Don’t get me wrong, I love a good happy hour. Although I have a wonderful relationship with my coworkers, I’d just prefer to go on my personal time and leave all office shenanigans at the 5 o’clock hour. At the end of the day, my priorities have shifted tremendously and I find myself, most times, running out the door to pick up my children from daycare on time.

Want to know how I avoided the outings? Well, I wish I had something more profound to reveal, but I actually had a discussion with my boss about it. I noticed that it was seemingly becoming an expectation that we make plans to attend after-hours office gatherings as some sort of team-building/bonding experience and I felt the need to be upfront. I didn’t want to be the person who never showed up to anything.

I let my boss know that although I felt bad that I wasn’t able to attend the outings, my evenings are accounted for – for obvious reasons! As a wife and mom to young children, it’s important for me to maximize what is left of the day with my family. I didn’t want to feel pressured, and walking on eggshells at an office happy hour is just not my idea of a fun time, to be completely honest. It’s perfectly okay to just not want to go. We spend an awful lot of time in the workplace, and by the end of the day, some just want out.

My priorities are bit different from others, so I want to know if you attend office happy hours. Why or why not? Let us know in the comments below!

On Saturday, May 21st, we’re hosting our inaugural conference about how creativity and technology are changing our daily lives, from our hobbies to our work. Will you be joining us? Tickets here.

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