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How long will you fight for the right to be boring? After 7 long years, a man who was fired in 2015 for not being ‘fun’ enough finally won the legal right to be ‘boring.’ Not only that, but he was compensated for it as well – talk about a win-win situation.
Some people are fired from their jobs for being too ‘wild,’ while others are fired for not being ‘wild’ enough. That is exactly what happened to this Frenchman.
According to the Telegraph, the unnamed employee, who goes by Mr. T, worked as a senior advisor for the Paris-based consultancy firm Cubik Partners, which is known for its “fun and pro” work environment.
They had thrown a series of mandatory soirees for staffers in the spirit of their mantra to help boost team spirit and prevent training sessions from becoming too boring.
Employees would be forced to attend these seminars and end-of-week drinks. According to reports, these activities included simulated sexual acts, sharing beds with colleagues during seminars, cruel nicknames, and other forms of hazing.
These “Wolf of Wallstreet”-style activities did not sit well with Mr. T, who refused to participate because he did not agree with Cubik Partners’ definition of “fun,” according to his testimony in court. As a result, he was fired in 2015 for being boring, bad at listening, and difficult to work with. Mr. T filed a lawsuit for what appeared to be wrongful termination and received justice seven years later.
Mr. T asserted that he had the right to “critical behavior and to refuse company policy based on incitement to participate in various excesses,” and the court agreed.
The Paris Court of Cassation ruled that Cubik Partners’ “fun” culture violated Mr. T’s “fundamental right to dignity and respect for private life.” The court also ordered the company to pay him €3,000, or approximately $2,54,071.
Mr. T finally won the legal right to be ‘boring’ after 7 years, becoming a hero for many. Santé!
