In my old team we would go out for a meal a few times a year during lunch. That was quite nice and wasn't too much and probably as social as I would want really. Now I've moved teams and am completely antisocial and work from home or off to different sites. There's about 25 people in my new team, I only know about 3 names, should get round to learning there names at some point.
How social is your workplace
- Thread starter Bassmansam
- Start date
When I've worked for small companies this has been the norm. When I worked for HP I wasn't Rilot and there were no social activities. I was N1006081 (the fact that I can still remember my employee number after 10 years shows how much I needed to use it).
I'm an extremely sociable person at both work and home but I have very clear "Work/Life" boundaries which I don't cross without a very good reason - i.e. a formal work function after hours (xmas party etc) I'll attend but an informal "manager has weekend BBQ" I'll say no to - which may/may not have hindered progression in the past (no idea if it actually has) but I've previously found being "mates" with your boss can be a double edged sword.
90+ people here in my department. Regular "beer calls" and social events. BBQ's. Team building events. Formal dinners. Xmas and summer balls. Development type trips that usually involve drinking. It's the best way to get to know your guys and form a better functioning team. Forces life yo.
Soldato
- Joined
- 1 Dec 2003
- Posts
- 3,527
there are outings her on a saturday sometimes but i would not go as that is my time
i wouldn't mind a friday afternoon after work
i wouldn't mind a friday afternoon after work
- Joined
- 22 Nov 2007
- Posts
- 4,360
* bump*
My manager came up to me today and asked of i was going to this event on sunday in front of other members of staff. I said “ sorry we (gf)cant make it”. I found it really awkward how she asked in front of other people and it make me feel very uncomfortable, is this normal management behaviour?
Maybe I'm just weird but I'm not really comfortable introducing my gf to 10ish people at once , some i rarely talk to.
I’m not totally unsociable, we go to the pub after a work at least once a month or so.
My manager came up to me today and asked of i was going to this event on sunday in front of other members of staff. I said “ sorry we (gf)cant make it”. I found it really awkward how she asked in front of other people and it make me feel very uncomfortable, is this normal management behaviour?
Maybe I'm just weird but I'm not really comfortable introducing my gf to 10ish people at once , some i rarely talk to.
I’m not totally unsociable, we go to the pub after a work at least once a month or so.
Last edited:
Yeah you're weird 
but then I guess it varies industry to industry.
I work in live events and 50% of the job involves socialising with clients, crew and colleagues in an informal environment in some form or another. We're also quite a small team overall (around 40 of us) but we try to have a work social every few months just to let off some steam and reset.
but then I guess it varies industry to industry. I work in live events and 50% of the job involves socialising with clients, crew and colleagues in an informal environment in some form or another. We're also quite a small team overall (around 40 of us) but we try to have a work social every few months just to let off some steam and reset.
- Joined
- 22 Nov 2007
- Posts
- 4,360
Asking if you're attending is a pretty normal thing to do so she could judge for food. Hardly awkward if you all work together
An email would have been better.
Probably needed a response pretty quickly to finalise numbers though and people don't always respond quickly. I don't really see an issue with it.
As for the ops question. My old place was based in Manchester city centre and so it was a lot more social, meals out for peoples birthdays/leaving do's etc. Where i work now it's an annual Christmas do and that's about the extent of out of work socialising. Maybe some meals out if there are visitors to our office but not often.
As for the ops question. My old place was based in Manchester city centre and so it was a lot more social, meals out for peoples birthdays/leaving do's etc. Where i work now it's an annual Christmas do and that's about the extent of out of work socialising. Maybe some meals out if there are visitors to our office but not often.
We have a number of social events at our work, for various business celebrations etc. So drinks/food after work is fairly common. I'm not sure i'd bother with a BBQ at my bosses house on a sunday if i lived an hour away. If i was upto 20 mins away, then i'd probably consider popping by if there were a good number of colleagues attending.
My old job working in London was very social, there was a group of around 7 of us that would be out a couple of nights a week, and then there was another 15 or so that would randomly turn up as and when. Despite having moved on 3 years ago I'm still regularly in touch with a lot of the folks from the old office.
My current place is the polar opposite, we've probably had less than 10 nights out in the 3 years I've been here. The thing I miss most about my old role is the social aspect of it.
My current place is the polar opposite, we've probably had less than 10 nights out in the 3 years I've been here. The thing I miss most about my old role is the social aspect of it.
Caporegime
- Joined
- 21 Jun 2006
- Posts
- 38,367
That isn't normal at all. First of all it's the weekend and second of all it's not easy for everyone to get to.
Had she said after work on a weekday since she's only 5 mins from work I'd say that would have been okay if people didn't want to go to a pub / restaurant since it's easy to get to after work. That way you can bring your own drink and food will be buttons so maybe chip in a fiver each compared to £20+ at a restaurant. So it would have been a cheap night out.
Doing it on a Sunday which is a school night is very weird. Unless she is planning on "Harvey Weinstein"ing someone which is likely the case as inviting everyone at a work meeting to my home would be something only a loony would do. Especially since I hate a small number of people in my large team.
Yup, you might well be weird.
My work isn't sociable at the moment, for a few different reasons (I work about 650m away from the 'office'). So rarely see anyone whom I work with.
The site I work on, I'm part of a small team. One other works outside of the country and travels in every day, another has a new born so can't get out. We've done one social event (meal - self funded), which was fine.
Previous places of work have been a mix of super social and not very social. Last job I worked from home, didn't see anyone ever. One before that I worked on a team for 7 years, where we'd go out a lot, drink a lot, go to quizzes, etc etc. Still see a lot of them guys to this day.
I prefer the sociable work places, working and getting on with colleagues well, makes the day go quicker imo.
Caporegime
- Joined
- 21 Jun 2006
- Posts
- 38,367
socialising with work colleagues in work is very different to socialising with them outside of work.
with spiralling costs a lot of people can't afford to blow £100-£200 on a staff day/night out every month.
i know in my team there are some people who go out a lot. one of them lives at home. the other had mortgage paid off long ago. another has a well paid partner on at least double the average.
then on the other side of the spectrum you have those that grumble about spending a fiver on a pint and live in rented accomodation. yet he will easily spend £15 to go out for a day playing golf with people in work. lots of people have different circumstances and things they enjoy spending their money on.