5 ms·

> Providing regular events with alcohol. Peer pressure to drink, bad health habits, bad workplace environment. > Normalizing and glorifying drinking alcohol.

> Providing regular events with alcohol. Peer pressure to drink, bad health habits, bad workplace environment. > Normalizing and glorifying drinking alcohol. Sure, alcohol is not healthy, and peer pressure to drink is bad. But I've found such events to lower some barriers and help connect with people I would usually hardly talk to short of hi and bye. And I think this may affect work productivity as well as personal happiness in a positive way.

atridan 9y ago
I used to have a "no drinking with coworkers" policy, but I loosened that a bit. At smaller, team events I have one drink per hour. At larger company events it's one drink every two hours. In either case it comes out to two drinks per event. But, if I see everyone else getting sloshed at events, I usually step out before things get awkward.
michaelt 9y ago
Regular is a very vague term. After all, "optional one pint of beer after work, once a month" is regular. "Two or three pints a day, starting at 3pm" is also regular - but sixty times as much.
s73v3r_ 9y ago
The problem with that is, not everyone likes or can have alcohol. If all your events are centered mainly around alcohol, then you're isolating those people from cultures where alcohol use is not common or frowned upon, those people who may have problems with alcohol, and those people who just plain don't want to drink. I'm not saying never have alcohol at company events, far from it. But don't have every event be centered around it. If you're going to do company events, you need to have a variety of different things, so that, while not every event is everyone's cup of tea, people don't feel isolated at every event, either.
- Zelphyr 9y ago
  This does seem to be growing into a problem. I have a friend who is a recovering alcoholic and recently he went to a tech meetup where not only was it centered around alcohol but there really wasn't anything else provided. He rightly chided the organizer for not considering that there might be people who want to attend who don't consume alcohol.
  - knightofmars 9y ago
    I agree with this, it's especially hard in a place like Wisconsin where everywhere is "two bars and a church". I personally drink and don't have any problems with it but I also don't enjoy when every meet-up or company sponsored event is in a bar (not the company I work for but this is a common thing). Have the event at a hotel or establishment with a bar in a separate area if people want to drink. Or have the event and after the main event is concluded say, "As an after event from hours 3 to 6 we'll be doing cocktails at location XYZ if anyone is interested."

atridan 9y ago

I used to have a "no drinking with coworkers" policy, but I loosened that a bit. At smaller, team events I have one drink per hour. At larger company events it's one drink every two hours. In either case it comes out to two drinks per event. But, if I see everyone else getting sloshed at events, I usually step out before things get awkward.

michaelt 9y ago

Regular is a very vague term. After all, "optional one pint of beer after work, once a month" is regular. "Two or three pints a day, starting at 3pm" is also regular - but sixty times as much.

s73v3r_ 9y ago

The problem with that is, not everyone likes or can have alcohol. If all your events are centered mainly around alcohol, then you're isolating those people from cultures where alcohol use is not common or frowned upon, those people who may have problems with alcohol, and those people who just plain don't want to drink. I'm not saying never have alcohol at company events, far from it. But don't have every event be centered around it. If you're going to do company events, you need to have a variety of different things, so that, while not every event is everyone's cup of tea, people don't feel isolated at every event, either.

Zelphyr 9y ago
This does seem to be growing into a problem. I have a friend who is a recovering alcoholic and recently he went to a tech meetup where not only was it centered around alcohol but there really wasn't anything else provided. He rightly chided the organizer for not considering that there might be people who want to attend who don't consume alcohol.
- knightofmars 9y ago
  I agree with this, it's especially hard in a place like Wisconsin where everywhere is "two bars and a church". I personally drink and don't have any problems with it but I also don't enjoy when every meet-up or company sponsored event is in a bar (not the company I work for but this is a common thing). Have the event at a hotel or establishment with a bar in a separate area if people want to drink. Or have the event and after the main event is concluded say, "As an after event from hours 3 to 6 we'll be doing cocktails at location XYZ if anyone is interested."