OK, lets say its the end of the day, and your boss drops by your desk and gives you the 4 company tickets to that night’s NBA playoff game. Now, assuming you are planning on going, how would you handle filling the 3 other seats? Would you make an attempt to bring co-workers along (since tickets are really work seats), or would you go right to your own family or friends? Is inviting co-workers the polite or “right” thing to do, or does it make a difference at all? Does it make a difference if the guy with the wife and kids brings his family first instead of other employees, as opposed to the single guy bringing his outside of work buddies before bringing his co-worker buddies?
We were discussing this at work the other day, and it seems like there are some differing opinions. Now no one is suggesting that the employee given the tickets should be required to make an attempt to share them with other co-workers, but some have said it would be the courteous/polite/cool thing to do. I’m interested to hear some more opinions, and I can see both sides of coin on this one to be honest.
In the absence of other information, my assumption would be that the boss has given these tickets to others in the company on other occasions, and they invited whoever they wanted to bring along.
This happens fairly frequently at my place. The common answer seems to be …
Take 2 and let the boss keep trying to give away the other 2 to somebody else at work. If the tix come back around unclaimed, then take all 4 & bring whomever you like with a clear conscience.
Why yes, we are all maried or in LTRs and nobody has kids of an age to take to a sporting event.
As someone of rank, I always pass on the first go-around anyhow; “let the junior people eat first” was one of the cardinal rules of military leadership. It would be nice if that was taught to the greedy bastards that pass for senior management in most companies. I’m glad to not deal with that now.
Where I have worked it was assumed you took anyone you wanted. Mostly it was family or friends. I never had any idea I was supposed to take co-workers.
Unless the boss makes some sort of stipulation like try an take somebody from work or see if you can take a client, I would consider them to be offered with the understanding that I could use the tickets in whatever way I wanted. Selling the tickets in some fashion would be the only thing I would say should never be done. Sometimes you might round up some co-workers, other times it might be nice to take the family out.
Where I work, we often get a lot of sports/event tickets. The assumption is that you take who you want - the people who are in charge of giving them out generally spread the giving out pretty evenly. Or, if the seats are particularly awesome, the’ll let everyone know they’re available and draw a name.
It would never occur to me to feel obligated to take co-workers. I would assume that at some point they’ve been offered tickets, or would be in the future.
At my work we have a drawing for the tickets. An announcement goes out in the morning that tickets are up for grabs, if you want them you put your name in by noon, the drawing happens at four. Pretty good system; makes sure that the person getting the tickets actually has some interest in going. Anyway I’ve never considered an obligation to take co-workers when I’ve won. Of course I only enter the drawing if I know I’ll use the tickets.
When I was young and single, my co-workers were my friends, so it wouldn’t have been an issue. Nowadays (if it happened) it would probably not cross my mind to invite my co-workers.
If the boss wanted four employees to go he would have given each of them one ticket. The idea is that this is a gift to YOU and you get to share it with the people you normally do things with. Your fellow employees will get/have gotten their chance to do the same when it’s their turn to receive the tickets.