A workplace debate erupts online as employees argue that weekends should remain personal time, not for forced company activities.
A WORKPLACE debate has erupted online after an employee criticised companies for organising team-building activities during weekends, arguing that employees deserve their personal time off to rest and spend with their loved ones.
The post, which quickly gained attention, questioned why some employers expect staff to dedicate their weekdays to work and then give up their weekends for company activities.
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The employee wrote: “To all bosses and employers: Please stop normalising team-building activities, especially on weekends.
“If you want to organise one, do it during working hours. Employees already spend five days a week at work and only have two days to rest and spend time with their families. Don’t take away their right to enjoy their weekends.
“If you’re bored on the weekend, there’s no need to involve your staff in monthly team-building activities. Employees have lives outside work too, and not everyone wants to spend their limited free time attending team-building sessions that they do not find meaningful.
“If you believe staff should only work on working days, then employees should also be allowed to rest on their days off.
“Why do some bosses feel entitled to make staff focus on work during weekdays and then organise programmes for them on weekends?
“Those days off belong to employees; they are their right. That’s not treating them like employees, that’s treating them like slaves.”
The post struck a chord with many employees, with several netizens agreeing that weekends should be protected as personal time rather than automatically considered available for workplace activities.
Many argued that while team-building activities can help strengthen relationships between colleagues, forcing employees to attend them outside working hours can have the opposite effect, creating stress and resentment instead of improving teamwork.
Others humorously pointed out that after spending five days dealing with work deadlines, meetings and office stress, employees would rather spend their weekends sleeping, resting, travelling or spending time with family than participating in another work-related activity.
“And then there are annual dinners too. Employees are forced to attend, and some companies even make attending company social events part of their KPI,” one user called afnoohc commented.
“In my opinion, team-building activities are a waste of time and boring. Once we’re back in the office, if we’re annoyed with each other, we’ll still end up feeling that way. If we’re also expected to contribute our own money towards it, that’s even more frustrating,” missaryalili added.
“Sometimes the boss is just lonely on weekends, and that’s why they invite the team for a team-building activity hahaha,” kaisara.laila wrote.
