Absolutely, Jobs that are external-customer facing will require and evaluate you on your social skills. Ordering a rum and coke without the rum is a social skil

Absolutely, Jobs that are external-customer facing will require and evaluate you on your social skills. Ordering a rum and coke without the rum is a social skill. Whatever you do with your coworkers, you should do it with grace, or they'll rightly suspect that you're not using grace with your customers As a drinker, I've occasionally ordered a non-alcoholic drink while everyone else was drinking because I had an early morning, had somewhere else to go, or simply wasn't in the mood. I've received pushback, for certain, on that - Alcoholics do get offended when you don't drink with them - but the one incident that ruffled me was odd enough that it stands out in my mind, and while I've certainly gotten "Just one" a few times, I've never felt unduly pressured to drink at work. To put it really simply - I'd bet that the OP's author has experience what he's claiming, but I think he needs to get out of dodge because it is concentrated and you can just go work for companies that are more friendly.