The team-building event was mandatory for all, the woman said. (Representational)
A female intern in Vietnam recently resigned from her job after an older male colleague allegedly threatened to kiss her at a company team-building event. According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the woman, identified as Huynh Anh My, said that during an internship last year, she took part in a mandatory event with a company in Hanoi. However, after she was forced to play a “weird, perverted” game at the boozy event, she resigned from the firm, saying that the incident made her feel so anxious and terrified that she could not face anyone at the office.
Ms Huynh said that the team-building event was mandatory for all. Skipping the seaside trip would have resulted in penalties or extra work, she told a local Vietnamese news outlet, per SCMP. She said that she and her colleagues were on the beach taking part in a water-carrying competition when she began to feel tired.
“The weather was scorching, and I was exhausted from hauling buckets of water. I noticed that a female colleague sat to rest but was playfully pushed into the sea by a male colleague. I could not help but think, this is torture, not team-building,” Ms Huynh said.
After the competition, the intern said that her team leader suggested everyone play a drinking game. “A male colleague, about the same age as my father said if I did not finish three glasses of alcohol in one go, I had to kiss him,” she said.
Ms Huynh was aghast and wondered to herself why there were such “weird, perverted games”. She said that the male colleague then walked over to her, grabbed her hand, and insisted she drink.
“I burst into tears because he kept getting close to my face and I was so scared. It wasn’t until I managed to drink all three glasses that he finally stopped and moved on to another girl,” she continued.
“After this, I was terrified and anxious for days, and I could not face anyone at the company. Eventually, I resigned,” the woman told the outlet. She also said that before resigning, she reported the incident to her supervisor but received no feedback.
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Ms Huynh’s story has gone viral online. “This is sexual harassment. Team-building activities should be gentle and respectful to all employees,” wrote one user. “Not only young women, but people of any age and gender can experience workplace harassment,” said another.
“In my previous company, I had to carry a female colleague in a princess-style during a group activity, and both of us felt very uncomfortable with it,” shird a third user.
