Hmm... forced socialising is a tricky one. It happened a few times where I used to work. On one occasion I was forced to go to a social which I was pretty unhappy about. When I got there it was OK, and although I wasn't bouncing around the restaurant with joy I didn't complain or look down or anything. Afterwards I was 'properly' told off for not enjoying it!
In principle I don't think employers should expect employees to do anything out of official work hours. In practice of course it doesn't work like that.
Some small flexibility is probably a reasonable expectation, but it seems quite wrong to be told off for not doing so.
BTW this is the kind of thing that leads me to lock work related posts... you don't want some MathWorker to google you and find you grumbling (especially if you say anything more).
Afterwards I was 'properly' told off for not enjoying it! Aargh, that's so rubbish!
In principle I don't think employers should expect employees to do anything out of official work hours. In practice of course it doesn't work like that. MathWorks are generally pretty good about that. There are a number of work curries etc during the year, most of which I can't go to because my social life is so absurdly busy anyway. They don't tell me off for missing them. Things are a little different on a conference.
BTW this is the kind of thing that leads me to lock work related posts... you don't want some MathWorker to google you and find you grumbling (especially if you say anything more). I can see the point, but I try to take into account that my journal's public. I don't think I've written anything above that I wouldn't want others to know I'd written (even my manager).
Argh! Compulsory socialising sucks. Especially when you're abroad and not on your normal time zone. And especially when you're trying to write a novel. It would be bad enough if there was a specific event you were supposed to go to, but to expect you to hang around the booth on spec in case something happens?! Wah.
Is it worth asking your boss to spell out what's required of you while you're here? Because it sounds like you got told off for not doing something you didn't know you were supposed to do.
On a more positive note, the sproingy rocket sounds very cool :)
Hope you have a fun social, and a relaxing and productive time afterwards.
I lost the sproingy rocket!! :(:( I fired it straight up into the sky, and it flew so high that it got stuck in the giant warehouse's rafters! ...So I returned to the NASA booth and talked to them some more and got another one :) And then another MathWorker who'd seen me playing with it went off to get about six, for his kid and for other MathWorkers who wanted them. So now I have two :):)
The social was actually very fun and relaxing. I didn't get any words written, but I got a plot framework figured out that I can now be placing plot events into. I want to write 2612 words between today and tomorrow, which will take me to 10k over the course of SC07.
Comments 6
Hope the laptop isn't too harmed... Is it one where the CD drive is removable or is it integral to the laptop?
Reply
Must find a way to include unexpected squid in tonight's socialising.
The CD drive doesn't look very removable :/ But its mechanism for holding itself closed was broken, so it kept swinging out at undesired times.
Reply
In principle I don't think employers should expect employees to do anything out of official work hours. In practice of course it doesn't work like that.
Some small flexibility is probably a reasonable expectation, but it seems quite wrong to be told off for not doing so.
BTW this is the kind of thing that leads me to lock work related posts... you don't want some MathWorker to google you and find you grumbling (especially if you say anything more).
Reply
Aargh, that's so rubbish!
In principle I don't think employers should expect employees to do anything out of official work hours. In practice of course it doesn't work like that.
MathWorks are generally pretty good about that. There are a number of work curries etc during the year, most of which I can't go to because my social life is so absurdly busy anyway. They don't tell me off for missing them. Things are a little different on a conference.
BTW this is the kind of thing that leads me to lock work related posts... you don't want some MathWorker to google you and find you grumbling (especially if you say anything more).
I can see the point, but I try to take into account that my journal's public. I don't think I've written anything above that I wouldn't want others to know I'd written (even my manager).
Reply
Is it worth asking your boss to spell out what's required of you while you're here? Because it sounds like you got told off for not doing something you didn't know you were supposed to do.
On a more positive note, the sproingy rocket sounds very cool :)
Hope you have a fun social, and a relaxing and productive time afterwards.
Reply
I lost the sproingy rocket!! :(:( I fired it straight up into the sky, and it flew so high that it got stuck in the giant warehouse's rafters!
...So I returned to the NASA booth and talked to them some more and got another one :) And then another MathWorker who'd seen me playing with it went off to get about six, for his kid and for other MathWorkers who wanted them. So now I have two :):)
The social was actually very fun and relaxing. I didn't get any words written, but I got a plot framework figured out that I can now be placing plot events into. I want to write 2612 words between today and tomorrow, which will take me to 10k over the course of SC07.
Reply
Leave a comment