company I worked for had Beer:30 on Fridays, where they would buy beer and sometimes wine coolers, ice it down and if you were done with your work you could go relax and socialize. I am not sure how they got around the legal issues of employees driving while impaired. Seems to me if someone got hurt the company would have liability for providing the beer.
One serving job was at a restaurant that prided itself on the beer and wine knowledge of the servers. Every week, a different beer or wine was featured, and half-servings were passed around at pre-shift meetings. Those weren’t too bad, but our menu rollouts were generally done on Friday afternoon and included samples of all the new beers and wines (6 taps, generally 4-7 bottles, and a dozen wines or more), so Friday night shifts started with a fully-loaded crew.
I’ve heard of some local bars giving cocktail waitresses a shot or two at midnight when things start to loosen up, and there’s always the obligatory shot for the bartender. No wonder the service industry is full of alcoholics.
Not exactly, but for a while I was going home for lunch and getting nicely toasted before coming back to work every day. I was going through some personal problems and self-medicating. My job was pretty easy at the time so it didn’t matter, as far as I could tell. But that’s the opinion of a drunk fuck, so who knows? Nobody talked to me about it or anything.
Nope.
Even if the boss or the client says it’s OK - I don’t drink at work. YMMV.
Regards,
Shodan
only once, when we were dedicating a new facility and had a reception there for people from our main customers and some of the city officials. The company hired a caterer with a liquor license so we all had a couple of drinks if we desired. but it was after-hours so you could go either way if it was technically “at work.”
Back in the 80s my secretary and I broke the office record for Longest Lunch – eight hours. Yes, it got a bit drunk out.
In the 70s I had a boss for a while who suffered from bipolar disease. (We called it Manic-Depressive back then.) You could easily tell what cycle he was in – when he was in a down cycle, he’d close his office door and drink away the afternoon by himself. When he was in an up cycle, he’d invite us all in to drink with him.
I’ve never drunk at work, except when it was a company-sanctioned party in the office. However, I knew a couple of people in 1984 who kept a few beers in a small fridge in their office. This was a major system integration company and we worked on federal government contracts. I’m surprised they got away with it.
When I worked at a camp site, I’d begin drinking in the evening, usually with my boss. I was living at work, taking care of things from around seven pm until closing at eleven, but I was not officially drinking ‘at work’ as I would leave the drink at home. While tending bars I would occasionally grab a few beers after work with a few friends, for employee discount, as long as they helped me close up shop. But never while working, unless my boss wanted me to taste something.
raises glass
To day drinking!!!
I worked at a collection agency when I was young. We were contracted by many different hospitals in our area. Our company sent out robo-calls telling people that someone in their household had a hospital debt and to call our number. When they did they got me or one of my co-workers. We then offered them different ways to pay the outstanding bills.
Anyways, we got paid twice a month and on the next Friday after payday we passed around a large thermos of what we called “special lemonade”. Then after work, we’d all head to a bar or a club (we worked in Lower Manhattan and there were plenty to choose from). We never, ever got busted.
However, it did lead to some funny phone calls.
“Ma’am, if this bill was due to a car accident, you can send it to your No Fault. What’s that? That’s when you have an accident and it ain’t your fault!”
“I’m sorry but this hospital isn’t part of your HBO network.” He meant HMO.
“You’re not sure which of your daughters this bill is for? Give me their names and I’ll search. Bonita and Chiquita? Is your last name Banana?”
“I’m not making you crazy. You were in that state before you called.”
Years ago I had a boss that was probably a serious alcoholic. In many ways it was great. He was frequently too drunk to remember I was even there, let alone give me any work.
Our office dining hall serves beer after 5:30.
At my previous office, it was pretty much standard practice to have a beer on your desk after 6, and the coffee machine space included a fully-stocked bar.
Of course, but then again I was a bartender for 4 years and worked in Quality Assurance at a brewery, so it was an actual requirement at the latter.
We also had beer on tap in the breakroom, but it was actually pretty rare that we indulged.
In my current company, not often. Pretty much only when visiting our locations in France, where a bit of wine with lunch seems to be the norm.
Working door at a bar: Yes, in fact it was kind of expected. I’d do a midnight shot with the manager and start my shift drinks before last call if it was slow.
Retail: We weren’t supposed to, but sometimes. When I worked at a big chain record store my buddy and I would get milkshakes from the ice cream store and take them to the bar next door where the bartender who liked us would pour whiskey in them. When I sold antiquarian books sometimes I would have a beer at lunch.
Teaching math: No, absolutely not.
Construction/Landscaping: Not just no, but hell no. To many whirring sharp blades. I’d be terrified to show up even slightly buzzed.
In my department, we’ve got a recurring meeting in Outlook, every Friday at five, for “Beer O’Clock.”
No, it would violate my workplace policy.
Back when I was doing catering yes. This was 20 years ago. The guy that owned the company would be hammered during most events and didn’t care if we drank as long as we got everything done and didn’t cause a scene or embarrassment. We were all at least partially drunk during most events and would become more so after.
Never had a drink while on the clock as a .civ helicopter mechanic. Had some beers/booze while on the clock when I worked at a movie theater in my teens, but that was hardly a safety-sensitive position.
On office days in the Air Force Reserve, when there was no flying scheduled for us, we would occasionally have a beer/drink at lunch, especially if there wasn’t anything going on in the office that was particularly pressing. It was nice to have a Chief that would once in a while say “Go to lunch; see you in a couple hours”. Much more common was a beer/drink during our post-flight debriefs, especially if there was a lot to talk about during the debrief.
With as much (admittedly deserved) flak as the Marine Corps takes for their alcohol culture, the one and only time I ever drank while technically on-duty in the Marines was at a pre-9/11 airshow in Rochester, NY. The crewchief and I were refueling our CH-53E after landing & parking, while the pilots had wandered off to do pilot things. A golf cart with a big Igloo cooler and a couple blond Molson Canadian girls perched on it rolled up and asked us how many people were on our crew; they gave us beers for each of the “Uhhh… EIGHT!” (four) crewmembers we had. Incidentally, I think that may have been the last beer I drank - I’m not a beer drinker.
In '04, I worked for the American division of Agusta. I was the supervisor for a team of mechs and techs learning to build a new helicopter model at one of their factories in Italy.
Day 1 at the factory in Italy was our orientation/facility tour. We got to the cafeteria (lunch was on Agusta - authentic Italian food, 5 days a week. Yes, I put on some weight.), and we all notice there’s a small wine bar in the beverage area. Just about the time we’re all starting to think “Oh wow, wine with lunch while we build helicopters…”, our Italian program manager notices what we’re all distracted by and lets us know our American bosses have already declared the wine off-limits to us. It was interesting to watch the test pilots & flight test engineers having a glass or two of wine with their lunches, and knowing that the flight schedule had them taking a helicopter out for a test flight later that afternoon.