Employee Who Was Fired For Not Being “Fun Enough” Wins the Right To Be Boring At work



A French court recently ruled that a man fired from a consulting firm for not being fun enough in the workplace has the right to be as boring as he likes. Cubik Partners, a management consultancy firm based in Paris, fired Mr. T., whose full name was not disclosed for privacy reasons, because they deemed him difficult to work with, a poor listener, and simply too boring. What the company apparently meant was that Mr. T. didn’t go out drinking with his colleagues enough after work, part of the company’s “fun-based” approach to team building. Mr. T., on the other hand, said that he simply refused to take part in what he considered excesses, such as consuming large quantities of alcohol. After being dismissed on the grounds of “professional inadequacy,” Mr. T. took the company to court, arguing that being fired for essentially not being fun enough was illegal. After years of legal battles, a top French court ruled in Mr. T.’s favor. In its decision, the court stated that the company had no right to force anyone to participate excessive drinking and that they had engaged in “humiliating and intrusive practices.” Apart from having the right to refuse to party, Mr. T. was also awarded compensation in the amount of $3,000. A lawsuit for $473,000 in damages will be addressed in an upcoming hearing.