So, I work at a bar and inn in the UK. Don't get me wrong, I love my job and everyone is really nice, save for one person – let's call her Susan.
Susan is one of those stereotypical older people that is mean to pretty much everyone that she doesn't see as either a customer or a peer. As far as I'm aware, most of the front of House staff that work with her don't like her very much.
Susan knows that people don't like her very much. And she doesn't care, because she doesn't like them either.
But for whatever reason, she likes me a lot. I don't know why. She has, in fact said to me, multiple times, that I am the only person she likes working with on our particular shifts – she hates everybody else. This is strange to me and hard to believe, since she is still just as mean to me as she is to everyone else.
Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, Susan approached me not too long after I had clocked in and invited me to her family's garden party next month. Since I am socially anxious and she was asking me in person whilst people were watching, I felt obligated to say I would go.
But honestly, I really don't want to go. I think it crosses a line between work life and personal life that I'm not comfortable crossing. And also it's a family party, so why the hell do I have any business being there?
How do I get out of this? Is there a way of doing this that doesn't affect work?