After our $30,000 team retreat was canceled, we walked out.

Synopsis

I was blasted online by the new intern, Chloe Reed, who claimed AscendCorp was forcing employees to use their vacation days for mandatory team-building events. No one wanted to travel all the way to a tropical island to put on a show with coworkers. But what the internet didn't know was AscendCorp's team-building tradition: Every year, we booked an entire five-star resort, all expenses paid, and employees could bring their families. We even gave an additional three days of paid leave, with a lavish per-person budget that ensured a truly luxury experience. The entire internet was calling me a cold-blooded capitalist, so I decided to fulfill their wishes and issued a direct announcement: "In response to employee feedback and to respect individual time, this year's company retreat will be canceled. Instead, a $500 free-travel stipend will be issued to all employees." The moment the announcement went out, the company erupted. Senior employees swarmed my office door, begging me to bring back the Caribbean sun and sand. Brenda Patterson, our Administrative Director, and I had just finalized this year's retreat plans. "Alex,