So starting next year, as part of the new 'team building' activities, my work is recommending us to go out for a birthday lunch with our group. So basically, we're to go out for a lunch with everyone in our group (group of 8) and the birthday person gets free lunch and the rest of the group splits the bill. The catch is, it's not paid by the company but we'll have to pay it from our pocket. They say it's voluntary, but I will feel left out if I don't go out. Everyone in my group is in different phase of their career (big salary gap between me and top paying individual) and is in different situation. With the current price so high in everything, I stopped dining out for the most part and I pack lunch to save money. My company's revenue is in hundreds of millions and profit is in tens of millions. Am I being cheap here?