5 ms·

> As for team dynamics, it means we know each other better and bond more frequently. Not a problem, I think. Except for the non-drinkers in your team. I susp

> As for team dynamics, it means we know each other better and bond more frequently. Not a problem, I think. Except for the non-drinkers in your team. I suspect that they either a) feel left out, because a non-drinker at a pub has a boring time, and has to keep justifying their empty glass b) probably miss out on important decisions if a majority of the important people in a team are present, which is bad dynamics c) maybe your team doesn't have any non-drinkers. What does that tell you in terms of diversity / inclusiveness? I'm not pointing fingers at you specifically because you mention explicitly making plans around people who don't/won't drink, but i think there should be more awareness around this, especially since it can seep into the culture quite insidiously, and invisibly.

true_religion 10y ago
Some workplaces have sporting clubs that people participate in to grow closer to their coworkers. Yet if you don't like tenis, baseball, basketball, golf, or hiking then you are out of luck. Every social activity will exclude people who don't like the activity by default. There's no real working around this. Even if you just have a 'talking' club, you exclude people who aren't natural extroverts or find large group conversations to be maddening. In essence, there's no way to be perfectly fair... so at best you can have different choices to try to be as inclusive as possible with limited time.
- jonny_eh 10y ago
  Absolutely true, also goes for video games, board games, or even going to movies or baseball games.
jaxn 10y ago
I once received a bottle of wine as a Christmas bonus from the founders of the small startup I worked at. I was the only person on the the who didn't drink and was pretty offended. Especially since it was well known that I didn't drink since this company celebrated "beer thirty" every Friday.
- flukus 10y ago
  Well known you never drank or well known you didn't drink at work?
  - genericpseudo 10y ago
    There is very little good that can happen when a company serves or provides mind-altering drugs to its employees. That includes alcohol.
    - flukus 10y ago
      A lot of good can happen, from a pleasant meal with wine to a fantastic night that the participants will never forget.
    - smsm42 10y ago
      And also coffee of course. And sugary drinks. And chocolate[1] (won't spoil the link but the first phrase mentions "opioids" - like heroin, you know). I'd suggest just give out distilled water. Preferably without any container, so to not contribute to the pollution. [1] http://www.ehow.com/how-does_5132052_chocolate-affect-persons-mood.html http://www.ehow.com/how-does_5132052_chocolate-affect-person...
  - jaxn 10y ago
    Well-known that I didn't drink at all.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
- hueving 10y ago
  >was pretty offended You were offended by a gift? Just say thanks and give it away or throw it away. The vast majority of company gifts are useless to many people. Most people can cloth themselves, buy drinks for themselves, buy bags for themselves, etc and have no need for whatever crap the company is getting them as a sign of appreciation. Unless they demanded you chug the wine in front of them, you really should not have offended yourself this way.
SeoxyS 10y ago
Drink soda water w/ bitters. Looks like a drink, tastes good, and satisfies anyone actually drinking. I drink regularly; but every now and then I'll go a week or month without drinking. I'm currently in the middle of one of these periods; but I've still gone out to happy hour or events that involved drinking every day since it's started. I manage to have just as much fun sober drinking soda + bitters.
- Baeocystin 10y ago
  Slightly OT, but do you have a recommendation for bitters other than Angostura? I like it, but I'd like to diversify my home cabinet.
  - fiddlerwoaroof 10y ago
    Fee Brothers make some decent bitters, I have an Aztec Chocolate one that's really good with soda or in drinks.
    - Baeocystin 10y ago
      I'll check them out. Thanks.
  - SeoxyS 10y ago
    Peychaud is probably the second biggest brand. Since I drink this at bars, it really depends on what they have on hand. Most good bars will have a selection of 5-10+ different bitters. I like grapefruit bitters; I've also had really good spicy chili bitters. Many like orange bitters. Just ask the bartender for recs, they usually love chatting about this stuff. The best part of this drink is that they rarely charge me anything for it. I'll usually tip a couple bucks per drink, and everybody ends up happy!
    - Baeocystin 10y ago
      I'll give Peychaud a look. Thanks for the rec.
- 10y ago
scrollaway 10y ago
With rare exceptions, I'm a non-drinker. Nowhere in Europe have I ever had an issue ordering a coke instead of an alcoholic drink, even when hanging out with people getting completely shitfaced. Is this seriously a thing in the US? Feeling like you have to drink if you're surrounded by people drinking? I keep hearing stories like that. Nobody is going to judge you for not consuming alcohol - if anyone does, they're certainly not people I'd want to hang out with regardless of whether drinks are involved. It doesn't hurt not to give a fuck, once in a while.
- Baeocystin 10y ago
  It's not a problem for anyone other than the overly self-conscious, who are looking for reasons to explain their anxiety. Literally no one cares.
  - Philadelphia 10y ago
    I was once rejected from a job interview at a DC startup because I didn't order a beer when they took me to lunch.
    - Baeocystin 10y ago
      Even if that is what they said, do you honestly believe that was the real reason?
      - Philadelphia 10y ago
        Beyond the slightest doubt.
        routelastresort 10y ago
        Well, it's safe to say you dodged a bullet then :)
    - smsm42 10y ago
      This seems a reason so stupid to reject somebody that either a) they didn't like you but didn't want to tell you the real reason, but didn't care enough to think about a plausibly sounding fake one; or b) you dodged a major bullet as these people had seriously messed up priorities. I'd bet on a) but can't exclude b) completely of course.
routelastresort 10y ago
I can no longer drink, due to medical issues. I'd still go out with my team for the bonding, and probably just leave early every time. I really like how the Chef Community Summit has drinking and dry events, like Game Night. Making inclusivity a goal is fun for everyone!
puranjay 10y ago
I'd also like to point out that this kinda does leave out the women. I'm at an age where most of my friends are getting married or having babies. If you're pregnant, this basically means that you can't be a part of the team's social gatherings for at least 9 months straight.
- jonny_eh 10y ago
  It's ok to get a coke or water at a bar.
rleigh 10y ago
Whatever you choose to do, some subset of the team will end up being left out. Some of my team occasionally go out for a drink+meal. Usually when some remote workers are in town for the day, and we go out after work. Yes, it excludes people with families/other commitments. But lots of other activities would exclude exactly the same people; you can't force the whole team to be sociable after work hours. We do these things: 1) We don't make any decisions when team members are missing; they have to be done during work hours when everyone is able to participate 2) There's no obligation to drink (why would there be?); several of the team don't drink, and there is no pressure to do so, they get soft drinks/tea/coffee/whatever they like As someone who is very shy and introverted, it's one of the few times I actually go out socially, and it's a time to unwind and have a chat with your coworkers and associated friends/partners/family. I don't think doing this has any negative impact upon the rest of the team, so long as you don't do any serious discussion and decision making which excludes others.

true_religion 10y ago

Some workplaces have sporting clubs that people participate in to grow closer to their coworkers. Yet if you don't like tenis, baseball, basketball, golf, or hiking then you are out of luck. Every social activity will exclude people who don't like the activity by default. There's no real working around this. Even if you just have a 'talking' club, you exclude people who aren't natural extroverts or find large group conversations to be maddening. In essence, there's no way to be perfectly fair... so at best you can have different choices to try to be as inclusive as possible with limited time.

jonny_eh 10y ago
Absolutely true, also goes for video games, board games, or even going to movies or baseball games.

jaxn 10y ago

I once received a bottle of wine as a Christmas bonus from the founders of the small startup I worked at. I was the only person on the the who didn't drink and was pretty offended. Especially since it was well known that I didn't drink since this company celebrated "beer thirty" every Friday.

flukus 10y ago
Well known you never drank or well known you didn't drink at work?
- genericpseudo 10y ago
  There is very little good that can happen when a company serves or provides mind-altering drugs to its employees. That includes alcohol.
  - flukus 10y ago
    A lot of good can happen, from a pleasant meal with wine to a fantastic night that the participants will never forget.
  - smsm42 10y ago
    And also coffee of course. And sugary drinks. And chocolate[1] (won't spoil the link but the first phrase mentions "opioids" - like heroin, you know). I'd suggest just give out distilled water. Preferably without any container, so to not contribute to the pollution. [1] http://www.ehow.com/how-does_5132052_chocolate-affect-persons-mood.html http://www.ehow.com/how-does_5132052_chocolate-affect-person...
- jaxn 10y ago
  Well-known that I didn't drink at all.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
hueving 10y ago
>was pretty offended You were offended by a gift? Just say thanks and give it away or throw it away. The vast majority of company gifts are useless to many people. Most people can cloth themselves, buy drinks for themselves, buy bags for themselves, etc and have no need for whatever crap the company is getting them as a sign of appreciation. Unless they demanded you chug the wine in front of them, you really should not have offended yourself this way.

SeoxyS 10y ago

Drink soda water w/ bitters. Looks like a drink, tastes good, and satisfies anyone actually drinking. I drink regularly; but every now and then I'll go a week or month without drinking. I'm currently in the middle of one of these periods; but I've still gone out to happy hour or events that involved drinking every day since it's started. I manage to have just as much fun sober drinking soda + bitters.

Baeocystin 10y ago
Slightly OT, but do you have a recommendation for bitters other than Angostura? I like it, but I'd like to diversify my home cabinet.
- fiddlerwoaroof 10y ago
  Fee Brothers make some decent bitters, I have an Aztec Chocolate one that's really good with soda or in drinks.
  - Baeocystin 10y ago
    I'll check them out. Thanks.
- SeoxyS 10y ago
  Peychaud is probably the second biggest brand. Since I drink this at bars, it really depends on what they have on hand. Most good bars will have a selection of 5-10+ different bitters. I like grapefruit bitters; I've also had really good spicy chili bitters. Many like orange bitters. Just ask the bartender for recs, they usually love chatting about this stuff. The best part of this drink is that they rarely charge me anything for it. I'll usually tip a couple bucks per drink, and everybody ends up happy!
  - Baeocystin 10y ago
    I'll give Peychaud a look. Thanks for the rec.
10y ago

scrollaway 10y ago

With rare exceptions, I'm a non-drinker. Nowhere in Europe have I ever had an issue ordering a coke instead of an alcoholic drink, even when hanging out with people getting completely shitfaced. Is this seriously a thing in the US? Feeling like you have to drink if you're surrounded by people drinking? I keep hearing stories like that. Nobody is going to judge you for not consuming alcohol - if anyone does, they're certainly not people I'd want to hang out with regardless of whether drinks are involved. It doesn't hurt not to give a fuck, once in a while.

Baeocystin 10y ago
It's not a problem for anyone other than the overly self-conscious, who are looking for reasons to explain their anxiety. Literally no one cares.
- Philadelphia 10y ago
  I was once rejected from a job interview at a DC startup because I didn't order a beer when they took me to lunch.
  - Baeocystin 10y ago
    Even if that is what they said, do you honestly believe that was the real reason?
    - Philadelphia 10y ago
      Beyond the slightest doubt.
      - routelastresort 10y ago
        Well, it's safe to say you dodged a bullet then :)
  - smsm42 10y ago
    This seems a reason so stupid to reject somebody that either a) they didn't like you but didn't want to tell you the real reason, but didn't care enough to think about a plausibly sounding fake one; or b) you dodged a major bullet as these people had seriously messed up priorities. I'd bet on a) but can't exclude b) completely of course.

routelastresort 10y ago

I can no longer drink, due to medical issues. I'd still go out with my team for the bonding, and probably just leave early every time. I really like how the Chef Community Summit has drinking and dry events, like Game Night. Making inclusivity a goal is fun for everyone!

puranjay 10y ago

I'd also like to point out that this kinda does leave out the women. I'm at an age where most of my friends are getting married or having babies. If you're pregnant, this basically means that you can't be a part of the team's social gatherings for at least 9 months straight.

jonny_eh 10y ago
It's ok to get a coke or water at a bar.

rleigh 10y ago

Whatever you choose to do, some subset of the team will end up being left out. Some of my team occasionally go out for a drink+meal. Usually when some remote workers are in town for the day, and we go out after work. Yes, it excludes people with families/other commitments. But lots of other activities would exclude exactly the same people; you can't force the whole team to be sociable after work hours. We do these things: 1) We don't make any decisions when team members are missing; they have to be done during work hours when everyone is able to participate 2) There's no obligation to drink (why would there be?); several of the team don't drink, and there is no pressure to do so, they get soft drinks/tea/coffee/whatever they like As someone who is very shy and introverted, it's one of the few times I actually go out socially, and it's a time to unwind and have a chat with your coworkers and associated friends/partners/family. I don't think doing this has any negative impact upon the rest of the team, so long as you don't do any serious discussion and decision making which excludes others.