Timeline for Is it appropriate to speak up for a team member who can't drink due to addiction recovery when a company event is being planned?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
10 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Jun 16, 2022 at 14:33 | comment | added | Kyle A | While a team lead generally shouldn't be "crusading", they should speak up for their team. Maybe a one-off event isn't a problem, but if there's a pattern of work events including elements that exclude a specific team member (or group of team members), the team lead should make sure management knows they are excluding someone. Management can decide what to do about it, but the team lead needs to at least try to keep their team members from being side-lined. | |
| Jun 14, 2022 at 21:28 | comment | added | Ertai87 | Also, if you have a diverse team (which I hope you do), I hope you have a Jew, a vegan, a non-alcoholic, someone with celiac disease (or is otherwise anti-gluten), someone on the Autism spectrum who can't handle noise, someone who is not comfortable in quiet spaces, and someone practicing the Keto diet on your team. Do you simply refuse to attend any work event because these people all have conflicting restrictions and you can't "protect" everyone? That's where the slippery slope is. | |
| Jun 14, 2022 at 21:25 | comment | added | Auspex | Let us continue this discussion in chat. | |
| Jun 14, 2022 at 21:24 | comment | added | Ertai87 | My team (well, not /my/ team, I'm not OP) is composed of adults who can make their own decisions. Part of being an adult is making responsible decisions which are good for you, and not needing to be "protected" from some "aggressor". If you view senior management holding a party as an "aggression" that needs to be "protected", you have a questionable worldview and probably ought to refrain from attending parties in general. | |
| Jun 14, 2022 at 21:22 | comment | added | Auspex | It's not about making a fuss, it's about protecting your team. | |
| Jun 14, 2022 at 21:21 | comment | added | Auspex | Absolutely! I am 100% carnivore, and I've done the vegan choice for colleagues. Where's the slippery slope? Yes, these things get difficult if you try to cater to everyone, but nobody said it has to be easy. | |
| Jun 14, 2022 at 21:19 | comment | added | Ertai87 | Also keep in mind this is senior management making this party, it's not OP's team's party. If OP doesn't want to go, senior management will say "ok, that's your choice, the other 15 teams and 100 people who will be attending will have a glorious time without you, have fun watching Netflix at home alone lol". You're not going to get the response you want by making a fuss. | |
| Jun 14, 2022 at 21:16 | comment | added | Ertai87 | @Auspex Would you say the same if this were a Muslim or Jewish subordinate and the issue of the day was eating pork, rather than drinking alcohol? You wouldn't go to a restaurant that serves pork because your subordinate can't eat pork? Or a restaurant that serves meat at all if your subordinate is vegan? Or a restaurant that serves bread if your subordinate has Celiac Disease? As nvoight said in their answer, this gets to be a very slippery slope very fast to the point where you become the troublemaker and drama-causer. | |
| Jun 14, 2022 at 21:07 | comment | added | Auspex | I really don't think this is a good way to deal with it. I drink. And I'm happy with that. Bosses invite me to a booze-up, I'll be there. And still, I think it's the team lead's responsibility to make sure that their team is inclusive, and find ways to NOT make this a drinking event. And if the bosses say their choice is final, then say you can't attend either. | |
| Jun 14, 2022 at 20:08 | history | answered | Ertai87 | CC BY-SA 4.0 |