Forum: workplace.stackexchange.com
Tags: <morale>
Title: Management expects full participation in holiday nonsense video
Question: Management expects every department to pick a song and participate in a song and dance video to be shown company-wide (think  https://youtu.be/X0v_InsGdSE  ). Everyone is "expected" to participate, though many find it demeaning. How do we opt out without being perceived as non team players?

Answers:
sents: text: You have two choices: do it, in a nondemeaning way.
text: You don't have to wear a silly costume, film in a silly location, etc.
text: If you have a choice of music you can choose something you're ok with.
text: Someone may "tut" that you didn't make a fool of yourself, but you participated.
text: don't do it.
text: Either by "not getting around to it" because you've "got a lot on your plate this week" or by replying to the reminders saying you're not going to do it.
text: Either may cause someone to feel you're not a team player.
text: These videos are rarely designed to be demeaning.
text: They are supposed to be fun, and to demonstrate a more personal side to your coworkers or customers.
text: I've done my share, and they can be pleasant.
text: (They've always been optional and the recording is just of yourself, and gets cut into a larger montage.
text: The department-by-department approach here makes things trickier.)
text: I'm not going to put on a crazy wig or dance on my desk.
text: I don't think you have to either.
answer_details: author: workplace.stackexchange.com/users/102/Kate Gregory
score: 12
sents: text: Just suck it up and do it.
text: Things like this matter more than you would think, and you might actually have fun.
text: Management remembers who was and was not a team player.
text: Not saying its fair, just telling you how it is.
text: ( at least in the US )
answer_details: author: workplace.stackexchange.com/users/61096/Neo
score: 10
sents: text: I'm going to answer in a somewhat different direction.
text: If you don't want to do this, assert confidently that you are not going to participate.
text: If this causes backlash and insistence on you participating, then keep in mind the following.
text: Your company is trying to force you to do an activity that is: Not related to your job at all Not (strongly*) related to the company's goal or mission
text: Clearly making you uncomfortable
text: And because you (and perhaps others) are being forced into doing it despite all this, completely missing
text: it's only potentially valid point of being "fun" or "teambuilding", since it clearly isn't to you.
text: This is not about "being a teamplayer" at all.
text: This is about the company trying to coerce you into a pointless activity that makes you uncomfortable while trying to pretend they're doing "something fun".
text: It is a sign of a strongly dysfunctional organization, and you should start looking for a new job.
text: Forcing people to do things that make them uncomfortable "because it'll be fun" is not okay.
text: (And while you're searching for a new job, calling in sick is probably the best way to get out of this specific event)
text: *this might be meant as a cute marketing stunt, in which case there's some connection to the goal of the company, but still no reason at all to force anyone into participating.
answer_details: author: workplace.stackexchange.com/users/38458/Erik
score: 8
sents: text: If you can't avoid it, then someone has to be film-crew, animal-wrangler, key-grip etc.
text: Be creative and think up some very important reason why you can't be on the action side of the camera.
answer_details: author: workplace.stackexchange.com/users/50253/Peter M
score: 7
sents: text: I'd take a sick day - hey, the very thought of participating in the video makes me sick.
text: Or I'd take a personal day - hey, my pet rock is feeling neglected :)
answer_details: author: workplace.stackexchange.com/users/16993/Vietnhi Phuvan
score: 4
sents: text: I'd suggest a different approach to the situation.
text: Such videos also need much more than "actors in them".
text: They need someone: to help setting up some decorations in the location where it's filmed to go pick up the costumes or hats or whatever to go pick up the camera from the manager's brother who agreed to lend it for a few days to actually film the thing to actually add the music / edit the video / publish it etc. to do other stuff that I can't think of right now
text: There's a lot of stuff that needs to be done so that such a video is a "successfull" one.
text: If you don't want to risk being seen as "not a team player", then you can participate in such a video without being an "actor".
text: Just suggest it to your manager or whoever is responsible for it.
text: As a side-note / personal comment: I too think such videos are kind of a waste of time and frankly quite pathetic.
text: Managers / executives simply want to portray an image of "look how fun we are and what a great place to work this is", but it's simply fake and everyone sees through it... or they should.
answer_details: author: workplace.stackexchange.com/users/14043/Radu Murzea
score: 3
sents: text: I'm kinda surprised that no one mentioned this yet, but compelling people to participate in any "holiday celebration"
text: is assuming that it is a holiday for everyone.
text: Basically not everyone celebrates these holidays and forcing people to participate, in what could be seen as religious holidays, could be an HR nightmare.
text: Even if this isn't your reason, you could drop that bug in someone's ear and get the whole thing called off.
text: "You know I like the holidays as much as anyone, but have you considered..."
answer_details: author: workplace.stackexchange.com/users/13611/apaul
score: 1

Summary of the answers:
Come up with a reason that you would better off participating on the other side of the camera or just inform management that you won't be taking part. If all else fails, try taking a sick day.
The simplest way to not participate would be either to not be in work that day or to insist that you are not taking part. However, if you want to avoid being perceived as a "non-team-player", you could look for other ways of participating that mean that you don't have to appear on camera.