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Wait what are you kidding!? Drinking DURING the day was encouraged? So the famed company culture is to let everyone get drunk as long as they're all hitting tar

Wait what are you kidding!? Drinking DURING the day was encouraged? So the famed company culture is to let everyone get drunk as long as they're all hitting targets? Recipe for disaster for anyone who stays a significant amount of time. It seems cool when you're young then after 10 years people start getting serious problems like alcoholic neuropathy. Very sad situation all round.

unishark 6y ago
I don't think they meant binge drinking. In many cultures, drinking is fine throughout the day, and it does not imply continuing until drunk.
- rorykoehler 6y ago
  What's the point in drinking any alcohol at all unless you want to achieve some level of impairment?
  - throwaway201103 6y ago
    Some people do enjoy the taste, or the warming feel you get. I will sometimes have a small glass of whiskey in the evening just for that sensation, not to feel any intoxication.
    - rorykoehler 6y ago
      The warming feeling is mild intoxication?
      - 542354234235 6y ago
        No. Intoxication is generally considered to be mental impairment or a change of mental state, like mood, inhibition, etc. The warming feeling you get from alcohol is due to alcohol dilating blood vessels, moving more warm blood to your extremities and skin. It is a real physical reaction, not a mental perception. So while you might also be intoxicated, the warm feeling is not intoxication per se.
        rorykoehler 6y ago
        If it’s giving you a physical reaction then it’s also going to give you a mental one. They go hand in hand
        542354234235 6y ago
        Well, no. It is a drug and drugs do different things to different systems at different levels. You can't just assert that a drug must be doing B because it is doing A at the exact same dosage.
  - piva00 6y ago
    I've worked a few times in Germany for onboarding new teams for a company I worked at previously. It's pretty normal to have some lunches with a beer, beer is a very cultural thing for Germans and having a beer during a lunch out with the team is completely normal, no one is impaired, no one is drinking 2-3 liters of beer in one sitting. Even here in Sweden where alcohol drinking is much more frowned upon I've had lunches (usually on Fridays) with my teams where we would have a beer or two. There are very different degrees of what and how much to drink, it can be a socially responsible and enjoyable activity, it's relaxing to let go from the whole super-professional office culture and have a beer and cheers with colleagues. The world isn't black-and-white.
    - rorykoehler 6y ago
      I live in Germany and I don't drink beer at lunch. I never worked anywhere where people did. People drink beer for a buzz. I also have a beer at work on a Friday if I'm in the office but no work is getting done after it. I especially disagree that it is relaxing to have a beer at lunch and then go back to work and unless you are planning on doing nothing for the rest of the day.
  - coryfklein 6y ago
    This comment belies a misunderstanding of how alcohol affects the body - that it merely creates a gradient from "not impaired" to "impaired". Clearly there is more to alcohol than just impairment. Alcohol is both a stimulant and a sedative. It's widely recognized as a social lubricant. All of these properties, in moderation, can be beneficial to many kinds of work.
    - rorykoehler 6y ago
      You get sleepy after one beer. Horrible feeling. I mean it’s nice at first but not for long.
siberianbear 6y ago
Obligatory apropos xkcd... https://xkcd.com/323/ https://xkcd.com/323/
crx07 6y ago
Studies have shown that light drinking has a positive effect on work performance, especially in creative areas. I had no idea that this was frowned upon and I'm from Texas, but that's probably just because I've lived my entire life in tech. Lots of startups provide copious access to booze and some even have full bars onsite. IIRC, oil executives drank liquor back in the day as well. The situation with Tsieh is really sad and probably not a result of him being an alcoholic or drinking at work or anything else. Depression rates have tripled during the pandemic, and deaths are way up from overdose caused by people coping with isolation.

unishark 6y ago

I don't think they meant binge drinking. In many cultures, drinking is fine throughout the day, and it does not imply continuing until drunk.

rorykoehler 6y ago
What's the point in drinking any alcohol at all unless you want to achieve some level of impairment?
- throwaway201103 6y ago
  Some people do enjoy the taste, or the warming feel you get. I will sometimes have a small glass of whiskey in the evening just for that sensation, not to feel any intoxication.
  - rorykoehler 6y ago
    The warming feeling is mild intoxication?
    - 542354234235 6y ago
      No. Intoxication is generally considered to be mental impairment or a change of mental state, like mood, inhibition, etc. The warming feeling you get from alcohol is due to alcohol dilating blood vessels, moving more warm blood to your extremities and skin. It is a real physical reaction, not a mental perception. So while you might also be intoxicated, the warm feeling is not intoxication per se.
      - rorykoehler 6y ago
        If it’s giving you a physical reaction then it’s also going to give you a mental one. They go hand in hand
        542354234235 6y ago
        Well, no. It is a drug and drugs do different things to different systems at different levels. You can't just assert that a drug must be doing B because it is doing A at the exact same dosage.
- piva00 6y ago
  I've worked a few times in Germany for onboarding new teams for a company I worked at previously. It's pretty normal to have some lunches with a beer, beer is a very cultural thing for Germans and having a beer during a lunch out with the team is completely normal, no one is impaired, no one is drinking 2-3 liters of beer in one sitting. Even here in Sweden where alcohol drinking is much more frowned upon I've had lunches (usually on Fridays) with my teams where we would have a beer or two. There are very different degrees of what and how much to drink, it can be a socially responsible and enjoyable activity, it's relaxing to let go from the whole super-professional office culture and have a beer and cheers with colleagues. The world isn't black-and-white.
  - rorykoehler 6y ago
    I live in Germany and I don't drink beer at lunch. I never worked anywhere where people did. People drink beer for a buzz. I also have a beer at work on a Friday if I'm in the office but no work is getting done after it. I especially disagree that it is relaxing to have a beer at lunch and then go back to work and unless you are planning on doing nothing for the rest of the day.
- coryfklein 6y ago
  This comment belies a misunderstanding of how alcohol affects the body - that it merely creates a gradient from "not impaired" to "impaired". Clearly there is more to alcohol than just impairment. Alcohol is both a stimulant and a sedative. It's widely recognized as a social lubricant. All of these properties, in moderation, can be beneficial to many kinds of work.
  - rorykoehler 6y ago
    You get sleepy after one beer. Horrible feeling. I mean it’s nice at first but not for long.

siberianbear 6y ago

Obligatory apropos xkcd... https://xkcd.com/323/ https://xkcd.com/323/

crx07 6y ago

Studies have shown that light drinking has a positive effect on work performance, especially in creative areas. I had no idea that this was frowned upon and I'm from Texas, but that's probably just because I've lived my entire life in tech. Lots of startups provide copious access to booze and some even have full bars onsite. IIRC, oil executives drank liquor back in the day as well. The situation with Tsieh is really sad and probably not a result of him being an alcoholic or drinking at work or anything else. Depression rates have tripled during the pandemic, and deaths are way up from overdose caused by people coping with isolation.