Another fiasco in the making
Nov. 10th, 2009 05:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenayIn yet another example of my IT department's ability to communicate, there is controversy over the department Christmas outing. One of the managers decided that it would be a great idea to hire an entire screen at the local cinema so that we could all bring our families for a private showing of the new Christmas Carol movie. This idea was discussed at the team meeting for my team last week and we all firmly stated that this wasn't what we wanted to do and that none of us would actually be going.
Co-worker L toddled off to state our position to our manager. He apparently nodded and agreed that it might not be a good plan.
Thus, today, we received an email inviting us to the IT Christmas event...a private showing of A Christmas Carol. Signed by all the managers, including ours.
Gah.
Just to make it even better, the entire event (and the wording makes this clear) is aimed at families with children. Not exactly inclusive to those of us who have chosen not to spawn or who are not yet parents. Nor is it great for those with older children who have flown the nest.
The final nail in the coffin is that our manager's budget has been put into this, leaving nothing for an alternative event, and none of my team will be going. We'll still be doing something - probably going out for a nice lunch - but we'll be picking up the tab ourselves. Unlike last year, when our manager's budget was used to buy us a rather nice meal at a very nice restaurant one evening and we all got to be grown-ups and enjoy each other's company.
I am perfectly fine with my decision not to have children and most of the time it isn't a problem. Then there are things like this where I am made to feel like an excluded, second-class citizen because I don't have children and it makes me angry.
I do understand that we're trying to do more things as a department, rather than splitting into our little teams for everything, but that really only works when joint activities have half a chance of being enjoyable for the majority. Probably less than a quarter of the department have children under 10 and the only adult in my team that wants to see this movie has already seen it with his girlfriend. The only person in my team with kids under 10 has them in activities that are ramping up for Christmas displays so she can't pull them out for a Saturday morning (yes, Saturday morning!) event like this.
On the one hand, I'm glad that I've got a bridal shower to use as an excuse not to go (rather than having to confess my hatred for Jim Carey to my manager). OTOH, I'm pretty peeved that my team's budget will be going to support an event that none of us will actually be attending and we'll be having to fork out for our own thing instead.
Co-worker L toddled off to state our position to our manager. He apparently nodded and agreed that it might not be a good plan.
Thus, today, we received an email inviting us to the IT Christmas event...a private showing of A Christmas Carol. Signed by all the managers, including ours.
Gah.
Just to make it even better, the entire event (and the wording makes this clear) is aimed at families with children. Not exactly inclusive to those of us who have chosen not to spawn or who are not yet parents. Nor is it great for those with older children who have flown the nest.
The final nail in the coffin is that our manager's budget has been put into this, leaving nothing for an alternative event, and none of my team will be going. We'll still be doing something - probably going out for a nice lunch - but we'll be picking up the tab ourselves. Unlike last year, when our manager's budget was used to buy us a rather nice meal at a very nice restaurant one evening and we all got to be grown-ups and enjoy each other's company.
I am perfectly fine with my decision not to have children and most of the time it isn't a problem. Then there are things like this where I am made to feel like an excluded, second-class citizen because I don't have children and it makes me angry.
I do understand that we're trying to do more things as a department, rather than splitting into our little teams for everything, but that really only works when joint activities have half a chance of being enjoyable for the majority. Probably less than a quarter of the department have children under 10 and the only adult in my team that wants to see this movie has already seen it with his girlfriend. The only person in my team with kids under 10 has them in activities that are ramping up for Christmas displays so she can't pull them out for a Saturday morning (yes, Saturday morning!) event like this.
On the one hand, I'm glad that I've got a bridal shower to use as an excuse not to go (rather than having to confess my hatred for Jim Carey to my manager). OTOH, I'm pretty peeved that my team's budget will be going to support an event that none of us will actually be attending and we'll be having to fork out for our own thing instead.
