Work forcing walks

[CaramelCandle]

My whole team is wfh. The manager has decided that everyone needs to walk 1000 steps a day on their lunch hour for the next month. We've been put into teams and have to record the steps and the team with the most will win a half day off. There were a few people not keen to take part but everyone has been put into a team anyway. AIBU to think this is stupid? I understand the idea is to get people away from their desk etc but it's the way it's been done so that you're letting your team down if you don't take part that I think is unfair. Surely it would be better to give people a choice without the guilt.

What if it wasn't walking? What if it was, we want you to use your lunch break to write out a short story. Or we want you to spend it knitting. And you MUST do it.

Lunch breaks are your own personal time. Not theirs.

And managers - if you think up a hare brained scheme and wring your hands at how some of your staff are refusing to be motivated by it - you are doing motivation wrong.

Let's be honest here: we are having to deal with having our work in our personal space already. An employer then trying to force exercise during unpaid lunch times is a step too far.

And that's ignoring the disability aspect of it.

Paternalist bullshit.

So the OP can find a better job with sensible colleagues when things open back up.

Because that’s so simple...

If you don't want to do it, then don't. You are an adult. You can explain or not. If you are secure In your reasons then stand by it. It is not for us to judge. It is for you ro say.

Tell him to do one. CF

@Dizzybet74

I personally think it's a nice idea. As others have said, it's hardly any steps at all and the business is probably trying to keep everyone feeling like they're still part of something by creating the teams. I'm sure quite a lot of thought has gone into it and they'll feel really quite disappointed when people start moaning.

*@Dizzybet74*

It's really not a nice idea to force people into competitive walking teams regardless of disability or wishes in the employees free time. It is sad that you don't have the empathy to put yourself in the position of someone who literally cannot complete 1000 steps finding themselves placed against their will into a competitive team.

I have a disability as a result of a life changing accident plus several medical conditions. The pain that developed during the working morning required me to put my leg up and take morphine at lunchtime - not be pressurised into participating in a tickbox challenge where mobility issues are a burden to the team.

Then there is the irony of the employer duping their workers into using more hours of their own time (unpaid lunchtime) than they get back even if they "win".

If the employer were serious there are several ways that they could go about this by giving paid exercise opportunities - I am not in the UK but my DH's employer gives one hour of paid time off per week for exercise. My former employer gave a financial contribution towards exercise (towards a gym card, swimming pool card, aquarobics, gym or yoga classes, park runs, Nordic walking groups etc etc) so that people could do whatever exercise most suited them. I was able to get a card for the disability accessible warm pool.

Bit late coming to the party with this one but I wouldn't be taking part either. I also have a hidden disability and it would leave me bed ridden if I had to walk that many steps every day. They would get a firm no from. Me. Xx

Are they paying you for this time?

I think this initiative is laughable! It is setting out to shame people who don't participate.

That said, I voted YABU because it really isn't hard to achieve 1000 steps if you wanted to just get it over with.

My work has set up a Pacer challenge which simply tracks our steps - sign-up to the challenge is optional, and you have to physically go into the app for your steps to update, then you can see where you stand next to everyone else who has joined the challenge. I think it inspires healthy competition. There are also challenges within it like photo challenges e.g. most interesting pic from your walk today, rainiest walk this month.. etc. Again, it is completely optional and NOBODY is shamed for not taking part (there are dozens of us on the team so nobody has the chance to be singled out anyway).

If i were you, and I didn't want to take part, I simply wouldn't :D

And sorry - I didn't factor in disabilities. I don't mean to sound insensitive.

@Dizzybet74

I personally think it's a nice idea. As others have said, it's hardly any steps at all and the business is probably trying to keep everyone feeling like they're still part of something by creating the teams. I'm sure quite a lot of thought has gone into it and they'll feel really quite disappointed when people start moaning.

No though has gone into this idea at all. My work had a virtual coffee morning last week, each team had an hour to just chat ( on works time not our own) we even got a care package of tea bags, instant coffee, brownies and chocolate chip cookies sent to our homes. It was nice and relaxing just chatting with coworkers about how life was for them, some introduced their pets on the chat, nobody was left out, no targets or fake cheer, it was nice. Our manager did well by us and he was very thoughtful.

Tie it to the dog and throw a ball................... or tell them you are not participating in this its your lunch break meant for eating your lunch. What next are they going to wake you up with an alarm call to do excercises.

@TheSmallAssassin

What depresses me is how many people are telling OP and others who agree with her that we should just put up and shut up and put a smile on our faces, because it's such a "nice thing" to demand. Raise your bloody bar and have more respect for yourselves!

I can only assume that those that have that mentality are managers themselves that introduce this kind of forced fun, work should become your life kind of thing and don't have the empathy to realise how it impacts upon people.

@TheSmallAssassin

What depresses me is how many people are telling OP and others who agree with her that we should just put up and shut up and put a smile on our faces, because it's such a "nice thing" to demand. Raise your bloody bar and have more respect for yourselves!

OMG, this. Some posters on this thread sound like they've well and truly drunk the managerial Kool-Aid. People, our bosses do not own us and do not have any right to tell us how to use our free time.

I do over 1000 steps just around the house in the course of a normal day easily
I do in the region of 80,000 (often more)steps a day in the course of my job, it's easy for me and it's now normal to me, but if my employers wanted me to do a single step in my lunchbreak I would complain a whole lot. I would really spell out to them, my time is my own, you do not tell me what to do in it.

@waitingforautumn

I think this initiative is laughable! It is setting out to shame people who don't participate.

That said, I voted YABU because it really isn't hard to achieve 1000 steps if you wanted to just get it over with.

My work has set up a Pacer challenge which simply tracks our steps - sign-up to the challenge is optional, and you have to physically go into the app for your steps to update, then you can see where you stand next to everyone else who has joined the challenge. I think it inspires healthy competition. There are also challenges within it like photo challenges e.g. most interesting pic from your walk today, rainiest walk this month.. etc. Again, it is completely optional and NOBODY is shamed for not taking part (there are dozens of us on the team so nobody has the chance to be singled out anyway).

If i were you, and I didn't want to take part, I simply wouldn't :D

You’re spectacularly missing the point.

I can only assume that those that have that mentality are managers themselves that introduce this kind of forced fun, work should become your life kind of thing and don't have the empathy to realise how it impacts upon people.

And that's one of the reasons someone should flag it to the union if there is one. They've totally failed to grasp how this kind of small thing (to them) will impact on their staff. The manager in question needs a quick reminder that he has to think things through properly before implementing them before he starts being given free reign over bigger things that will discriminate even more.

I’ve been talking to Dh about this thread and he reminds me of how, back in the day, it was suggested that all staff take part in paintballing, where they’d somehow have to get to the location, be put into teams, shoot at each other, etc, all on their day off. DH refused. But was nagged over and over that he ought to be taking part and in fact should be jollying people along. He still refused and pointed out all the many, many ways this idea was not acceptable before the whole idea was quietly dropped. The idea was, of course, dreamed up by some fit 20-something whose idea of “fun” this was, and who did not consider the likes of parents with small children, those recovering from surgery, a staff member who was a refugee from a war torn country, the fact that most staff were bookish types whose idea of hell this was, etc, and virtually everyone who had other things to do on their Saturday.

They should be giving you the time to do it in worktime, not expecting you to do it in your lunch break. Try and get into the spirit of it. It won't do you any harm and you might feel better for it.

@GrannyRose15

They should be giving you the time to do it in worktime, not expecting you to do it in your lunch break. Try and get into the spirit of it. It won't do you any harm and you might feel better for it.

Are you the OP's doctor? Because otherwise who are you to tell a poster with health issues that something will do her no harm?

@GrannyRose15

They should be giving you the time to do it in worktime, not expecting you to do it in your lunch break. Try and get into the spirit of it. It won't do you any harm and you might feel better for it.

Bullying, patronising bullshit. How do you know it won’t do people any harm, both physically and mentally? Or if people can even do it at all? Well, at least you say it should be done in company time. A small crumb there.

Have a wank and tell them it was the same calories burnt?

Seriously though, unpaid break? Surely your time to do as you please.

I actually think any managers attempting to enforce joint activities/wellbeing bullshit/team building bullshit should be shot at dawn.

More so if it's expected in your own time. That should warrant an actual firing squad.