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THE QUESTION
Our company founder is throwing a party to celebrate a major milestone. Everyone from the company is invited, as well as our clients and vendors, but the party is not during our work hours. The founder wants me to do a shift working the door at the party but this is not in my job description. I have no interest in socializing with workpeople in my spare time or working for free. What can I do? How do I politely tell my manager that I’m not interested in attending or helping with this event while also keeping my job?
THE FIRST ANSWER
Terra Aartsen, chief operating officer, Citation Canada, London, Ont.
The employee should acknowledge the milestone, then politely decline, stating their preference regarding personal time. If the employer comes back to tell the employee they must work the shift, the employee should feel comfortable inquiring what compensation they will receive for their time. While it may be outside of the employee’s job description, if it is a one-time event, it may fall under the “other duties as assigned” section that appears in most job descriptions. If this occurs, the employee could respond in writing confirming that they will work the shift, the compensation they will receive, and highlight that because of the milestone, they are agreeing to work outside of their usual hours. This will help ensure the employee is seen as a team player without foregoing their rights or setting expectations about what might happen at the next milestone event.
It’s important for employers to avoid requiring or pressuring employees to participate in events outside of work hours, as it can harm morale and raise legal concerns if it’s seen as unpaid work. Employers should clearly distinguish between social opportunities and work requirements. For example, in Ontario, the ability to disconnect from work is required for workplaces with 25 or more employees.
When employers ask employees to take on additional duties, open communication is key. Employers should pre-empt employee questions about compensation and work hours and outline these in their initial request. This creates a culture of respect and helps reduce the risk that can be associated with these requests.
THE SECOND ANSWER
Natasha Lakhani, vice-president of people and talent, Super.com, Toronto
It is common for an employee to be asked to do a task such as this, however, you are allowed to decline the request given it is out of your standard operating hours. Being direct with a professional explanation is always the best approach as it indicates to your boss that it is something you are not comfortable doing now or in the future. It would be unlikely that your manager would ask again, and it probably mitigates the chances of them asking you to support an off-hours task in the future.
Given that you are concerned about perception, an alternative is that you can politely tell your manager that you are unavailable during this time because of a prior personal commitment and are unable to support out-of-office-hour requests in the future.
I would also encourage you to keep it factual rather than emotional in either scenario. Being unavailable because of prior personal commitments keeps your rationale professional. It achieves the goal of not doing the requested task that is out of the scope of your role without creating unnecessary conflict that could leave a poor impression of your commitment to your job.
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