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Women and men of various shapes and sizes stampeded down the stairway as they fought to haul themselves off harm’s way.
Some were screaming while others were too frightened to do anything.
They watched helplessly as the drama unfolded right in front of them.
“I told you I was not keen on attending this party. Chiona zvandaita,” wailed one lady as blood oozed from an open wound on her face.
The more she saw the blood flowing, the more she cried.
“If this is the price I have to pay for free booze, then I do not think it’s worth it,” an elderly man who was among invited guests could be heard saying while leaving the party.
All hell, we were told, broke loose when a junior staffer performed a lewd dance routine behind a female workmate, sending her husband into a fit of pique.
The dance was the last straw that broke the camel’s back because well before the party had started, people were poking fun at this gentleman’s wife’s heavily endowed backside.
And expecting him to smile when people were dipping their dirty hands in his drinking well was just the height of testing someone’s resilience in the most difficult way.
Police were called, but by the time they arrived the damage had already been done.
The disco was broken to pieces while fragments of beer glasses and bottles were all over the venue.
What happened at this party, though regrettable, is a good lesson for companies.
Some people’s greatest undoing comes with the quest to be perceived as legends, even for all the wrong reasons.
And such tags have serious consequences because no employer wants to be associated with a problem worker.
The moment you exhibit an attitude problem, then your capacity to poison the work environment becomes high.
Cases of violence at office parties help organisers identify who to invite for a party, the venue, the kind of drinks to serve and above all the security requirements thereof.
As the year draws to a close, countless employers are hosting parties as a “thank you” gesture to their dedicated workers who enabled them reap huge profits and meet set targets.
Food and alcoholic beverages are usually bountiful at these parties, leading to embarrassing situations in the event that the guests take one too many.
It is not unusual for people to make a U-turn on the gate after just seeing how people will be behaving at a party.
Some people are used to stealing and it is common to see workers hiding cases of beer from others so that they get something to take home.
It is also at parties that some people accomplish their yearlong wishes to embarrass the boss, punch him in the abdomen or tell him how best the company would perform in his absence.
Here are a few tried and tested tips on how to behave at a party.
Don’t treat the office party like a singles bar
An office party gives you a chance to see another side of your co-workers. However, you shouldn’t try to get to know any of them too well. Jim (or Jane) from accounting may suddenly look a lot more appealing under bar lights than cubicle lights. Ignore your animal instincts. Workplace romances — or worse, one night stands — can be disastrous.
Don’t flirt or act in a sexually provocative manner
Your flirting may be entirely innocent, but the message it sends to your colleagues isn’t innocent.
If you want to be respected on a professional level, save this side of yourself for parties with friends.
Don’t wear suggestive clothing
If you wouldn’t wear it to the office, you shouldn’t wear it to the office party. Of course, your clothes can be more festive than those you wear to work (think sequins, colour, and sparkles), but they shouldn’t be revealing.
Don’t let your guard down
People tend to relax at office parties. When relaxed, we let our guards down and reveal things about ourselves we don’t want our co-workers to know. Alcohol may contribute to this too.
Don’t tell dirty or off-colour jokes
This rule holds true in or out of the office. Dirty or off-colour jokes may be offensive to others so avoid telling them. There is no sense in telling anyone who cares to listen things they have no use of, even in future.
Don’t use foul language
You may feel so comfortable at the office party that you forget you’re really at work. Keep bad language in check as it could make you look unprofessional.
Don’t talk about people behind their backs
Just because someone is absent from the office party it doesn’t give you reason to talk about him behind his back. In addition to the fact that it’s just not nice, this person’s friends may be present and word could get back to him.
There are prospects for disaster at the office party if not enough precautions are taken. You’d think that at the office holiday party you could grab a glass of bubbly, let your hair down and speak your mind.
Don’t do it. The office fête is not the place for unconstrained chatter.
It’s also not the place for personal confession, expressions of frustration or speechifying about what you’d do with the company if you were in charge.
Instead, remember that you are at a professional function and behave that way.
That means listening as much as talking, keeping your conversation on safe subjects like hobbies, movies or family and deferring to superiors.
“Don’t outshine people who need the spotlight, or hold some aspect of job security in your hands,” advises John Challenger, chief executive of the worldwide outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas.
“The holiday party is a great time to build relationships. Don’t get into behaviours that might cause relationships to deteriorate or be damaged.”
John Bliss, the founder of BlissPR in Manhattan, doesn’t take any chances.
For more than 15 years he has insisted that his employees attend a pre-party pizza dinner.
He orders enough pies for the 30-member staff at around 4:30pm and watches to ensure everyone has a few slices.
It’s a guarantee no one will be drinking on an empty stomach.
“It’s like blotting paper,” he says. “That way, you can have fun without getting embarrassed.” Companies like BlissPR have a lot at stake. When they invite clients to their parties, the last thing they need is a drunken staffer.
More companies are serving alcohol at holiday parties this year, according to an annual survey on holiday celebrations by the executive search firm Battalia Winston Amrop.
Seventy-six percent of companies say they plan to serve alcoholic beverages, up from 73 percent last year.
Alcohol service hit a high in 2000, when 90 percent of firms offered it, according to the 23 years of Battalia reports.
The dangers of excessive alcohol consumption are well known, but cautionary tales are worth retelling: Annmarie Woods recalls a holiday gathering a few years ago for her sales team at a leading financial services firm.
The group began the evening at a downtown restaurant and then headed to a dance club.
The evening being celebratory, their boss picked up the bill for a limousine to get them from the restaurant to the club.
While en route, one of the staffers vomited into Woods’ purse.
“The next day at the meeting, everyone was talking about it. Their opinion of her had been altered,” Woods puts it mildly.
The office party offers a unique opportunity to bond with superiors and colleagues. But don’t blow it.
“If you can’t keep a lid on it, don’t go to it,” Challenger advises.
Instead, remember that you are at a professional function and behave that way.
That means listening as much as talking, keeping your conversation on safe subjects like hobbies, movies or family and deferring to superiors.
Not long ago at Zimpapers, a part-time staffer helped himself to more than enough of the wise waters and ended up soiling his garments.
The result was that no one offered him a lift back to the office and that was the last that was seen of him.
People make and undo themselves at office parties.
According to a human resources officer who preferred anonymity, workers are considered at work during party times and this makes them liable to being charged in terms of the company’s code of conduct.
“Fighting at work is a dismissible offence and once people fight at a party, nothing stops the employer from dismissing someone though extenuating circumstances can be found,” the human resources practitioner said.
It is not a bookable offence to choose not to attend an office party or to elect not to come.
This helps avoid trouble and ensure people have little stress to take into the new year.
Online Reporter