5 ms·

Drinking at work is one of the absolutely worst traits of tech. Not only is it totally unprofessional, but things like ‘Friday beers’ are actually presented by

Drinking at work is one of the absolutely worst traits of tech. Not only is it totally unprofessional, but things like ‘Friday beers’ are actually presented by companies as a benefit, and you face major social and professional consequences for not participating. It’s obscene.

collyw 9y ago
Boring farts. I enjoy being able to wind down and have beers the last couple of hours on a friday (in companies that have allowed it). I organise my workload so there is nothing difficult to do then anyway.
- uhtred 9y ago
  I prefer to wait until the work day has finished and then go to the pub and have a beer or two. I don't really understand the appeal of drinking at work (which seems more prevalent in US), surrounded by office equipment and computers, it's not really relaxing. Plus there might be people still in the office at 5pm who actually have something important to do and it's not really fair that they then have to try to work with people getting pissed up 10 feet away.
  - nitrogen 9y ago
    If everyone is complaining about their office being too noisy, how can an even noisier pub be more relaxing than that?
    - uhtred 9y ago
      Aren't people complaining that their office is too noisy to work in? I wouldn't be going to the pub to work, rather to relax and have a beer and a chat. For the record I'm talking about a traditional, "old man" pub where I can get a nice pint of ale and a table, not some trendy place full of office workers.
    - dionidium 9y ago
      You're asking why people are OK with a noisy pub but not a noisy office? Surely you can see the difference if you try.
      - nitrogen 9y ago
        The difference I see is that a relaxing drink in a less noisy office would be more relaxing than the same drink in a more noisy pub
    - jdbernard 9y ago
      Well, they're not trying to work there...
silverbax88 9y ago
You show me any company with beer on tap, and I'll show you a company that I will run over if we are competing against each other.
- nappy-doo 9y ago
  Google? Facebook?
  - silverbax88 9y ago
    I've already beaten them out in some niche markets where we went head to head, so, yes.
    - ztoben 9y ago
      It's funny you consider this running them over. I'm sure from their perspective you are hardly a blip on the radar.
      - silverbax88 9y ago
        You are assuming a lot, but whatever you need to believe will work for you, so I'm sure you are set.
        ztoben 9y ago
        Yeah, you're right. Sorry I came off as condescending, I probably shouldn't have said anything.
      - slaman 9y ago
        I just ran over AWS by hosting my mom's webpage with 40% uptime.
- cinemaguy23 9y ago
  Pretty much every movie production company ever, ad agencies, etc.. Not sure why tech thinks they invented this idea.
reificator 9y ago
I'll gladly face those consequences. I don't drink. You're not going to pressure me into drinking. You're sure as hell not going to threaten my livelihood for not drinking and then act like I'm the one in the wrong.
- scaryclam 9y ago
  I drink. I like Friday beers. I absolutely stamp down on any of my team who attempt to pressure others to drink or ostracise others in the company for not drinking. Friday beers is meant to help colleagues bond, so behavior that excludes some people or makes them want to leave isn't OK. Luckily the companies I've worked at have all been non-drinker friendly as well as drinker friendly. There's always a non-alcoholic option and they've usually tried to make sure people knock off a little early so that anyone with kids etc can join in before they have to leave.
  - bunderbunder 9y ago
    Friday beers is something that can exclude people, though, even if they're not being pressured to drink. Alcohol is a sort of culturally fraught thing that's important to some people, but for others - members of some religious groups, recovering alcoholics, and victims of drinking-related abuse come to mind - simply being in the presence of someone who's consuming alcohol can be an uncomfortable experience. I don't think that companies are under any obligation to avoid having traditions like Friday beers altogether, but, if you're looking to be inclusive, you should probably strive to ensure that there are also plenty of social activities where there is no alcohol present.
    - moogie 9y ago
      If you want to think like that, so do morning coffees, someone eating chicken for lunch and someone on a diet! Seriously, some adult thinking needs to be in place. I know several people with alcohol problems, devout Muslims and an abuse victim. Here's a hint, other people drinking isn't a problem for them. That's a part of life and they're mature enough to accept it. Sounds like the person you're replying to has plenty of inclusiveness, no reason to stop everyone elses enjoyment for the sake of the possibility that someone's not matured enough to accept it.
Raphmedia 9y ago
Every company offering "friday beer" I've worked at also offered the beer for free and up to an hour of extra paid break. Drinking the beer was never an obligation and there's always non-alcoholic alternatives. This gave us an opportunity to meet with all the other teams / departments. Sure, I would rather be at my local microbrewery drinking stout with my friends rather than drink cheap pilsner at work but it has its benefits. There is no way I would have been as close to those people if not for this paid social time. It also helps the work. Very often people would vent about their projects and other coworkers would listen and come up with quick solutions to their issues. "Oh yeah, X software is a pain in the ass. Did you try doing Z? I had to work with that software at my previous job and doing Z always helped!". Even in those cultures, I've never ever seen an employer allowing anyone to drink during the rest of the week. Now that would be obscene.
- ryandrake 9y ago
  Yea, there is a huge difference between “Beer Friday night after work is done” and “Second Bottle of Wine Tuesday morning.” I’ve seen both.
- bassman9000 9y ago
  There is no way I would have been as close to those people if not for this paid social time. One of the worst aspects IMHO of the US working culture is the blurring of the working/personal divide. Because the consequence is the semi-permanent working state of mind. Don't get me wrong, I like to get along with my colleagues. But they're that, colleagues, not friends. These events only perpetuate the working vibe and merge it with the after-working-hours.
  - Raphmedia 9y ago
    Don't get me wrong. By close I mean that we can have a chat when we stumble on each others in front of the coffee machine. I've only ever met a handful of my coworkers outside of work hour... and it was for happy hour at a bar or for a team BBQ.
rdiddly 9y ago
You know what I don't like about "Friday beers" in the workplace? It's not the beers. It's the fact that it's a company-scheduled and company-sanctioned event. The company is trying to (pick your favorite interpretation)... ...paternalistically manage our social lives ...tone-deafly intrude on them ...desperately be a part of them ...co-opt something cool and make it corporate ...do the adult equivalent of turning children's unstructured play time into a scheduled, paid-for playdate/lessons/"extracurriculars" I'll pick and choose my friends and invite them to beers myself. In a bar. Away from the company offices. So we can talk shit about the management and people we don't like! What fun is life without the hating? (Well whatever, I just betrayed myself as a Gen Xer by being so forthright and gauche as to admit that I recreationally hate on people.) My employer is not my friend. My friends, I will defend if they're in trouble for the next 40 years. My employer, I will ditch at the very first sign they're in trouble, or making trouble for me. Therefore I think maintaining a separation of "work life" from the private realm is appropriate. Of course, the more your "work is your life," and/or the more the company is actually yours, this applies less. But even in that case I would still recommend a healthy (hygienic) separation of concerns just like with any software system.
- flamtap 9y ago
  >So we can talk shit about the management and people we don't like! Heh, at my last job we always went out to a pub for some burgers and beer on Fridays. 75% of the conversation revolved around exactly this. I found it an important way to decompress and let off steam.

collyw 9y ago

Boring farts. I enjoy being able to wind down and have beers the last couple of hours on a friday (in companies that have allowed it). I organise my workload so there is nothing difficult to do then anyway.

uhtred 9y ago
I prefer to wait until the work day has finished and then go to the pub and have a beer or two. I don't really understand the appeal of drinking at work (which seems more prevalent in US), surrounded by office equipment and computers, it's not really relaxing. Plus there might be people still in the office at 5pm who actually have something important to do and it's not really fair that they then have to try to work with people getting pissed up 10 feet away.
- nitrogen 9y ago
  If everyone is complaining about their office being too noisy, how can an even noisier pub be more relaxing than that?
  - uhtred 9y ago
    Aren't people complaining that their office is too noisy to work in? I wouldn't be going to the pub to work, rather to relax and have a beer and a chat. For the record I'm talking about a traditional, "old man" pub where I can get a nice pint of ale and a table, not some trendy place full of office workers.
  - dionidium 9y ago
    You're asking why people are OK with a noisy pub but not a noisy office? Surely you can see the difference if you try.
    - nitrogen 9y ago
      The difference I see is that a relaxing drink in a less noisy office would be more relaxing than the same drink in a more noisy pub
  - jdbernard 9y ago
    Well, they're not trying to work there...

silverbax88 9y ago

You show me any company with beer on tap, and I'll show you a company that I will run over if we are competing against each other.

nappy-doo 9y ago
Google? Facebook?
- silverbax88 9y ago
  I've already beaten them out in some niche markets where we went head to head, so, yes.
  - ztoben 9y ago
    It's funny you consider this running them over. I'm sure from their perspective you are hardly a blip on the radar.
    - silverbax88 9y ago
      You are assuming a lot, but whatever you need to believe will work for you, so I'm sure you are set.
      - ztoben 9y ago
        Yeah, you're right. Sorry I came off as condescending, I probably shouldn't have said anything.
    - slaman 9y ago
      I just ran over AWS by hosting my mom's webpage with 40% uptime.
cinemaguy23 9y ago
Pretty much every movie production company ever, ad agencies, etc.. Not sure why tech thinks they invented this idea.

reificator 9y ago

I'll gladly face those consequences. I don't drink. You're not going to pressure me into drinking. You're sure as hell not going to threaten my livelihood for not drinking and then act like I'm the one in the wrong.

scaryclam 9y ago
I drink. I like Friday beers. I absolutely stamp down on any of my team who attempt to pressure others to drink or ostracise others in the company for not drinking. Friday beers is meant to help colleagues bond, so behavior that excludes some people or makes them want to leave isn't OK. Luckily the companies I've worked at have all been non-drinker friendly as well as drinker friendly. There's always a non-alcoholic option and they've usually tried to make sure people knock off a little early so that anyone with kids etc can join in before they have to leave.
- bunderbunder 9y ago
  Friday beers is something that can exclude people, though, even if they're not being pressured to drink. Alcohol is a sort of culturally fraught thing that's important to some people, but for others - members of some religious groups, recovering alcoholics, and victims of drinking-related abuse come to mind - simply being in the presence of someone who's consuming alcohol can be an uncomfortable experience. I don't think that companies are under any obligation to avoid having traditions like Friday beers altogether, but, if you're looking to be inclusive, you should probably strive to ensure that there are also plenty of social activities where there is no alcohol present.
  - moogie 9y ago
    If you want to think like that, so do morning coffees, someone eating chicken for lunch and someone on a diet! Seriously, some adult thinking needs to be in place. I know several people with alcohol problems, devout Muslims and an abuse victim. Here's a hint, other people drinking isn't a problem for them. That's a part of life and they're mature enough to accept it. Sounds like the person you're replying to has plenty of inclusiveness, no reason to stop everyone elses enjoyment for the sake of the possibility that someone's not matured enough to accept it.

Raphmedia 9y ago

Every company offering "friday beer" I've worked at also offered the beer for free and up to an hour of extra paid break. Drinking the beer was never an obligation and there's always non-alcoholic alternatives. This gave us an opportunity to meet with all the other teams / departments. Sure, I would rather be at my local microbrewery drinking stout with my friends rather than drink cheap pilsner at work but it has its benefits. There is no way I would have been as close to those people if not for this paid social time. It also helps the work. Very often people would vent about their projects and other coworkers would listen and come up with quick solutions to their issues. "Oh yeah, X software is a pain in the ass. Did you try doing Z? I had to work with that software at my previous job and doing Z always helped!". Even in those cultures, I've never ever seen an employer allowing anyone to drink during the rest of the week. Now that would be obscene.

ryandrake 9y ago
Yea, there is a huge difference between “Beer Friday night after work is done” and “Second Bottle of Wine Tuesday morning.” I’ve seen both.
bassman9000 9y ago
There is no way I would have been as close to those people if not for this paid social time. One of the worst aspects IMHO of the US working culture is the blurring of the working/personal divide. Because the consequence is the semi-permanent working state of mind. Don't get me wrong, I like to get along with my colleagues. But they're that, colleagues, not friends. These events only perpetuate the working vibe and merge it with the after-working-hours.
- Raphmedia 9y ago
  Don't get me wrong. By close I mean that we can have a chat when we stumble on each others in front of the coffee machine. I've only ever met a handful of my coworkers outside of work hour... and it was for happy hour at a bar or for a team BBQ.

rdiddly 9y ago

You know what I don't like about "Friday beers" in the workplace? It's not the beers. It's the fact that it's a company-scheduled and company-sanctioned event. The company is trying to (pick your favorite interpretation)... ...paternalistically manage our social lives ...tone-deafly intrude on them ...desperately be a part of them ...co-opt something cool and make it corporate ...do the adult equivalent of turning children's unstructured play time into a scheduled, paid-for playdate/lessons/"extracurriculars" I'll pick and choose my friends and invite them to beers myself. In a bar. Away from the company offices. So we can talk shit about the management and people we don't like! What fun is life without the hating? (Well whatever, I just betrayed myself as a Gen Xer by being so forthright and gauche as to admit that I recreationally hate on people.) My employer is not my friend. My friends, I will defend if they're in trouble for the next 40 years. My employer, I will ditch at the very first sign they're in trouble, or making trouble for me. Therefore I think maintaining a separation of "work life" from the private realm is appropriate. Of course, the more your "work is your life," and/or the more the company is actually yours, this applies less. But even in that case I would still recommend a healthy (hygienic) separation of concerns just like with any software system.

flamtap 9y ago
>So we can talk shit about the management and people we don't like! Heh, at my last job we always went out to a pub for some burgers and beer on Fridays. 75% of the conversation revolved around exactly this. I found it an important way to decompress and let off steam.