A woman’s work party turned out to be career-ending after someone in the office took things a little too far and ended up being ‘rude and obnoxious’ while offending clients
Work parties are a fun way to let loose with your colleagues, but sometimes people let their hair down a little too much.
When there’s alcohol flowing it can be hard to know when to stop, and one woman’s colleague learned the hard way that you shouldn’t get “blind drunk” at a work do – because there can be some serious consequences.
“The event is dinner then entertainment and drinks/dancing at a hired venue. Ahead of the event, colleagues are told what to expect, that some clients will be there too and to therefore enjoy but behave accordingly etc (it was implied not to get blind drunk but not explicitly said),” the woman said in a post on Mumsnet.
Explaining what happened to an ex-colleague at the party, she continued: “Colleague A is relatively new to the business and still on probation but doing a good job. They are told about the event like everyone else.
“On the night the free booze is flowing like it often is at these kinds of events and it becomes apparent colleague A is enjoying the booze a lot but as this is their first time drinking in front of other colleagues, people aren’t aware when to step in or that it could lead to big issues (some people can drink loads with no issue, some can’t etc) plus everyone else is drinking too, although a bit more moderately.
“As the night wears on (when some people had already headed home) colleague A reveals themselves as quite a rude and obnoxious drunk, they offend a long-standing client, an older colleague then vomit on the senior leader’s shoes.”
A few days later when the woman was back at work, she received an email which detailed “that colleague A is no longer in the business”, and she was left feeling confused morally.
“I’ve been shocked by the whole thing and wondering who was more at fault?” she asked. “Should colleague A have curbed the drinking on the night or should the company not have had so much free alcohol on offer? It’s a recipe for disaster if you don’t know when to stop drinking but equally moderate drinkers are entitled to some free drinks to enjoy themselves surely?”
In the comments, many people blamed the individual, with one writing: “It’s a no-brainer, personal responsibility to act professional. If colleague A is young, it will be a harsh lesson.”
Another penned: “It’s absolutely A’s fault. Everyone had the same access to the free booze, but no one else was rude or vomited on the senior partner. A has learned a stiff lesson and hopefully will control their drinking a bit better in future.”
Someone else said: “I suppose a bit of both? Ultimately the colleague was responsible for their own behaviour. At the same time, you would expect someone to be ‘cut off’ if they were clearly intoxicated.
“The situation didn’t exactly set the colleague up for a win, especially given that nobody knew them enough to intervene. Again, though, we’re all responsible for our own alcohol intake, even though it’s well known that it can be easy to have too much without meaning to.”
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