[Jennifer30854]

I know that some people might respond requesting that you examine your assumption: that most black people didn’t attend the company Christmas party because of some quality particular to blacks. I’m not saying that that’s a bad idea, but by definition, generalities often have a degree of substance. In my experience, black people, including myself, tend to take a straightforward attitude toward employment. In other words, we tend to consider our jobs a straightforward arrangement: we work, you pay us. We often keep our social lives and work lives strictly separated, and tend to reject the idea that we owe our co-workers or our companies anything other than the time and effort we are paid to give. Our co-workers and employers are not friends or family, and for the most part, we don’t care to pretend that they are. We are not good at or fond of what we tend to see as the insincere glad-handing and assumption of familiarity that tends to result from these kinds of work functions. These are my theories, anyway.

If attending company functions is considered just a hair short of mandatory, perhaps sending a companywide e-mail saying, ‘Your attendance is strongly encouraged’ would be a good plan. I don’t think that everyone knows that attending work functions on their own time is as important as you state. I don’t think that all employers feel the way you do about it, either. Furthermore, it’s rather disheartening to think that the fact that you make sure your black employees feel welcome at your company and are given equal opportunity for advancement is ‘going above and beyond.’ I’m of the opinion that you ought to do these things because they’re the right things to do, and in some cases, because it’s the law. Maybe I’m reading you incorrectly, but there’s something disturbing about the juxtaposition of ethics and corporate culture in your post.

User Detail :  

Name : Jennifer30854, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 31, City : St. Paul, State : MN, Country : United States, Occupation : Non-Profit, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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