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It happened to us too - acquired by a Finance company, no more alcohol in the office when we had weekly "beer-o-clock" on Friday. I honestly fail to understand

It happened to us too - acquired by a Finance company, no more alcohol in the office when we had weekly "beer-o-clock" on Friday. I honestly fail to understand why that would be a big deal for people. We still re-group on Friday at 5pm and we all go down to a local bar. I believe company culture is bigger than alcohol and ping pong in the office. As a group, we have maintained our "identity" (and culture) even though our toolchain has changed and we can't have a beer at the desk.

triangleman 9y ago
The pervasive drinking culture in this country is a problem. More than 5% of the population suffers from alcoholism, and the more drinking is encouraged in the culture, the more likely someone will have a small problem turn into a full blown problem. Young people especially are unlikely to judge their own propensity for alcoholism, so "encouraging a fun workplace culture" is not a good enough reason to use alcohol to attract a younger generation of workers.
- plandis 9y ago
  We do Friday happy hour because it's been a reliable method for having multiple teams interact, spread ideas, talk about what they have been working on, etc...
- walshemj 9y ago
  Americans drink less then the UK and virtually every eu country - let alone places like Russia. Don't try and project your biases onto 320 Million Americans many of whom come from different cultures
  - triangleman 9y ago
    Fine. Can we at least agree that Americans are bad at drinking? Possibly because of the drinking age of 21? It just seems like a foolish idea to put drinks in the hands of 20-somethings who just got out of college and are starting their first or second jobs. I remember investment banks recruiting my business school friends by promoting their heavy drinking culture. I know I'm sounding like a nanny-stater here. But there is a dark underside to this relaxed attitude towards drinking that you ignore at your peril.
    - walshemj 9y ago
      always struck me as very odd that you could both vote and join the forces but still not be considered adult enough to have a beer
    - ck425 9y ago
      I'd argue the dark underside comes from your puritanical attitude towards drinking. I went to Uni here in the UK with a lot of Americans. What always stood out was how stupidly drunk they got and how proud they were of it, as if they were 14/15. Most of them matured out of it after a year or two. The reason for this as far as I can see is that the US doesn't have a culture of sociable drinking. Drinking is something you do to party or on a date. The concept of social drinking doesn't exist in the US like it does in the EU. No one goes to the pub (you don't even really have pubs or cafes - bars are not the same thing) for a drink or two with friends or colleagues. So young people have no examples of what moderate drinking looks like. People either don't drink or get proper wasted, thus re-enforcing the BS slippery slope argument, thus people drink moderately even less, and a vicious cycle continues.
      - triangleman 9y ago
        I totally agree with your description of U.S. drinking culture, and much of your reasoning about it. I still think at this point that workplace drinking is a bit over the line, though. >Most of them matured out of it after a year or two. Some of them, however, probably became alcoholic. It's a terrible disease I wouldn't wish on anyone.
        ck425 9y ago
        By workplace drinking do you mean drinking in the office during work or drinking with colleagues (potentially also in the office but out of working hours)? I'd agree with the later and no one's suggesting that but I think the latter is part of a healthy moderate drinking culture. Alcoholism is a funny one. Our understanding of addiction is still developing and I'm not personally familiar with the issues around alcohol addiction specifically so I won't get deep into to debate, but there's strong evidence to suggest that addiction is a symptom of other issues as much as it is an issue in it's own right and there have been many many functioning societies that by modern US standards most people would have been alcoholics.
taude 9y ago
I agree with you. But I do think casual drinking affects socializing a lot more than people think. I think most people here now just want to head home at 5 on a Friday. I wonder what would happen if we did something at 2 or 3 instead of end of normal business hours, though. The younger people had more spare time to hang out later, so that probably affects things, too. Edit: the concept of cross-departmental conversations that someone mentions later in this thread is completely gone now, too.
rorykoehler 9y ago
Drinking isn't inclusive. That's why it's a problem.

triangleman 9y ago

The pervasive drinking culture in this country is a problem. More than 5% of the population suffers from alcoholism, and the more drinking is encouraged in the culture, the more likely someone will have a small problem turn into a full blown problem. Young people especially are unlikely to judge their own propensity for alcoholism, so "encouraging a fun workplace culture" is not a good enough reason to use alcohol to attract a younger generation of workers.

plandis 9y ago
We do Friday happy hour because it's been a reliable method for having multiple teams interact, spread ideas, talk about what they have been working on, etc...
walshemj 9y ago
Americans drink less then the UK and virtually every eu country - let alone places like Russia. Don't try and project your biases onto 320 Million Americans many of whom come from different cultures
- triangleman 9y ago
  Fine. Can we at least agree that Americans are bad at drinking? Possibly because of the drinking age of 21? It just seems like a foolish idea to put drinks in the hands of 20-somethings who just got out of college and are starting their first or second jobs. I remember investment banks recruiting my business school friends by promoting their heavy drinking culture. I know I'm sounding like a nanny-stater here. But there is a dark underside to this relaxed attitude towards drinking that you ignore at your peril.
  - walshemj 9y ago
    always struck me as very odd that you could both vote and join the forces but still not be considered adult enough to have a beer
  - ck425 9y ago
    I'd argue the dark underside comes from your puritanical attitude towards drinking. I went to Uni here in the UK with a lot of Americans. What always stood out was how stupidly drunk they got and how proud they were of it, as if they were 14/15. Most of them matured out of it after a year or two. The reason for this as far as I can see is that the US doesn't have a culture of sociable drinking. Drinking is something you do to party or on a date. The concept of social drinking doesn't exist in the US like it does in the EU. No one goes to the pub (you don't even really have pubs or cafes - bars are not the same thing) for a drink or two with friends or colleagues. So young people have no examples of what moderate drinking looks like. People either don't drink or get proper wasted, thus re-enforcing the BS slippery slope argument, thus people drink moderately even less, and a vicious cycle continues.
    - triangleman 9y ago
      I totally agree with your description of U.S. drinking culture, and much of your reasoning about it. I still think at this point that workplace drinking is a bit over the line, though. >Most of them matured out of it after a year or two. Some of them, however, probably became alcoholic. It's a terrible disease I wouldn't wish on anyone.
      - ck425 9y ago
        By workplace drinking do you mean drinking in the office during work or drinking with colleagues (potentially also in the office but out of working hours)? I'd agree with the later and no one's suggesting that but I think the latter is part of a healthy moderate drinking culture. Alcoholism is a funny one. Our understanding of addiction is still developing and I'm not personally familiar with the issues around alcohol addiction specifically so I won't get deep into to debate, but there's strong evidence to suggest that addiction is a symptom of other issues as much as it is an issue in it's own right and there have been many many functioning societies that by modern US standards most people would have been alcoholics.

taude 9y ago

I agree with you. But I do think casual drinking affects socializing a lot more than people think. I think most people here now just want to head home at 5 on a Friday. I wonder what would happen if we did something at 2 or 3 instead of end of normal business hours, though. The younger people had more spare time to hang out later, so that probably affects things, too. Edit: the concept of cross-departmental conversations that someone mentions later in this thread is completely gone now, too.

rorykoehler 9y ago

Drinking isn't inclusive. That's why it's a problem.