Spirit Committee

So at my workplace, we have a group of people called the Spirit Committee. They take time out of their normal jobs (showing management how disposable they are) to come up with and execute ideas to make the workplace more enjoyable and a "better and more fun place to work" for those that apparently need more than a paycheck to keep them coming back every day. I'd rather they just give me the money they spend on their programs, and I'll find something one my own, but I digress.

So periodically, I get a quarter sheet of card stock with a notice printed in brilliant color as to what the spirit committee sponsored activity it in any given month. They are the folks behind the massive failure of the costume contest I spoke of previously. As you can imagine, I don't have the greatest confidence in them, and I honestly find the whole thing to be a grand waste of money. Over the summer, they threw a "company picnic" where we all took a long lunch break to go to somewhere else in town to have some hot dogs and throw balls at managers in a dunk tank (as long as you paid for the privilege of doing so as it was also a fundraiser for something else). That was it. There were some arcade games there, but not much worth playing. The only thing to do was socialize, and the problems with that are a) I can talk to people anywhere and b) I am not much of a talker so socializing is not something I find particularly enjoyable. So I was mostly bored and trapped since they bussed us over. They took a picture of everyone "having fun" at this rather boring building, and I decided to give the camera my exact opinion of my time there. Nothing obscene. I just didn't smile... It was kind of a scowl. I don't play the corporate game well.

Oh, and get this. This activity was called the company picnic. I'd been to company picnics before, and they generally involved the families of the employees. Our last few years have not. They have been internal only, overlong lunch breaks. Now, last year was admittedly better where they took everyone to Incredible Pizza and gave us all a one hour play card to do whatever, but even then, it seemed a bit silly when you think about it. I'm the first to admit I'm a big kid at heart, but whose idea was it to take a bunch of adults to a kids' place?

Their current deal is a mini "golfathon" where they've encouraged departments across the building to build mini golf holes in their area so people can play through in this sort of tournament. How's this working out? I really can't say for sure, but apparently, one of the committee members is being "pressured" into having our area make a hole. Yeah, he used the term "pressured." I read two things into this. First, he doesn't want to do it, so it wasn't his idea, and he had originally decided to just play along quietly. Now, they aren't getting the participation they want, and the fat's on the fire, so they want all the committee members to "step up" and show the organization that they had a cool idea.

There have been several "cool ideas" that have fizzled due to low participation. The last potluck they had was canceled due to next to no one volunteering to bring anything. Apparently, I'm not the only one protesting against the nonsense.

I honestly don't care. I am there for my time to goof off on the Interne-... um, work my butt off and go home where I actually enjoy my time. I don't need some silly committee to waste my time in mandatory fun. I do have actual work to do, and I was given the time I have to do it. Even if I have some down time, I have other things I can be doing. I only have a few precious hours per day, and to have those taken more than they've already been taken is annoying.

I think when I was younger, I somewhat got into the company events finding them somewhat fun, but having been in the "workforce" for some time now, I find that I don't care anymore. There are other things I'd rather be doing to earn my keep in this world, and I'd rather spend my downtime working towards those ends. Do I enjoy programming? Sometimes. There are other aspects that aren't as enjoyable.

Still, in the end, I'm only at this job for the paycheck. They can leave me out of the "fun." I'll have it later.