3 ms·
> They may still playfully poke fun at you because of it, but that's just part of American culture. That isn't professional. As far as you know the person has
by jaredsohn 12y ago
> They may still playfully poke fun at you because of it, but that's just part of American culture.
That isn't professional. As far as you know the person has had alcohol issues in her family and doesn't want to carry it into her work persona. Or she may believe in a religion that forbids it and doesn't want to be known for her religious views at work.
Drinking a shot when you deploy or explaining why you won't should not be a requirement for a job as a software engineer.
- Pacabel 12y agoI very much doubt it was a "requirement" in any sense. My guess is that the co-worker from India totally misconstrued the situation, due to not having a good understanding of American culture. I could easily see the dialog being quite friendly, and going something like: American: "Hey, that was one hell of a deployment, but it's done now. Let's have a round of drinks, to celebrate!" Indian: "No, I don't want to." American: "Awww, why not?" Indian: "I've never had alcohol before. I don't want to." American: "Come on, try it, it's fun! We do this after every big deployment." Indian: "No, thanks." American: "Okay." The American thought he was being friendly and inclusive, by encouraging the Indian to participate in a pretty common American celebratory custom. The American was somewhat more assertive than the Indian was expecting, like many friendly and outgoing Americans can be. The Indian misinterpreted this as "pressure". She tells her Indian friend. He lacks a good understanding of American culture, too, and misinterprets the American's behavior. He posts here, and we have this discussion.