I wonder about just saying that your friend is already your rep? But also just ignore it and don't worry about it.

There are seven people in the company. My boss is the CEO and functions as HR.

Ignoring the general invite was one thing, but this was a direct message. She probably doesn't mean it to seem coercive but it does.

Fuck this. I'm going to message her back and say I can't attend, and hopefully she'll get the fucking hint. I don't need this stress. If she turns into a bitch because I didn't buy her Norwex crap, then she's not the person I thought she was, and I'll go from there.

Timelies all!

Gary set up a Zoom session and invited some of Mr. S's former classmates plus some of our friends with kids near his age. A couple of the classmates showed up for a few minutes. Well, we tried.

That's an awful situation for a boss to put you in! Super unethical. Not that most people would feel comfortable pointing that out to said boss. I think a "sorry can't make it" is more than acceptable.

I think people that do these expect a significant percentage of invitees to beg off or ignore. A couple of my nieces and several friends do them and I ignore them regularly without any of them caring at all.

Ask a Manager would definitely agree that your boss shouldn't do that, because she has authority over you, so it's kind of coercion.

Ugh, Zen, I hope your boss backs off and continues to be a good boss otherwise.

Sorry about the cats being unpleasant, Laura.

That's an awful situation for a boss to put you in! Super unethical. Not that most people would feel comfortable pointing that out to said boss. I think a "sorry can't make it" is more than acceptable.

Agreed!!

I need advice? My boss has sent me a FB invite to her virtual Norwex party tonight. "Looking forward to seeing you!" I didn't respond to the initial invite, and I'm feeling pressured by this. It's a whole friends-circle thing. The coworker who got me hired at this company, and his wife, have been game-night friends with me for years - not close friends but friendly acquaintances. His wife is a Norwex rep and I've bought Norwex stuff from her a few times. My boss is friends with them both, and Coworker's Wife got Boss into becoming a Norwex rep. I saw danger when I got the invite to Boss's virtual party and did not respond, hoping that would send the message that I don't want to be involved. I don't have the money to spend on stuff I don't need, and I don't want to mix either casual friendship or profit-making into my relationship with my boss. And my boss is really nice and super supportive, I like her, but I don't think this is appropriate and I'm not comfortable with the idea of buying stuff from my boss. Not to mention, this job - which I like - pays me about the minimum I can live on, I don't feeling like I have to give some of that money back to my boss or risk souring our working relationship.

What do I do? How do I respond to this?

Your boss shouldn't have done this.

WTF is a virtual party? Is it a Zoom meeting? Can you have "internet trouble" a few minutes in?

Totally off topic: I made hummus today from dried chickpeas cooked in the instapot and the final product is so dang tasty I've forgone bread, carrots, and cucumber and am just eating it by the spoonful.