The sales people of an advertising company met for a seminar on the shore of Lake Zurich in Switzerland. But the reunion degenerated when some of them accepted the challenge of walking on a carpet of hot embers. Thirteen of them had to be hospitalized with severe burns.
(Map: Western France)
The idea is good at first: hold a seminar in an idyllic location to strengthen the bond between colleagues. The boss of the advertising group Goldbach Group, based in Küsnacht, Switzerland, looks great for this first reunion after the consequences of Covid-19. The chosen location is an inn on the Au peninsula on the shore of Lake Zurich in Switzerland. And on Tuesday, June 14, 2022, almost 150 sellers from Germany, Switzerland and Austria are invited to this meeting. “Since most of the employees hadn’t seen each other for two years, the event had to be extraordinary,” reports the German-language Swiss daily newspaper Tages-Anzeiger.
An animation of “Walking on Fire”
On the occasion of this reunion, the company would like to offer its employees something special. That’s why she hires the services of a company to find an extraordinary animation for the seminar. And it is the “walking on fire” that remains, explains Courrier International.
It’s about lighting a huge wood fire, summarizes the Swiss edition of 20 minutes. When only embers are left, they are spread out in a carpet a few meters wide. Then the participants are invited to walk barefoot on this glowing ember. According to media reports, the event was presented as suitable for them “who don’t want to chat, learn and prepare for a long time, but want to get straight to the point”.
🇨🇭 As part of a “team building” a Swiss company offered its employees an activity that went wrong. According to the “Tages-Anzeiger”, more than a dozen people ended up in the hospital. “Even the chef burned his feet.”
⬇️https://t.co/2uDWbxk4ri— Kurier inter (@kurierinter) June 16, 2022
The Ember Process
The goal behind this “walking on fire”? Overcome fears, limitations and build self-confidence. Half of the sales staff accepted the challenge voluntarily. But this “march” turned into a tragedy. “After stepping over the embers, I cooled my feet with the others in the cold water. It was only over time that some noticed that the pain did not go away but got worse as says one participant in 20 minutes. Those affected then had large blisters on their feet. »
A total of 25 vendors were burned, thirteen of them had to be hospitalized, which led to the deployment of numerous rescuers, we can read in the report of the police of the Canton of Zurich. An investigation has been opened.
boss excuses
Embarrassed by the turn of events, Goldbach Group boss Michi Frank, who was among the people who walked on the embers, also collected burns on his feet. “I am very sorry for everyone affected and I hope everyone recovers soon. he told the Tages-Anzeiger. When we realized something was wrong, we immediately called the police and ambulance. »
In view of the many injuries, great resources were deployed: ten ambulances, a large rescue vehicle, two rescue workers and local security services. In all cases, the company managed to get people talking about it, but not in the expected way.