I was working as a junior analyst for a firm that managed US stock investments for Indian clients. Both a fellow new-joiner colleague and I came into this role with substantial background experience; we had both previously run our own hedge funds. In terms of sheer performance and net worth, we objectively outpaced the management above us. About three months into our tenure, the company organized a corporate retreat to Goa. Almost immediately, the atmosphere felt deeply off. On the surface, everyone was eating pizzas, laughing, and projecting this overly jolly, welcoming vibe, but it felt entirely forced and fake. Behind the smiles, the managers were noticeably cold toward me and my colleague. They treated us with a misplaced sense of superiority, acting as though they were leagues above us despite our proven track records. The "Non-Mandatory" Trap On the third day of the retreat, the company hosted an "Office Olympics." The itinerary explicitly stated that participation was not mandatory. Taking the schedule at its word, my colleague and I decided to take a short trip to explore the local beaches. While we were out, my colleague suddenly received a frantic phone call. The team was complaining about our absence, claiming they were waiting on us and couldn't build their teams. Realizing the unwritten expectations, we immediately rushed back to the villa and participated in all the remaining activities, which included building a house of cards and a sprint competition. The Aftermath and Termination Two days after returning home from Goa, I was completely blindsided. My colleague came to me and revealed that he had been abruptly terminated. The justifications the company provided were completely absurd. Despite him being one of the absolute best performers in the firm, they suddenly claimed his performance was inadequate. Worse, they weaponized petty social grievances against him. They complained that he didn't interact enough with the team and brought up past non-issues, like him allegedly failing to wish them a "Happy Diwali." The Hypocrisy The most frustrating complaint came from our manager, who cited his lack of communication with her. This expectation was completely unrealistic given the setup of the trip. The men and women were assigned to entirely separate villas, naturally limiting interaction. Furthermore, the manager had brought her child on the corporate retreat and spent the vast majority of her time preoccupied with her kid. She barely exchanged a "good morning" with either of us. Ultimately, he was penalized for a lack of interaction that the manager herself made practically impossible, masking the company's own insecurities behind a facade of poor culture fit.
The tension in this confession lies at the intersection of explicit organizational policies and implicit cultural expectations. On one hand, the author and their colleague relied on the written word, treating a "non-mandatory" label as a literal permission to opt out. On the other hand, management appears to have viewed attendance as a proxy for loyalty, team cohesion, and respect for authority. This mismatch highlights how "culture fit" can sometimes be weaponized or interpreted differently depending on one's position in the hierarchy. Additionally, a subtle but significant layer of friction stems from the mismatched backgrounds of the junior analysts and their managers. Entering a junior role with prior experience as hedge fund managers creates an unusual power dynamic. It is possible that the management perceived this substantial background as a threat to their authority, leading them to scrutinize the analysts' social integration more harshly. The managers may have interpreted the decision to skip the activity not just as a preference for the beach, but as a rejection of the company’s community and an assertion of independence. Conversely, the analysts viewed the forced socialization as insincere and poorly managed, especially given the physical segregation of the villas and the manager's own limited availability. This situation underscores how unwritten social rules and perceived status differences can override objective performance metrics in corporate environments.
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The real issue here isn’t whether the event was “mandatory” or not, it’s the mismatch between what the company communicated and what it apparently expected. If participation was genuinely optional, an employee should not be penalised for choosing not to attend. If team building or participation was important, management should have communicated that expectation clearly beforehand rather than treating an unwritten social norm as a performance criterion. That said, we’re also hearing only one side of the story. There may have been other performance or conduct concerns that contributed to the termination, and the employee’s own assessment of being a “top performer” doesn’t necessarily tell the whole story. The broader lesson is that companies should separate performance, professional conduct and voluntary social participation. Employees shouldn’t have to decode hidden rules to understand what is expected of them. At the same time, employees should recognise that workplace culture and relationship building can matter, even when an event itself is technically optional. Clear expectations from both sides would have prevented a lot of this ambiguity.
If this is true ,it is definitely inhumane.Why don’t you put the whole details such as your company name and your manager name and her position.Except India ,anywhere in the world,this can’t be acceptable as this is completely falls under harrasment.She definitely has made bad reputation for your company.If Ideal any investment in that company , I pull it off as the way they treat employees could also be the same to customers ..
That's why never marry in private job
All companies & firms are the same brother. They use you & then fire you when they have no use for you. Maybe the manager wanted to get rid of your colleague for some stupid reason. Tell your colleague to start applying & find a job asap. If he has a family business, then he can join there, better.
अब क्या ही कर सकते हैं नई जॉब खोजो
Keep all electronic evidence with you safe, email, photos, that non mandatory presence or whatever, visit labour court, you'll end up with a salary equivalent to your 5 years tenure just get a shrude (h arami) wakeel on comission basis, he will show bamboo up the A$$ of your management and shake it well
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