‘Raised glass too high’: Respect etiquette gaffe at office night out puts Hong Kong salaryman in bad books of boss, sparking online debate

City office worker goes online to claim he is being victimised by his boss because he failed to follow social etiquette norms on a work night out. Complaint sparks stir on social media as most take his side while others question if his work performance might be the real reason for his woes. — SCMP

A young Hong Kong officer worker has generated a buzz on social media after complaining that he was being victimised by his boss because of an etiquette faux pas on a work night out.

On the city’s anonymous forum Dcard, the confused office worker posted message thread titled: “Offended my boss by not knowing the rules when drinking with him.”

The apparently put-upon poster claimed that his manager had proposed a dinner for the whole team, adding that: “Of course, you have to drink at a dinner, and of course, you have to drink a toast.”

However, he said that during the office night out he had failed to observe an “important piece of etiquette” in the eyes of his elders during the toasting process.

The disgruntled worker went on to claim that his drinking faux pas caused his boss to single him out for scolding at work.

A colleague told the poster that the manager was angry because during the toast, his glass was raised higher than that of his boss.

In traditional Chinese table culture, while toasting, the younger generation are encouraged to raise their glass at a lower level than that of their elders.

Most of the post’s more than 30 comments accused the boss of being rude and unreasonable.

One anonymous observer empathised: “Last week, at our department dinner I offended a colleague by being the first to move my chopsticks.”

However, some felt a more prosaic explanation was in order, suggesting that the poster’s performance at work was at the root of his complaint: “Did you ever think that maybe it wasn’t because of the dinner?” – South China Morning Post