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.

Anxiety inducing? A nice day out with colleagues? It sounds like you have a lot of freedom to make the day your own, don’t you have a work friend you could do something with?

Or just go to work instead.

I do go, but I don’t find it particularly beneficial for my well-being. A lot of my friend’s employers allow WBD to be used however the employee wants to. Hence my question on here.

Employer goes out of their way to pay you for a day where you are out of the office, doing an activity of your choice with co-workers.
I fail to see where the anxiety is in that, as you have choice!! And if you really can't bare the idea of seeing any of the people you work with outside of the work environment, you go to work.....

You have decided this is unreasonable and are not listening to anyone replying to your question.

I'm really glad I don't work with you...

In that case I’d go with the family farm idea and suggest a couple of parents with kids do an outing together 🤷🏻‍♀️

Children aren’t allowed…

If they cough up for a Spa day or a theatre trip I'd be all for it.

Can't see mine doing it 😁

Absolutely, that's a team building day. My employer gives all employees 2 well-being days a year, we can do whatever we like, it's basically 2 extra days of annual leave.

I don't think it's reasonable for employees to have to pay for these activities.

The company/ organisation should foot the bill.

Do they pay for the activities- that would influence me. Its OK doing a well being day in work time but I wouldn't want to be out of pocket- unless my colleagues were more like friends and l was doing something I really liked!
But it is lovely they let you choose, ie theatre trips and don't enforce some bloomin outward bound course on you.

They are sort of missing the point of wellbeing, but it’s one day and most companies don’t offer anything at all, so I’d just get on with it really.

If you don’t like the choices on offer you could always organise an activity of your own. Your workplace is trying to do something nice and you seem desperate to pick fault and complain that they aren’t giving more. I think your attitude is somewhat unfair to be honest.

I’m not desperate to pick fault at all. I just asked what people’s opinions were.

Just go into the office as normal, that's what I'd do unless there was an activity on offer that was both affordable and appealing.

Part of the issue with these so called days is that employers generally just make up what they think their employees might like / want / need rather than actually asking and listening to their workforce and then taking action based on that.

It strikes me as tokenism, instead of actually doing things that will improve wellbeing all year round. Being decisive instead of keeping staff waiting for decisions, having managers who can manage people well instead of just being long serving or having product/technical knowledge, ensuring IT and other kit at work is reliable, for example.

I think it's a nice thing they're doing, albeit it's a team building day and not a well-being day. The fact they give you the option to just work as normal is decent of them, so it isn't forced.

This is an extra offering on top of your annual leave entitlement. They don't have to offer it and I think it is reasonable of them to at least be showing willing.

The name isn't right and they're probably box-ticking BUT that doesn't take away from the fact they're offering staff a paid day off to do something outside of the office with colleagues. If you don't want to, just go into the office and have a quiet day there.

You’re talking about taking a day off (with toddler/family) which is different to a day doing something different with colleagues?

But she clearly says in the post employees have to self fund the activities. That's not on. If the employer wants to be so progressive they should pay for it.