We’ve all been there.
Everyone’s had one of those nights where they overdid the free cab-sav at a work function, right?
I mean, who hasn’t ended up drunkenly dancing an unco version of the Nutbush, tearfully declaring their love for their colleagues and then even more tearfully throwing up on the shoes of said colleagues at some point? (Or maybe that’s just me…)
But no matter how awkward your drunken work events have been, they’ve got nothing on what happened to this poor Qatar Airways stewardess.
Related: She was meant to attach her CV to the email. She accidentally attached this instead…
The airline’s vice president Rossen Dimitrov sent this email and picture to the entire company after a staff drinking session left one female employee passed out on the floor in front of her accommodation.
According to the Daily Star, Mr Dimitrov wrote:
I am so ashamed and disturbed by this behaviour displayed by a tenured member of our team, an adult who has been with the company for over 9 years. How can we change rules when we do not behave as mature individuals. I am very disappointed.
The company is based in Qatar, a Muslim country which does not allow its citizens to consume alcohol.
While foreigners are allowed to drink alcohol, drunkenness is considered disrespectful.
As a result, the airline has strict rules for its employees – but Mr Dimitrov has also been heavily criticised for his decision to publicly identify and shame the intoxicated woman.
Related: A French company is under fire for promoting sexism in the workplace.
A spokesperson told MailOnline Travel that the email was meant to remind staff to respect the country’s values.
The email was sent to impress on our cabin crew that, to make their working environment as good as it can be, while still respecting the norms and values of the Qatari society in which we work, everyone has a part to play. In Doha, the consumption of alcohol is not permitted for nationals and, although drinking is permitted for foreigners, being seen to be drunk would be considered highly disrespectful – it would have negative implications for both the individual and those associated with them. The vast majority of our cabin crew would themselves be disappointed at the idea that one of their colleagues should get into this situation, since they share our pride in the reputation of our team, and they would also, as we are, be very concerned about the safety implications for someone in this position.
And you thought you were having a bad day at work…
Top Comments
Are there not laws against using a person's picture without their consent? I think that behaviour is very poor, and of course she should have known better, but does the boss really and truly believe that she was the only person who drank to excess on that occasion, or was she just the one who got caught out? Also, important, when you are going to come out and be censorious in a public setting, you should examine your glass house extremely carefully for any tiny hairline cracks because karma is always waiting...
Calling her in and discussing it, issuing a warning or whatever, to her and anyone else overly-intoxicated would have been the right course of action.
I have no problem whatsoever with the email. I have a problem with people drinking to excess, full stop. I don't think it is funny, I don't think it is a rite of passage, or a sign that you had a "great night". I think it is stupid and immature. At my husband's Christmas "team" function at an expensive Japanese restaurant, both a colleague of his and the colleague's wife got absolutely hammered on the "free" alcohol (they are in their late 30's early 40's). So there we are, enjoying great sushi and company when the wife vomits violently over the floor from excess alcohol consumption. Absolutely disgusting. No, I am not some "Wallflower Wowser" with a cat's bum mouth pursed in disapproval of the world. I am very social, love to dance and have a good time. I just think Australians have a cultural issue with alcohol where "getting hammered" and being too sick to function the next day is considered a "good time". I have zero interest in having conversation with a sloppy drunk who keeps repeating themselves and slurring their words, falling all over the place. I would lose respect for a colleague who behaved like the woman in the article. Not classy.