Pushy management about a talk

[Floraltie]

At work the management have a guest speaker coming onto Teams to do a talk. I personally do not agree with the talk as it does not take into account other views and is very biased and a blaming culture.

We had 4 different managers send emails yesterday telling everyone to attend if they can to get the numbers up as this woman is rarely available. I don’t know why they feel the need to push this agenda onto people. Do I just put Teams on and mute it and do something else? I don’t need a gaslighting talk.

Rather than sulk, could you have a mature conversation with your manager about your concerns?

What is the subject of the talk?

Is the talk within your working hours? If so, you probably can't get out of it. Is the subject related to your work? If yes, then ditto above. Even if you don't agree with it, could you learn from it and thereafter explain why, with reference to the talk, why you disagree?

What's it about, is it going to be of any help to you?

If you really don't want to don't join, or join and just don't listen and work through it (with your camera off, if there's that many if you noone will notice).

Accepting and ignoring the fuss is probably the line of least resistance.

telling everyone to attend if they can to get the numbers up as this woman is rarely available.

This doesn't sound like compulsory attendance so I'd ignore it. If asked, you could either give your real reason in calm, factual terms, or if you don't want to get into a discussion say you had something urgent to do or your Teams was glitching and you couldn't get onto the call.

It prejudice to assume you know the detail of the talk - have you heard this speaker before ?

what is the agenda for the talk?
Just dial in and do other things?
Listen to what she says and counter her points factually if there is a Q&A?

Just put it on, turn your camera off and carry on working.

Or what i do - put Teams on the laptop screen, shrink it a bit then carry on working on that screen so it looks like I'm looking at Teams. Listen in occasionally, nod at key points. Angle laptop up slightly so they can't see you typing.

No that's not prejudice. 🤣 If the CEO of Mermaids was running a talk titled "how TERFs are a problem in the workplace" I think most people would know what sort of topics are going to be covered and from what point of view.

Fuck turning the camera off I'd be off sick that day 😂

Fuck turning the camera off I'd be off sick that day 😂

If it’s anything about trans awareness, I’d share that now, OP. At the moment you’re getting quite reasoned replies, but if you’re anti-trans and are looking for cheerleaders, you’re in the right place. No need to be shy.

This. Are you for real? You do know your employer is paying you during working hours and work isn’t optional even if it’s a guest speaker you don’t agree with. Entitled behaviour.

Sure dont go and then be that person who obviously isn’t company oriented will do what she wants when she wants and complains. That will defo put you in line for promotion.

You may actually learn something since your views about the speaker don’t sound prejudiced or narrow at all - hey isn’t that what you don’t like about her?

I can’t say too much but they are trying push a political agenda on to the workforce. Our Code of Conduct say no taking part in political
organisations outside of work yet they want us to join theirs at work. The talk has absolutely no relevance to the job role at all. It is abuse of power. If you say anything they will
come down on you like a tonne of bricks.

If it’s in any way political then absolutely no way would I be attending. I would ignore the email - it sounds like others are feeling the same as you given they’re having to send out emails to tell people to attend. They’ve said ‘if you can’ - you can’t.

Thanks, if others have reservations something is not right. They booked it over lunch time too not respecting people’s dietary habits or conditions.

I declined to attend an EDIB course on Transgender Awareness.

I was not challenged on this but I'd saved the Forstater case wording in case I was told I must attend. Gender Critical views are valid and you cannot be forced to align your views against your will.

They want you to give up your lunch break to attend a biased and political talk on something that has no relevance to your job?! Hell no.

It's clearly not compulsory as the directors are spamming you with begging emails 'to get the numbers up'. Oh, she's 'rarely available'? That's a shame they booked her for an event in which there is little interest. It's over lunchtime so just say you've got errands to do, pick up meds/check on elderly relative etc during your lunch break. But you don't need to say anything. It's just they're embarrassed nobody wants to come to their crappy lecture.

Say you are rarely available during the lunch break.

Surely you reply that attendance would contravene your Code of Conduct, because your lunch break is out of office hours?

It fundamentally doesn't matter what the subject is. I used an example in my post that I thought a lot of people would understand, but equally if the talk is billed as "Nigel Farage on Immigration" or "Rachel Reeves on Winter Fuel Payments" or "Boris Johnson on The Importance of Following Lockdown Rules And Not Partying Ever" or "Putin on Ukraine" it's a) irrelevant to the workplace and therefore a vanity project that the boss booked this talk and also b) You know from the name of the speaker that it's going to be very one sided and, depending on your own politics, whether there's any point politely listening or not. Which is simply having some awareness and background knowledge on a thing.

It sounds like the boss is just desperate to look like this talk was in demand when it really wasn't, to save face with the speaker. Like those factory owners who invite political fatcats to see the common man toiling on the factory floor, and they get heckled instead. Why should workers have to play along with this sort of shite?

in that case i would decline the invitation no matter what pressure was put on.

If it was something seemingly ambiguous, i would listen and ask questions. if it turned out to be a "how TERFs are a problem in the workplace" I'd put in the chat that it's not for me and i was going back to work.

easy then. Unpaid lunch breaks. I wouldn't be joining.

Political? I would not be joining. Lunch break or not.

I would go if I was able to ask questions and not get management 'coming down like a ton of bricks'. If there were to be comeback to asking questions, I would not attend.

I worked somewhere where they were considering inviting a trans person in to give their views. It would have been one-sided, it was someone (not an employee) who had complained publicly about the views of a company employee and wanted reparations. Thankfully management decided against it in the end, I would have found it very difficult to listen to them if countering their arguments was not acceptable.