Am I overreacting?

I would like your opinions on a situation that has arisen at work.

We 'house' a company which means we run their business out of ours. We do everything from running their office, bookkeeping, payroll, take/make phone calls on their behalf, pay bills etc.

So at Christmas time they had their office party at our office.

A new employee of ours started the day out with an extremely condescending attitude. She made it look as if she ran our company. She began to drink then started in on a co-worker, being extremely rude, and obnoxious. She later ended up getting into with one of the employees of the company which we house. She pushed him, spilled his drink, he then fell to the ground and she jumped him. Apparently there was another episode out back.

Yes alcohol and conflicting attitudes do not mix. The fact is that employees should treat clients and their employees with respect. Resorting to physical violence should not be tolerated (MY opinion only!)

The whole thing could have been dealt with in a more professional manner BEFORE things got out of hand, but was ignored by the owner.

There are 4 employees at our office besides the drunken, violent chick, we had all left earlier because we could see something like this happening and didn't want to be involved.

The owner feels sorry for the girl and is making alcohol and her family life her excuse. He's accepting it. She now feels bad and wants to quit but the boss is trying to kiss her a$$ so she stays.

My personal feeling is the whole situation disgusts me to no end. I am embarrassed to be associated with the company and this employee. If this girl remains with the company we are asked to not 'razz' her and be nice.

What are your thoughts please??

For the safety of all concerned, violence in the workplace cannot be tolerated. When she "jumped" him, she should have been immediately terminated.

Your boss is wrong, and if she stays, the company is leaving itself wide open for a major problem, and an eventual legal issue. This is one of the reasons why alcohol can't be permitted at company sponsored functions anymore.
I would complain about the incident to HR, and would ask them why a violent employee is allowed to remain on the workforce. This is very dangerous, and no one is really safe.

She sounds like a spoiled brat. She should have been fired on the spot when she jumped the other employee

Was she on the clock or this was party time???

if it was just party time i would forgive altho u are 100% right she was out of hand i bet she feels like crap and embarrassed!!!!!!!!!! omg i would be-If you guys were cool to her it might help the whole situation get better for everyone

Is she that good of an employee?? Im sorry, but I would talk to the owner and tell him you do not feel right about this. If it happened once, it will happen again.

I think that your boss is a idiot. The drunk should have been taken aside and reprimanded immediately - not consoled because she has a few personal issues. You have my sympathy!

You work environment is a joke, and so is mine. I say life is short: and lets just quit! Lets find another place to work and start OVER already. Frick!

She sounds awful and so does your company. Lay low until you can find something else. Unless you absolutely love this job and all this crap is worth it.

Wierd. It just doesn't seem right that the boss is the one kissing her @#$ when it should be the other way around. And her saying she is going to quit is to just draw attention. She should be giving everyone an apology and should at least get written up. Your boss is not setting a very good example for the rest of the employees who work there. Maybe you should all start drinking on the job and tell him its because of your past. The past may shape us but we all know how to make right choices. I think that the employee/employer relationship between them is toooo strange. Are there some feelings between them going on there? Hmm.......looks like it to me.

If I was the manager of this employee, she would have been dismissed from her job on the basis of assaulting another employee (or customer). I give her credit for feeling guilty about her behavior and for offering to quit. However, since the owner of your company has decided to continue her employment, then you either accept the decision and deal with her in a professional mannger (be nice) or you leave the company.

Does the owner have some type of relationship with the girl? (relative or friend?) I'm sure the owner probably feels guilty for having liquor or allowing liquor at the party, which is probably the reason why he could be cutting her some slack.

I know first impressions are pretty important, but you might want to look into giving this girl another chance. She could possibly just be a bad drunk. I know plenty of nice people who I can't be around because they can't handle their liquor.

If this is really bothering you, you might want to talk to your boss about it. If it's going to affect your work, and the work of others around you, he might have to take it into consideration.
You do spend at least 8 hours a day in there, so you might as well feel comfortable at work.

Odd.

Is your boss sleeping with this girl? That's the only reason I can think why he'd go to bat for her and her mind-bogglingly unprofessional conduct.

Time to find a new job. Your work reputation in on the line working for a company that would tolerate this kind of behavior from one of there employees.

Had a similar situation. When I told my boss that I was leaving, he wanted to know why, and I told him that I could not risk my work reputation for this job. He fired our office "problem" 20 minutes later.

But don't be surprised if your boss does not do the same. Some bosses just don't care about the companies that they work for.

Don't razz her, and do your job. It's not your company, why would you take what happened so personally?

Well, I certainly don't think you are overracting. In fact I think you may be under-reacting to this. If you are in a position to, or inclined to, leave the company I would do so while directly stating to the owner and the drunk employee that they are the reason for it. That may be a bit of an overreaction, but an understandable one. If you stay with the job, and the drunk employee stays, I would keep as much distance as possible between you, while still being polite and professional. I would also voice my thoughts or concerns to the owner. His conduct sounds quite inappropriate, or at least inadequate.

My first thought was that there had to be something going on between the boss and the drunk, but that may not be the case. Either all of the other employees, including the poor guy ho got jumped, should get together and complain about their fear for their safety should she remain, or look for another job. The first plan won't work unless EVERYONE is in it together. Other than that, I don't see what else you can do besides giving her time to wear down the boss's enabling instinct. He is not helping her with her problem. Also, the guy who got jumped could file charges, she did assault him.

No, you aren't overreacting. Either talk to the boss about this situation, or if you don't want to do that, lay low and start looking for another job. Also, I would avoid this girl as much as possible. Don't talk to her unless you absolutely have to.

Something here doesnt seem right, the story that is. Nobody has to take that kinda abuse in the work place.....its the right of the employee. If the employer chooses to accept hes putting himself at risk of law suits...so it seems odd that the boss is aloowing such behavoir. Also, the boss asking that all employees not upset her isnt right either...again hes putting himself and his company at risk. I would have to think that this isnt true. I just cant imagine a company putting themselves out like this.