I Refused to Go on a Team-Building Trip—Now HR Got Involved

Team building trash is useless and abusive. Tell you coworkers where to stick their weak willed, sheep like conformity. If you worked with decent people, you could lead a rebellion where Noone ever turns up for one of these garbage excursions ever again. If the d bags your working won't help, let them pay for their celebration of corporate conformity. Next time they complain try to laugh hysterically when you tell them just how superior you are to them. Meanwhile, look for a better job ... their are a lot of jobs that will let you live your life after work without thos kind of abusive power play.

A better way of handling this might have been to remain silent. Surely when the email was sent regarding the trip (before changing it to a paid trip) it would have been worded that the trip was voluntary. In using 'voluntary' in the original information sent out regarding the trip, the company, would be free and clear not to be forced to pay wages as they would have, should the trip be mandatory. If she had remained silent, until and unless her employer specifically emailed her for a response, she may have faired better. Of course, if confronted, she would have to state she is unable to attend. 'Unable to attend' being key. If pressed to explain, I suggest a white lie to save face for everyone. I have a family commitment out of town that weekend. Put it in a quiet email, and the employer saves face as well...at least until their other workers realize they too may have a family commitment that weekend. Unbelievable regarding the decision to require employees to pay. To me, that would be the day I start organizing workers to attend a lunch meeting to discuss the company wide boycott of this voluntary trip and gather signatures stating employees positive feelings about the trip and their willingness to attend, should their employer pay for the trip and 8 hour salary to all in attendance for every day they are on said trip. In California, I imagine those workers would have a good lawsuit, especially after their employer put it all in writing.

Even fast food restaurants that force GMs and AGMs to go to retreats and self-congratulatory ceremonies pay for the wages and travel. Burger King does an annual 3 day of workshops and they pay for hotel rooms, though GMs usually have to double up. They do arrange so you are staying with someone you know and like from your district, or if you put up a fuss they'll get a single. Everyone hates the day trips, loves the 3 day because it's a lot of partying and meeting with people who understand the struggle of trying to keep employees happy while answering to goals made by someone whose never seen your store. In my area the 3 day is a 6 hr drive up to Marquette Michigan and a beautiful trip itself. But PAID!

Bide your time. HR just made a mild inconvenience MORE inconvenient. I bet that there were people who, like you, did not want to go but did not want to turn down a free event. This gives other attendees a reason to decline also. They are secretly happy with what you did but don't want to stand out..

Respond, if you can, by telling people that you were doing something important that weekend, like volunteering, and the company event was preventing that. Re affirm to your coworkers that you are loyal to the company. Come in early a few times when you can, be extra helpful to others.

Then bring in donuts or something cooler like breakfast tacos for your group / everyone to 'apologize'.

You did nothing wrong. In fact you helped your team. The company were asking for free work, but nor did they do anything wrong. You just need to polish up your image to come out ahead as the good guy/girl and a thought leader.

Pretty soon people will start to mutter about loyalty tests. This isn't a volunteer org. You're loyalty is to do what just you are paid to do.

Nope, work function - at the very least, provide compensatory time off for the time spent at the WORK function. Or, as the poster states here, you won't see me at a single one. They just forced us to RTO, so if you want anything from me it better be while I'm on the clock. Don't even call me after hours unless nuclear weapons are actively in the air, and even then you'd better think about it three times first.