AIBU to think lots of engagements are not "work"?

[babsanderson]

Just reading the Court Circular and I am struck once again by the reality that many engagements can not remotely be called work.
So just looking at January so it is clear I am not cherry picking over many months, there are the following engagements.

1. Anne went to a Dinner with the Caledonian Hunt
2. The Duke of Kent attended a carol service
3. Duchess of Gloucester, Patron, the Arts Society, today held a Meeting via telephone with Dr. Florian Schweizer (Chief Executive). So basically a phone call.
4. Anne attended lunch at the Royal Yachting Association.

It is not even the time of year to attend Film Premiers, tennis matches, football matches and theatre premiers.

I've just had a week of entertaining visiting clients - went to beautiful buildings, nice restaurants, a show, out for drinks. Definitely felt like work though - none of it was my choice, we were always out past my bedtime and you always have to be 'on' and can't really relax. I think anything can be work if you're only doing it for money/duty/whatever. Definitely biased based on my recent experience though!

Sounds like work to me.

So you don’t count business meetings, zoom or phone calls, or dining with clients “work”, OP? What would you call these things, which you have not chosen but are obliged to carry out?

If they're official engagements they're work. Princess Anne might have much preferred being at home eating beans on toast off a tray than attending various dinners.

You've been a bit picky/choosy with your examples too.

I have to say, of all the things you could criticise the RF for (and personally I think there are a LOT of things!), this isn't really one of them - they're not really on their own time at any of those things.

Oh god I'd hate spending the whole time going out to lunch / dinner with people I don't know and will never meet again and having to make small talk with them. Definitely work in my book!

They aren't allowed to say 'not tonight chaps', they don't get to choose who to sit next to or what to talk about.

They can't say, 'what a load of nonsense, that speaker just spouted'.

I'd say it's work.

Last month, or maybe November, Princess Anne went to DD's college to open something. The visit was enjoyed by many of the students.

Meeting people, eating food you might not like, having to be bright and friendly, and there's always the chance you might meet Giles Brandreth. Not fun so definitely work.

Well I wouldn’t have to spend my life being paraded around being on best behaviour and going from engagement to engament like they do.

The phone call with the charity Chief Exec will be to find out about the charity's plans for the years, how their beneficiaries are doing in general and start plans for what you may consider 'actual' work eg visits to hospitals, fundraising, meeting beneficiaries, hosting events.

I know as I prepared my CEO for one and have the work that's come off the back of it.

I've also had similar calls myself with colleagues across the charity to understand their plans for the year and how I can help them. Definitely counts as work for me. Some harder work than others, to be honest.

That all looks like work to me. It is no different then what a salesperson would do.

And I suppose it could be said that the royal family are sales people no?

The thing is, doing one thing once might be fun - but years and years of getting smartly dressed, hair / makeup (okay Anne maybe not so much makeup), all the etiquette, manners, protocol, what to say, what not to say, making sure you know who xyz is when they're introduced to you, years and years of repetitive ceremonies, sitting with 'smiling attentive face mode' on through waffly people, boring people, longwinded people, for fifty years or so!

Always wearing tailored work clothes and being clean and nice and proper and being bloody photographed all the time!

It's not that I don't think that other areas of their lives aren't incredibly privileged, or that SOME of the events aren't very lovely and fun, but God! I would hate to do it. I think how I want to yawn during work awards dinners type things and think of having to do it all the time, for ever. No way.

there are two definitions of "work" being conflated here - It's definitely effort, but that doesn't make it useful.

I do feel a bit yawnsome when people go on about made up tasks being really hard work and it just makes me think "ok don't fucking do it then".

Especially really inefficient "fundraising" - people who like feeling important running about like the fucking Apprentice and raising 29p. If Princess Whoever is phoning up people and extracting money from them that is going to be used to look after children or cure cancer or something, then good - obvs a sensible tax system is preferable, but whatevs. If it's all drifting about "forming alliances" and unveiling plaques that say the facility was opened on such and such a date - how has that improved the world?

Sure, some people enjoy that bollocks, but we don't need it.

I was at an unveiling of a statue that Anne carried out. I’m sure on the surface it looked like a jolly and she could have yanked off the cloth, smiled and made a few platitudes but she didn’t. She spoke eloquently, passionately and informedly about the statue and how it came about. It was clear she had opinion on it and I was rather impressed by her. I think there is clearly a lot of time spent on research and I felt it was so much more than just reading a briefing note prepared by her staff. What she said was personal.

it may not seem to be work but it’s their job, it’s what they do. Everyone has their idea of what value they bring to the country but there is a value there nonetheless

Many years ago I went to reception hosted by Princess Anne. She had to go around talking to 100 of us individually. showing an interest generally being smiley and and happy.

she had two other engagements that day after ours.

sounds like work to me!

Well, I suppose it’s ‘work’ but they’re hardly down the mines, are they? A day of chatting to pensioners and having a nice boeuf bourguignon down the yacht club sounds like a lot more fun than marking to me.

I guess they make the local papers so promote the charity/ club

YABU - this all sounds like hard work to me, very much so

Of course it's work.

some working days consist entirely of phone calls - what is your point exactly? Mu son has just done 9 hours of them - shall I tell him he hasn't done any work today?

@Nimbostratus100 I am sure your son does not make 1 phone call in a week and call that a weeks work.

Oh here you go again @babsanderson ,another dig at the Royal Famly! Do you ever think about anything else?

Of course attending engagements is “work” for the Royals.

I agree with you OP, but this probably isn't the section where you will get much agreement! Still, it must be hard to have to attend these events all the time and put on a happy face.

I'm sure I could put a smile on my face and force myself through it for the money they have. I'm sure it's worth the effort twice a month or however much it is that 'work'