What do you think about Alcohol in the Workplace?

[ElFenix]

Typical American thread. No Alcohol in the workplace. Pretty much all of europe people drink their spirits at work.

that's because living in a tiny box apartment and driving a tiny box car that cost you a year's pay and the long winter nights drive you to drink.

 

[steppinthrax]

that's because living in a tiny box apartment and driving a tiny box car that cost you a year's pay and the long winter nights drive you to drink.

LOL

 

[Nebor]

that's because living in a tiny box apartment and driving a tiny box car that cost you a year's pay and the long winter nights drive you to drink.

Not to mention gasoline is too expensive to drink over there. Americans drink petrol at work, not alcohol.

 

[zinfamous]

Isn't that the history of the advertising industry? start getting sloshed at 10am, make some shit up all day, shag the secretaries, get sloshed on a 2 hour lunch break, go home late, get sloshed, shag the wifey?


we have alcohol all over the workplace. It would suck without it.

 

[NetWareHead]

Depends on the business. My dad runs a restaurant and to be perfectly blunt and honest, most of the employees would not want this job unless they could drink. Most of them are hispanic immigrants who came from a culture of drinking back home. it is crappy work in a kitchen working next to ovens/stoves where you sweat all night long. The dishwasher has the worst job with his head in a sink all night long washing pots/pans and then he has cleaning duties at the end of the night. Its almost as if you have to let them drink because the work sucks. Drinking is tolerated but drunkeness is not.

 

[sdifox]

Depends on the business. My dad runs a restaurant and to be perfectly blunt and honest, most of the employees would not want this job unless they could drink. Most of them are hispanic immigrants who came from a culture of drinking back home. it is crappy work in a kitchen working next to ovens/stoves where you sweat all night long. The dishwasher has the worst job with his head in a sink all night long washing pots/pans and then he has cleaning duties at the end of the night. Its almost as if you have to let them drink because the work sucks. Drinking is tolerated but drunkeness is not.

dehydration + alcohol is a deadly combination

 

[BoberFett]

Alcohol affects everyone a little differently.

How would this company handle a situation where an employee goes a little over and drives home. Killing a child....

How would this company handle a situation where a group of dunk men gang up on a recent female hire, raping her????

I can imagine when the court case comes up.

Attorney: Were you under the influence.
Perp: Yes
Attorney: Were you also at work at the time.
Perp: Yes
Attorney: Does your employer know you were drinking on the job?
Perp: Oh yeah, shit where I work we have a big beer fridge.
Attorney1:..........
Attorney2:..........
Attorney3:..........
Attorney4:..........
Judge:............
DA:..................
Court Transcriptionist:...............

Is gang rape a big problem where you work?

Did you have something you wanted to tell us?

 

[Carson Dyle]

Is gang rape a big problem where you work?

We always had issues with people coming into work late. Oh, and also with people burning stuff in the microwave.

 

[NetWareHead]

dehydration + alcohol is a deadly combination

This is a kitchen with plenty of drinking water available, not the middle of the sahara

 

[Red Squirrel]

I don't really see a huge issue with it, I think it would be kind of cool as long as people are smart enough to not get drunk. It shows that the workplace is more easy going and open instead of restrictive.

Sadly we live in a world full of lawyer and legal BS where this could be an issue, so I think it would probably have to require that you sign some kind of form stating you will not get drunk and will not drink NN hours before you go home, etc.

 

[Rakehellion]

You will have that one employee that may lose control and/or you will have to babysit.

So fire them. Alcohol isn't at fault.

 

[Capt Caveman]

At my current place and other places, we've had beer in the fridge. Saved for Friday end of the week happy hour. Never an issue during the week and never an issue at the happy hour or after.

 

[Rakehellion]

I've got a friend who works at Vice. They have a full bar in a few rooms.

 

[K1052]

Relatively common in advertising/creative industries and lots of technology/software companies anymore. I've also noticed the acceptability of a beer at lunch staging a comeback across the spectrum.

 

[smackababy]

You know, you can drink to not-the-point-of-drunkenness.

A lot of start ups do that - and most of the employees either don't imbibe or they have one at lunch and that's it. It's just a cultural thing, makes you look hip, attract "cool" people.

It's probably a net benefit, if your employees are eating lunch in the cafeteria and returning to work quicker than they would if they went to Applebee's for lunch and had a burger and beer there.

Corporate owners frown on it for liability reasons.

Every programmer knows this, yet Ballmer wasn't a coder. He is a business guy. No amount of alcohol is going to have him code coherently.

 

[BurnItDwn]

There is no alcohol permitted here.

Alcohol would be a good thing though, as it might help benefit some of the creative work in moderation. Also, people might be in better moods if they had a drink.

 

[Vdubchaos]

Sounds like the kind of place that you don't want to work at.....I wouldn't

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Everyone is diff.

But all it takes on ONE situation. Where an employee does something like that. Maybe one that doesn't respect women (you know). One thing leads to another. You have a bloodbath on your hands....

So... you are afraid that when a sufficiently sexist man gets drunk enough, he will rape a bunch of people to death.

This does not say good things about you.

 

[Smoblikat]

Alcohol affects everyone a little differently.

How would this company handle a situation where an employee goes a little over and drives home. Killing a child....

How would this company handle a situation where a group of dunk men gang up on a recent female hire, raping her????

I can imagine when the court case comes up.

Attorney: Were you under the influence.
Perp: Yes
Attorney: Were you also at work at the time.
Perp: Yes
Attorney: Does your employer know you were drinking on the job?
Perp: Oh yeah, shit where I work we have a big beer fridge.
Attorney1:..........
Attorney2:..........
Attorney3:..........
Attorney4:..........
Judge:............
DA:..................
Court Transcriptionist:...............

But none of that has to do with the company. Its all on an individual basis, where in this case, the individual is the one to blame, the company did nothing wrong. People still have to make responsible decisions in their lives, even while at work.

 

[jlee]

We used to have beer on Friday afternoons at work. Then we got bought by another company.

Now we don't.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I worked for a company that used to have a party in the parking lot the third Friday of every month starting at around 2PM in the afternoon. Beer and wine was served and we would have a BBQ grill out there with someone cooking burgers, chicken and hotdogs. I remember grabbing a beer and going back up to my desk to finish up some things. Was kind of cool sipping a beer while working but you quickly reach a point where work was becoming less productive. I can't imagine drinking on the job regularly and when I was commuting by bicycle I didn't drink at all.

 

[IronWing]

Alcohol is prohibited in our offices. Employees can drink at lunch but not come in drunk. Very few employees drink at lunch, mostly the near-retirement folks. While working on field projects, consuming/possessing alcohol on the job site is a firing offense.

 

[BoberFett]

Sounds like the kind of place that you don't want to work at.....I wouldn't

Yes, but that's because you're a joyless twonk.

 

[smackababy]

Is gang rape a big problem where you work?

Did you have something you wanted to tell us?

He might work in India. You never know.

 

[cbrunny]

I can't do it. Even when I have a beer at lunch that odd time it totally screws up the rest of my day.