this post was submitted on 10 Jan 2024
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[–] BradleyUffner@lemmy.world 168 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (9 children)

My workplace recently started doing a "Path to the Weekend" initiative. This is a mandatory meeting held at 5pm on a Friday for an hour about every month, where we have to have extroverted style discussions such as "tell us about 2 new things you accomplished in your personal life since the last meeting.".

It's hell.

[–] mkhopper@lemmy.world 61 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Time to start seeing just how "mandatory" they're talking.

That or I would just have one stock answer every week. "I like to keep my personal life out of your fucking meetings."

[–] Maalus@lemmy.world 36 points 11 months ago (6 children)

And then you get branded "the combative one" and get laid off first when they consider layoffs

[–] AbsoluteChicagoDog@lemm.ee 22 points 11 months ago

This is why office workers need unions too

[–] illi@lemm.ee 13 points 11 months ago

If I had to endure that every month, I'd be already looking around anyway.

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[–] MethodicalSpark@lemmy.world 38 points 11 months ago (7 children)

The director of my department just announced a new initiative starting this year for something similar.

Once a month, we now have a two hour meeting where we need to prep and present a five slide PowerPoint to our peers. The slides are focused on project status, work accomplishments, personal development, a life update, and mandatory feedback given to one of our peers in front of the group.

So not only am I forced to share details of my private life to a bunch of people that I hate in a fucking PowerPoint, I have to single someone out with one thing they’re doing well and one thing they can improve.

[–] gramie@lemmy.ca 19 points 11 months ago

Is there any explicit requirement that this presentation contain truth?

[–] GoofSchmoofer@lemmy.world 15 points 11 months ago

If you do this right you could build up an amazing false personal life.

Whoa that is so not ok

[–] Honytawk@lemmy.zip 11 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Single out the director and tell them they can improve by scrapping the meeting. Do this every month until they listen.

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[–] Zoidsberg@lemmy.ca 36 points 11 months ago

Y'all need unions lol

[–] mriormro@lemmy.world 35 points 11 months ago

"I managed to continue taking my antidepressants and I didn't kill myself despite my suicidal ideations since the last meeting!

I hope those are good enough accomplishments. "

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 20 points 11 months ago (1 children)

That sounds awful. My job thankfully knows I’m a privacy nut and they respect that. They don’t need to know what I do in my me time and when they think they do I explain the concept of linux so I don’t have to explain the concept of being heavily involved in my local bdsm community.

[–] owenfromcanada@lemmy.world 10 points 11 months ago (1 children)

You should totally explain the concept of being heavily involved in your local bdsm community. I bet it's the last time they ask for anything.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 9 points 11 months ago

I’m not entirely sure. If we had an HR department I think they’d have a lot of questions. That and men already ask me out at work too much, I can’t imagine how much worse it would get.

[–] spirinolas@lemmy.world 20 points 11 months ago

"My personal life is personal."

[–] Bakkoda@sh.itjust.works 13 points 11 months ago

.... What the fuck?

[–] cybersandwich@lemmy.world 11 points 11 months ago

Tone deaf AF

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[–] TheAgeOfSuperboredom@lemmy.ca 124 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Beatings will continue until morale improves

[–] ryan213@lemmy.ca 59 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Here, have a slice of pizza.

[–] thefartographer@lemm.ee 49 points 11 months ago (1 children)

My boss bought me pizza once! It wasn't as good as the pizzas I used to buy myself, but who can afford non-work-pizza anymore?

I think work-pizza is making my teeth hurt, but my ex-dentist is all like "tell your job to pay me."

Hey, do any of y'all wake up crying, too? My boss says it's allergies in my home; my boss is so nice, they'll even let me stay at work extra-long so I don't have to deal with my home-allergies and they only need me to do extra work without telling anyone in exchange!

Anyway, I don't love work-pizza, but it's better than waking up crying!

Whoops! Another tooth fell out... I bet the new ones are gonna look beautiful when they grow back in like my boss said they will.

[–] troyunrau@lemmy.ca 21 points 11 months ago (1 children)

The writers for Outer Worlds are here folks ;)

[–] thefartographer@lemm.ee 19 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Oh wow! You think my writing is good enough that people might think I'm semi-literate??? Of all the replies I've ever received, this is definitely one of them, and I'll likely sometimes remember it!

[–] OneOrTheOtherDontAskMe@lemmy.world 8 points 11 months ago

One doesn't professionally chart flatulence without gaining some literacy

[–] wabafee@lemmy.world 12 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Oh by the way this is deducted from your salary. Enjoy!

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[–] Sabata11792@kbin.social 84 points 11 months ago (6 children)

either because they hadn’t been offered them or because they didn’t take their company up on the offer

Are they talking about the "Get fired for depression" button on the company website that no one presses because entering in all your personal info is the oppsite of anonymous?

[–] ASaltPepper@lemmy.one 19 points 11 months ago

Worst misclick of your life hitting this thing.

[–] nxdefiant@startrek.website 15 points 11 months ago

Also: This survey is completely anonymous, please don't share this unique link though.

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[–] Boozilla@lemmy.world 67 points 11 months ago (1 children)

In my experience these things are always a box-checking exercise to justify some useless person's job. As others are pointing out, participation can backfire because now the bosses know you have personal problems. (Everyone has personal problems, but formal admission will be punished in our toxic work-always-comes-first culture.)

It's a shame, because such programs administered in good faith could truly help people. But helping workers is never the real objective. It's only for the optics. "Look, we did a thing to address this".

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 9 points 11 months ago (3 children)

Ok but also just like pay for me to have therapy and/or let me go spend time with people I actually like. I don’t really want wellness initiatives, I’d take more care of myself if I had more time to

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[–] magnetosphere@kbin.social 63 points 11 months ago (2 children)

I like (most of) the people I work with, and my boss is pleasant, sane, and reasonable. That does more than any bullshit “well-being initiative” ever could.

[–] teejay@lemmy.world 20 points 11 months ago (1 children)

They know. But that sort of work environment takes planning, good leadership, and broader company values than just short-term profit. So it's far easier and cheaper to throw you the occasional pizza party, company T-shirt, and 10% off mental health services.

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[–] b000urns@lemmy.world 56 points 11 months ago

Its almost as though our horrible corporate culture and financial insecurity can't be solved by cynically implementing said programs 🤷‍♂️

[–] Son_of_dad@lemmy.world 48 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Raise our wages and our bills will be paid, and our mental health will get better

[–] superduperenigma@lemmy.world 38 points 11 months ago

Also stop forcing people to commute into the office. We were happier at home.

[–] eran_morad@lemmy.world 32 points 11 months ago (3 children)

Yeah bruh, why the fuck would i want to engage with work in any way beyond the engagement that i tolerate because they bribe me?

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[–] aniki@lemm.ee 26 points 11 months ago

This is why work-from-home is superior. No one ever sends me follow-up on why I didn't do $dumb_corporate_shit this week.

[–] Sarmyth@lemmy.world 16 points 11 months ago (2 children)

I dunno, I get $25 every quarter for wearing the same pedometer I did before I worked there. 4 extra wellness days each year, which are basically extra paid holidays that you don't have family obligations tied to. Learning budgets to get me certifications on their dime. Month long paid sebatical after 3 years every 3 years.

Some wellness programs are alright. If the company actually means it.

[–] Pickle_Jr@lemmy.dbzer0.com 17 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

If the company actually means it

There's the key phrase. I've worked at 5 different places during my professional career. Not once has any "wellness seminar," "wellness week," or wellness-what-have-you has been as fruitful as you're describing.

I've never gotten a wellness day nor a bonus for wearing a pedometer or being active in any manner. At absolute best, in all the places I've worked, I went to an optional meeting that had an interesting breathing exercise. But the rest of the meeting was dumb fluff like "don't work more than 40 hours," "tell your lead that you are over stressed," "don't spend money on stuff you can't afford."

Absolute worst case scenario so far, a week of mandatory 1 hour meetings each day required from HR. Every day was repeating the same garbage as above and could've just been an email. Also, even though HR requires the meetings, your manager still requires 40hrs of "project effort." Meaning required overtime. I did not stay long at this job.

Something like what you are describing would be a breath of fresh air.

[–] owenfromcanada@lemmy.world 10 points 11 months ago

We had a wellness seminar at one point, mandatory. There was an excercise where we stood in a circle and threw a ball around. During cold and flu season. Some of us expressed concern, and were ignored. Entire group got sick and took a bunch of sick days. How's that for wellness?

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[–] GuyDudeman@lemmy.world 14 points 11 months ago (8 children)

Here’s a solution: Nationalize all major industries.

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[–] leaky_shower_thought@feddit.nl 14 points 11 months ago (2 children)

free subscription to some meditation app?

employee mental health well-being is secured!

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[–] guyrocket@kbin.social 10 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Next I want to see a study of these annoying wellness progroms that take basic health info and then shove healthy behavior down your throat.

It took me a while to figure it out but I ignore all that crap now.

What I do think would actually be helpful is assistance buying health club memberships or exercise equipment. A bike helps me be healthier. Nagging does not.

[–] HWK_290@lemmy.world 16 points 11 months ago

Or, better yet, take your health information then lose it all in a security breach you won't hear about until years later (hi Anthem!)

All for a measly $25 credit for health expenses that you have up jump through 8 hoops to actually get

[–] JustZ@lemmy.world 10 points 11 months ago (5 children)

I think we will see companies increasingly focus their hiring based on emotional intelligence and mental health.

Emotional intelligence is a four fold better predictor of academic and financial success, family stability.

I used to think being smart was enough if you're looking for a good worker.

I realize now there are plenty of smart people who failed to launch and are perpetually bouncing from job to job every few years, not usually on their own accord.

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[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 10 points 11 months ago

Aaahhhh nothing like a bozo mid level manager Karen deciding that we'd all be so much happier if we'd do these stupid ass corporate retreats where we all have to do mind numbingly stupid games like blindfold a group, hold eachother, and they all blindly have to follow the leader. I'd lead the entire group into a swirling river and teach the fuckers the real lesson.

Sorry, but this shit pisses me off.

Here we have mid level manager karen2 deciding she is a psychologist because she watched a YouTube video about sharing so now we're going to obligatory share about our personal lives every Monday morning to increase productivity!

I'm not going "kill me now" but I might be tempted to "kill you now" with that nonsense.

I helped organize Friday afternoon parties at one of the last companies I worked at and we made fucking sure it was just a nice get together. We got beers, snacks, drinks, good music and you could come and stay or not, whatever, it was just a nice activity focussed on just actually honestly being nice, and THAT actually improved bonds between people, started friendships, improved office ambiance... It got me my wife!

[–] LoamImprovement@ttrpg.network 9 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

It's the thing that bothers me about the obligatory 1-on-1s we do every month with our supervisors, asking "On a scale from 1 to 10, what's your stress level? Are you dealing with any personal issues?" And the one time I pipe up and say, "Yeah, they raised my rent $300 and it's putting strain on my budget." The response was "Do you know anyone who could move in or that you could move in with to alleviate that?" I haven't gotten a raise in two years. Fuck this shit. Don't act like you care.

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