Man receives backlash from colleagues for refusing to go on a boys' trip and prioritizing family

The idea of taking a vacation is blissful, but not at the cost of others. Having peace and solitude and getting away from everyday chaos can be refreshing, but not when it compromises others in your life. Reddit user u/daddydoesntwanttogo shared a post where he took a stand for himself and his wife and decided to put her needs before his. The man was set to go on a boy's trip and shunned the idea as it would mean a tremendous parenting load on his partner. However, even after explaining and offering alternatives, his colleagues weren’t on board and humiliated him with hurtful names.

“My work schedules a work bonding fishing trip from Friday night to Sunday over the summer. I said no way I’m going,” the man said. He mentioned that his wife didn’t have a problem and wanted him to take a break, but he also acknowledged that he had 5 kids and that it would be too much work for his partner. He then went on to list 4 major reasons why he chose not to go. “First of all, every Saturday, I schedule my wife for some type of treat-yourself appointment and send her on a mini shopping spree/kiddo-free morning to do what she wants with one rule: no kid shopping. It’s about her and her only,” the man said.

It would mean the mom wouldn’t get her mandatory Saturday if the dad opted to go, which would be unfair. The man then shared his second reason, saying that he didn’t want to go fishing and leave his family at home to get drunk and enjoy in that sense. He added that he would prefer to do it with his children, so it’s more flexible for him and his wife. “Third, the ladies that work at the office feel excluded because they don’t like the fishing trip. Fourth, they call it a stag weekend (despite no one getting married) and I don’t trust that phrasing, especially since they are going fishing near a very popular college-age vacation spot known for bars and wasted weekend shenanigans,” the man said.

Citing valid reasons for not wanting to go, the man also shared alternatives that would benefit everyone in the picture. “All my coworkers have wives, kids, or significant others, so I recommended we do a family campout during the planning meeting (would cost the same amount) and do those blow-up things on the lake, boating if you have one, skis ext. and do a cookout kind of deal with family activities with my work renting small cabins for families to use,” the man suggested. He also mentioned that his manager loved the idea and offered a yearly bonus so he could plan the same.

Unfortunately, the men weren’t quite happy about his idea and were agitated that their primary fishing trip was out of the picture. “My coworkers are calling me whipped and more names and are mad because their wives are happy about my idea,” the man said. People assured the man that he was right in his place and applauded him for being a family man as he should. u/kastalaesi said, “You’re being considerate to your wife and it sounds like you’re a good husband.” u/themisfit123 said, " You came up with an idea that would benefit everyone and not leave anyone left out. I find it weird that a workplace would even have such an exclusive fishing trip, to begin with."