When it comes to attending the boss’s annual Labor Day cookout, one Redditor claims they’ve had enough.
In a recent post on the “AITA” subreddit, which stands for “Am I the A——,” a social media user going by the username MahiMahiTacos said that every year, their boss invites management to attend a party at his “very nice beach house on Lake Michigan.”
“It’s a nice gesture, but it’s also about an hour away from our work and home (on a normal day) and more like 2 hours with Labor Day weekend traffic,” wrote the Redditor. “Worst of all, it’s smack in the middle of a long weekend, and I truly value my family time (I have 3 kids under age 10).”
They went on to say that while spouses are allowed to attend, kids aren’t — and “it’s even more of an imposition to find childcare.”
“I feel somewhat obligated to attend,” the Redditor added, before noting that this isn’t the only example of the boss being “pretty insensitive about throwing get togethers near holiday schedules.”
“Case in point, last year he had a party on the day before Thanksgiving, and routinely invites people to Christmas Eve at his house (I actually showed up my first year with the company),” they wrote. “I think it’s because he genuinely likes hosting parties and doesn’t have a family or kids of his own.”
However, the Redditor said that they’d “rather be with my own family instead.”
“Even if I do something lame like trimming the bushes or yard work, I’d enjoy it more than this cookout,” the employee wrote.
Another strike against the festivities? The other guests.
“The crowd at the parties/cookout is usually a bunch of my boss’ wealthy friends from his gated community,” they wrote. “I find most of these people to be annoying/insufferable with a few exceptions.”
“Maybe I should suck it up and take one for the team like I always do, but at some point I’m starting to realize life is too short to waste on stupid stuff I don’t enjoy,” the Redditor continued, before asking the ever-important question, “AITA?”
The post sparked a discussion, with several commenters saying that while there were advantages to attending, not going wasn’t the end of the world.
“I’d say it’s a great way to make opportunities in the company or in your career in general, but you’re not an a—— for declining an invitation, it makes sense to wanna be with your family,” one reply read. “I doubt your boss would be upset, he would probably get it.”
Another added, “An invite is not a court summons, especially if it excludes your kids.”
Meanwhile a third commenter assured the Redditor that they weren’t in the wrong, but that they also didn’t want to known around the office as the person “who skips everything.”
“That kinda closes doors for you,” the commenter wrote. “Sometimes you’ve to suck it up and plan. Go for minor things like labor day and skip the Xmas stuff I guess.”
