I’ve ended up in a WhatsApp group of consisting of 4 women. We used to work together and 2 of us have since moved on to other workplaces. We had an fab night out when I left, invited the whole staff body, those who wanted to/ were available came great time had by all (about a year ago). Couple of meals out locally. Lovely. Flash forward to second member leaving and the set up was very different, select people were invited, all very cloak and dagger, excluded people from work but invited ex colleagues. All felt strange.
Anyway, since this second leaving do the group has become a pressure cooker of availability, ‘getting something in the diary’ and booking, booking, booking. But all the suggestions are piss ups, big nights out.
I hate it.
I hate bottomless brunches, big piss ups and nights out. I can’t understand why we can’t just go out for food or a coffee, but when I suggest this I’m ignored. I even got told that one of them ‘tends to avoid those sorts of places’ when suggesting we meet at a restaurant close by.
I’m actually wondering how I get out of this group before this one’s over and the next round of pressure builds. Honestly it’s worse than the peer pressure I faced as a teen! I’ve tried to dip out and say you guys go, I’ll come next time but there’s an all or nothing policy that’s developed and adds to the pressure. I don’t think I even have much in common with these women any more and may be it was the workplace (absolutely toxic) that held us together for a couple of years (no more than 18 months).
How do I leave this group?! Help!