Offices can shove its pre-conceived expectations requiring workplace participation in any activities either in or outside of the office that have nothing to do with the job. I don't want to go to your holiday parties and fake intermingle and false smile with coworkers/managers that are absolute total arrogant fraudulent egotists that during office hours are just about as pleasing and welcoming to interact with as a catfish interacting with a propane grill, standing around taking photo-ops for marketing on social media, and acting like they weren't just being a jerk to you and others they work with the day before. Whenever you don't want to go to these “functions” for personal and obvious reasons, you get the third degree and the peculiar reactions. Work isn't just simply work these days. It's now taken on high school level AP-class or yearbook club cliques and college level fraternal societies that you are expected to want to be inducted into in order to get brownie points and get surface-level acceptance from people that are brainwashed to believe that buying a company T-Shirt and mug is a beneficial and prideful purchase. These companies micro-manage so hard that the micro-management has transferred from the work itself to now the pre-constructed office social system and the conditioning needed to make the employees actually honestly believe they are part of a “family” by selling them clothes with the company logo, forcing everyone using passive-aggressive influencing techniques to guilt people into participating in festivities and happy hours, and shoving BS hypocritical “office culture” narratives down your throat. If you dare have your own mind and make your own choice to not want anything to do with them you're now the “rebel.” I can't stand extra nonsense required and expected of you to help keep up whatever facade they want to promote to help keep them financially afloat and to have good pics to post on social media to make it seem like everybody is the bestest of friends and there's absolutely no corruption, deception, and workplace/management toxicity going on to preserve a profitable image that only benefits the higher ups and the ass-kissers. And if you bring up those issues to HR, they gaslight you into oblivion just to protect the company in whatever fashion. It's so pathetic.
I'm good.