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elSicomoro · 06-26-2002, 08:55 PM

My story isn't really about right or wrong; it's more about principle.

I used to work for a company called OCM (now owned by Student Advantage) when I lived in Maryland. As a whole, OCM was pretty good--3 weeks of vacation your first year, and free health insurance. The job wasn't too bad, but...

Each year, if the company met its goals (which it generally did), the company (about 70 people total at the time) was taken on a 4-day trip to someplace nice 2 weeks before Christmas...all expenses (food, drink, everything) were paid for by the company. The year I worked there (1999), they went to the Turks and Caicos Islands. No wives, husbands, or s.o.'s were allowed, just company employees.

The trip sounded all well and good, except for that last sentence. The way I saw it, why the hell would I want to go out of the country for 4 days with people that I already spend 40 hours a week with? No offense to those that were cool with it; I just wasn't digging it.

Well, my boss simply didn't seem to understand it, nor did other employees...I don't know what exactly they were thinking, but apparently, it ranged from people thinking I was silly to others thinking I was being a snob. From there on out, I got harrassed, primarily about everything BUT that (the fact that I was from Missouri, my hair, etc.). It started out good-naturedly, but started getting old after a while...to the point where fisticuffs almost broke out after I asked people to stop several times, and they wouldn't. From the minute I decided against going on the trip, and explained my rationale, I was no longer part of the "in" crowd. It seemed like I would get in trouble at the slightest thing, while others had a longer leash. My boss and I wound up clashing over almost everything for the next year.

In the end, it became a mess, and I wound up unemployed a month after I moved to Philadelphia. But I don't regret opening my mouth at that company. I didn't want to go on that trip, I made my decision, I stood by it, I explained it as best as possible, and that's it. If anyone didn't get it beyond there, I couldn't help them. Unfortunately, some people want to be team players at all costs. I'm all for being a team player, but sometimes, you have to be the dissenting voice. And when you accomplish this with the greatest of tact, it drives those against you insane. :)

06-26-2002, 08:55 PM	#4
elSicomoro Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 12,486	My story isn't really about right or wrong; it's more about principle. I used to work for a company called OCM (now owned by Student Advantage) when I lived in Maryland. As a whole, OCM was pretty good--3 weeks of vacation your first year, and free health insurance. The job wasn't too bad, but... Each year, if the company met its goals (which it generally did), the company (about 70 people total at the time) was taken on a 4-day trip to someplace nice 2 weeks before Christmas...all expenses (food, drink, everything) were paid for by the company. The year I worked there (1999), they went to the Turks and Caicos Islands. No wives, husbands, or s.o.'s were allowed, just company employees. The trip sounded all well and good, except for that last sentence. The way I saw it, why the hell would I want to go out of the country for 4 days with people that I already spend 40 hours a week with? No offense to those that were cool with it; I just wasn't digging it. Well, my boss simply didn't seem to understand it, nor did other employees...I don't know what exactly they were thinking, but apparently, it ranged from people thinking I was silly to others thinking I was being a snob. From there on out, I got harrassed, primarily about everything BUT that (the fact that I was from Missouri, my hair, etc.). It started out good-naturedly, but started getting old after a while...to the point where fisticuffs almost broke out after I asked people to stop several times, and they wouldn't. From the minute I decided against going on the trip, and explained my rationale, I was no longer part of the "in" crowd. It seemed like I would get in trouble at the slightest thing, while others had a longer leash. My boss and I wound up clashing over almost everything for the next year. In the end, it became a mess, and I wound up unemployed a month after I moved to Philadelphia. But I don't regret opening my mouth at that company. I didn't want to go on that trip, I made my decision, I stood by it, I explained it as best as possible, and that's it. If anyone didn't get it beyond there, I couldn't help them. Unfortunately, some people want to be team players at all costs. I'm all for being a team player, but sometimes, you have to be the dissenting voice. And when you accomplish this with the greatest of tact, it drives those against you insane. :) Last edited by elSicomoro; 06-26-2002 at 08:57 PM.