Work Well-being

[Conniebygaslight]

Every year my employer has a well-being day for staff. It's a paid day so everyone has to engage or if not they have to go into work. Unpaid is not an option. We are given choices of many activities to do with colleagues which people organise and we have to self fund them. They range in cost and some are obviously free.-Spa days or theatre visits, hiking, trips to the beach etc. However we are not allowed to just do our own thing. We also have to prove that we are actually at the activity we have chosen to do, (registers are taken)
This differs greatly to friends who employers let them decide what they want to do on such days.
AIBU to not want to spend my well-being day with my work colleagues doing activities when I'd rather spend precious time with my toddler and grandma for example or having lunch with a friend etc.

I don’t remotely think they’re bastards for that. I just think it’s naive to think it’s anything other than a corporate activity which is part of everyone’s job.

I'm with you on this one, OP.

It's nice of them to put on activities like this, and there's no harm in it, but they should call it a team building day, not a wellbeing day.

I despise organised work fun. It really genuinely takes a lot more effort than if they just made it a normal day in the office.

As long as there is an option to just go to work as normal I think this is fine and YABU. If you are forced to choose an activity then YANBU.

But they're dressing it up as 'wellbeing' when it's actually team building.

Spending a day at a team activity is not a 'wellbeing' day - not for OP at least - and probably not for a lot of others who aren't a certain personality type.

This is an opportunity to spend time with the team - which is a good thing in itself - but they should be calling it that and not dressing it up as if it's meant to benefit employee mental health.

You're not unreasonable for wishing you had the option to choose. You'd be unreasonable if you thought you were entitled to. Your employers have rightly or wrongly decided that these activities are worth sacrificing a day's work for, but that's different from them deciding that giving you an extra day off to spend with your family is worth the loss. Which is up to them. I suppose if enough people agreed with you and they were genuinely interested in wellbeing rather than team building/bonding you might be able to get together and ask them to change it.

If I was the employer, and everyone came to me saying that they didn't see the value / weren't interested in the day on offer I would just cancel it. People can be so ungrateful.

You have annual leave, this is something different.

She said it was self funding

It depends if I genuinely cared about their wellbeing rather than wanting to either tick a box or do some team building under a different name. I manage a team that work in a stressful often distressing environment. I care about their wellbeing for them, but also because our work relies on them remaining robust enough to do it. When I have the wherewithal to do something to help their wellbeing, I consult with them and listen to what they tell me will actually help, rather than impose upon them my own idea of what would help them. The OP may have an employer with a similar outlook.

YABU. It's not like a well being day is a standard entitlement that your employer is being irritating about. This is something they've decided to do - and you can choose to work if you don't want to. It's no different to if they decided they wanted to do a team building day, or for you to go to a conference, or to run a training day (except these probably wouldn't be optional).

Maybe you don't want to do it (which is fine), but I think complaining about something the company offers which is entirely optional is a bit silly.

I agree on the most part - but you cannot please everyone all the time.
This is one initiative that the OP has mentioned which her company runs - which to me sounds fantastic.
To them, it does not - they have been given an alternative, to work.

If I was running a similar scheme and the majority agreed it had no value, I would cancel it. But I would not be providing additional annual leave, which is was the OP is asking for as an alternative.

I think it’s calling it well-being that I struggle with tbh . If it was team building I’d understand but I personally think a well-being day should be up to the individual to choose what they find helpful.
Going roller skating with Colin from accounts isn’t my idea of good well-being.

That is just semantics though.

It is what it is, whatever you call it.

Go or don't, entirely up to you. But no, you're not reasonable if you think you can have an extra day of leave.

Honestly you're being so unreasonable. Don't want to take part? work instead.

Well being here clearly means a break from the day job, but as you’re still at work you have to do something healthy and good for you. It’s a nice thing to do. I’d choose a free activity and go along with it. It’s not annual leave.

They're paying you. Go to work as normal if you don't want to do any of the activities.

It’s not semantics at all. It’s not well-being. It’s team building which is entirely different. And it is frowned upon if you don’t go.

But having a cohesive team is shown to improve wellbeing in the workplace.

I wouldn't especially want to pay out of my own pocket for anything work related but would happily do something free or cheap.

Its a work day so of course the activity is going to he work focused rather than you just wanting an extra day off. If you don't want to do the activities then just go to work.

They’ve reframed a team building day as ‘wellbeing’ to tick a box. Ok, so it’s not actually about your wellbeing, but it’s not a huge ask, is it?

We don’t get any wellbeing days. We have three mandatory corporate CPD days a year. They’re not fun, but it’s part of the job.

Suck it up, buttercup!

Honestly you can’t win as an employer sometimes. My employer started providing daily fruit for everyone in a bid to improve staff health. Of course loads of people complained, said they didn’t want to eat fruit and wanted the cash equivalent to choose. So the company listened and…. stopped providing the fruit.
Be ungrateful if you like, but complaining about it won’t get you this day as annual leave, instead you’ll have to work.

You have choices.

You might want to start by getting that chip on your shoulder looked at!

🤣🤣🤣

I've booked annual leave for our next one!! But the activity is something that I just do not want to do so am happy to lose a days leave and miss out legitimately

Non of the activities are planned or organised by the employer. The choices are many and varied. It could be a day helping Kevin with his gardening or a day rambling with Shirley, at a museum with Alex etc. They can feel quite awkward for a lot of people and anxiety provoking.

If it's paid YABU to be so picky.