Day on the Green

When I first started werking for my organization three years ago, it was clear to me that this employer and corporate culture was going to be extremely different from my time at the newspaper.

Day 1&2: In August of 2008 were spent at the Willow Creek Leadership Summit.
Day 3&4:HR orientation. (At the newspaper, it was, here's your desk and your computer, hope you like it here).
Day 5: Decorating the.land.of.cubicles with Christmas decor and fake snow, and rehearsing a group recitation of 'the Grinch' with my new co.werkers who were as excited about it as elementary school kids are about Halloween. This was a pleasant surprise and also kind of freaked me out.
Day 6: Day on the Green. A day that is dedicated to organization wide competitions: which department has the best theme/decorations/costumes?, which department will dominate in the afternoon volleyball tournament?, which department will raise the most money for our chosen local charity of the year?

Day on the Green is a fundraiser for a local Colorado Springs charity, and all of my co.werkers spend an entire year raising money for them. Day on the Green has traditionally been a day long fundraiser hosted by the IT department, and since 2008, it has been significantly down graded. For example, instead of choosing a theme to execute for an entire day (including costumes and being 'in character' for an entire day)...last year the decor was limited to a pre-assigned conference room with scheduled performance times for judging.

This year, the decor is limited to the baton being used in relay races.

I cringe at most versions of 'forced family fun', especially in the werk.place. I will always remember that I first met my co.werker Goeff as 'Fox in Sox', and that the VP of Finance was dressed like a very convincing pirate when I first saw him.

I'm not quite sure what my problem is with Day on the Green, it is a fun day to play a little and get to know co.werkers in a completely different light. Maybe that's it, maybe it's just a little too much exposure for me of my co.werker's inner-thespians, the extreme delight they take in playing 4 hours of volleyball dressed like a cartoon character, or the awkward forced conversations when we are 'on the clock' but not actually werking.

Call me a party pooper, but I'd much rather be given an entire werk day to just volunteer in my community once a year, instead of paying to get an old western picture taken with my co.werkers, toting a shotgun and wearing western dress up clothes.

On this Day on the Green, I am a very happy home.werker. I am very enthusiastic about still being in my pj's at 11:30 and the only 'Green' I'll be seeing this day is my backyard.