmental education and the days I do this I'm a different person.

I guess the answer is staring me in the face.

attend but then sue them for food poisoning?

Free food? I'll go.

I guess the answer is staring me in the face.

Doesn't seem like you need anymore of my kind words then! Once the rot sets in you have to move, don't ever let work get you down.

Thanks Yeti.

For your unconventional approach to life coaching!

PS – Never, ever wanted to have to start quoting my contract at work but there's a lot of micro-management happening. Seems that the letter of the law is being applied over the spirit of the law and it feels like I have to fight fire with fire. Hate it.

Thanks TJ for the official line.

In my industry normal hours are something of an abstract concept.

Thanks junkyard and project for the sense of perspective.

I do tend to find "works dos" of this sort a bit odd. I'm not the most gregarious person, but I don't think any of my colleagues would think me a party pooper. At the moment it feels like another demonstration of "because we can" management.

Seems like you're finding reasons to find it a problem. Just go and enjoy being with people you work with. Maybe the management ARE doing it because they can etc, but what are you going to do – be a miserable git and not enjoy things, or just go along and at least be seen as one of the team?

grittyshaker,tell you what, i will come and eat your BBQ, and worry if i will get paid etc, and if i should or should not go,and all the office politics that accompany it..

While you sit here, waiting for the phone to ring, when it does you go out and look at some menial job,offering to do it for a price,getting negotiated down, then if youre lucky you do the job,and hopefully get paid and a cup of tea,you have no idea when the next job is coming in,so you log onto a forum and just read about people in jobs being totally disaffected with the job, or theyve lost their job due to cutbacks, or because they failed to meet the grade.

THing is people are trapped into a job,due to the debt they have built up,and been able to just about pay off doing the job,that they then moan about.

One day that job is not there, and then what…………………

Oh and nothing is meant as personal against your good self,its just my opinion.

project…You should take a job in the public sector, You'd love it.

The public sector will fail to exist in the next few years,all privatised and sold off.

i work in IT. when i started off i was only interested in getting the job done and a bit of techy stuff maybe. i couldn't stand all those smarmy project managers at work does looking smug.
I have chilledout a bit now and quite enjoy meeting people at work events.
here's the point-
when you look for a new job, if you haven't built up any contacts, you are starting from scratch each time. i reckon that most jobs are filled from contacts and if you don't have any cos you don't want to talk to anyone, it's going to get harder and harder to get a job later. your cv will be just one in a pile.

you will probably be looking for a more and more specialised role and it's not going to get any easier.

id' go to the barbie, down a couple of pints and have a burger or 2…there might even be a couple of ladies you can talk to or even another cynic you can spend the time saying how lame work dos are….

Just remember, you may love your job, but your job doesn't love you.

You can change your life by simply walking out the door.

Kind words and kicks up the arse. I think that's what I came here for!

Thanks all and best wishes to anyone struggling with work (in it or out of it). Or, indeed, debt.

I'll try to be less of a miserable git and continue to build the outdoor/environmental education work.

I'm sure the BBQ'll be OK. Might even enjoy it.

BTW – got my outdoor work off my own bat through developing contacts so that's not a problem. Always found "just chatting" difficult though.

Thanks turnip…., coffeeking & epicyclo for wise words.

Get p155ed and trash it. Then watch your career go down a plughole.

Seriously, it's not unreasonable to be expected to organise a team building event. Do a good job of it.

When it is ?? You need to learn to sing the company song, so that you are well prepared.

I agree these kind of things do blow, but if there is going to be a shortage of jobs around the corner best just get on with it.

To make it bearable try and get one of your colleagues drunk enough to do something really stupid and embarrassing, which is double impact as it keeps people entertained and one less person ahead of you in the keeping your job queue.

OK so you sit in an office and then have to spend an hour in walking distance getting free food in the company of people you would be sat next to eating your lunch anyway- what's the problem?

Look no-one like's being pushed around but let's have a bit of perspective please.

Five years ago I started a job in November and suddenly was issued with a three line whip that I had to get from Nottingham (my office) to Oxford (head office) for the "Christmas party" with no notice and no excuses – "well we've all got families, we've just got the good sense to work at head office in Oxford where we all happen to live".

The party was two hours of speaches with some cold sausage rolls and a p155ed admin telling me I looked like a tw4t. The MDs opening speach began with a positive alnology between his buisness model and Hitlers.

I belive the phrase is, That's life.

I'd just go. I'd hate it but it's a career thing innit.

Just to provide a term of reference. I was working for ASDA when they got bought by Walmart (I actually worked for IBM but we were treated as ASDA employees).
They sent some go-getter American managers over who dramatically changed the working style. They would get in really early and note what time people got in and what time they left on a clipboard no less! They would take people to one side and ask them if something was wrong if they had the audacity to go out of the building at dinner time (I would go down the swimming pool every day for a quick mile), they would encourage people to grass on each other which developed this appalling atmosphere and worst of all, they organised group meetings every week on Friday dinner time.

Attendance was mandatory (no-one dared not attend to find out what the punishment was), and after a series of rousing speeches, we were expected to engage in team bonding which included (and this is making me gag just thinking about it again), group hugs.

Now obviously this wouldn't be so bad if I worked in the marketing or bid team where all the dollybirds were, but I didn't. I worked in the IT team. Unix, security and storage guys.

Just go to the BBQ.

The easy option to all these issues is to buy a dog or two. Then you have the perfect opportunity to avoid all socialising at lunch time that does not involve going home and walking the dogs.

Of course, there are some small issues with this, namely that you have to live near work, want dogs and genuinely walk them at lunchtime, but that is but a small set of shortfalls. I do that and even manage to cycle to and from home to do it… Because I am awesome (and live 4 miles from work).

On a really more serious note… If you are feeling disenchanted with work, then you need to do something that will get your mojo back. It's tough to stick out a job that you don't love and every minute of the day will drag on. I know, I've been there and done it. Whether you get your mojo back by moving roles within the company, or moving companies, or even doing something else outside work (as I think you said) is irrelevent. You need to get it back.

As for the BBQ, just go, steal the food and then eat it all at your desk later. Don't get a rep as a square peg, it's just not worth it.