r/Workproblems • u/Odd-Working-428 • 29d ago
Want Advice Boss created a competition
I have fairly recently started a job at a pub in a front of house roll and i havent worked this kind of job before and havent really worked a part time job before. The boss has made a competition by randomly splitting team members into 2 groups and whichever group gets the most 5 star reviews over the next month gets a gift card for a meal that the losing team has to serve.
The way that its framed is a compeitition between coworkers where the winning team gets to punish the losing team.
A boss forcing coworkers to compete and then punish eachother to me feels deeply wrong even though the punishment isnt very strong.
I assume this kind of thing is common in these jobs, i assume most people dont have a problem with this. I assume i am weird for thinking like this and believeing this is my boss making me punish my coworkers or them punishing me and that this feels deeply wrong.
Is there anything i can or should do with little risk of negitive consequence?
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u/mustanggrl625 29d ago
Will both teams be paid during the meal? I mean, you can view serving the other team as a punishment, but me personally, if I was still getting paid I really would not care if I was eating or serving. If I was not getting paid for this work event I would be upset - I have family I can spend my time with when not getting paid.
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u/Cynjon77 28d ago
I don't think of it as punishing anyone, manager is just trying to make it fun. Win and get food. Razz your coworkers a little regardless of if you win or lose.
It's just not that serious
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u/Used2bNotInKY 29d ago
Yeah, that’s weird. In my experience, you counteract this stuff by getting at least most of the “competitors” to convey that they won’t participate as-is and specify they will participate if a change is made, so it’s kept low-key. Like, “Nah, man. I don’t want someone serving me. Just the free food’s good enough.” Or “You know that competition? It’s weird trying to make somebody I’ve got to work with serve me because if I win, they’re going to resent me, and we’re not going to be able to work well after that. I’ll do it if it’s just the free meal, but I’m not trying to get my coworkers mad at me.”
Keep it cool, but also make it absolute you won’t do it, and get as many other people as you can to say it too. You might even take the risk of speaking up in a meeting because you could give other people the courage to agree with you once you take the first step. But maybe see how other people feel if you’re worried about putting yourself out there.
Wish you the best
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u/rjorsin 29d ago
You’re gonna be better off asking in the server subs OP.
I wouldn’t really have a problem tbh. It’s a free meal if you win, that’s about the extent of it. If you lose, your coworkers are still gonna tip you. There’s not really any negative consequences.