Would you have a drink at lunch and then go back to work?


What would be the acceptability of this in your workplace?
For context, which country and industry are you in?

I guess I'm mainly thinking about professional jobs, but interested to hear from. I think in France it would be quite common to have a glass of wine, even at a work canteen or so. But in the UK it seems like people would think that was a problem, and in a lot of cases you'd be in violation of something at work.

in reply to Sadbutdru

Canadian IT worker.

I refuse to drink at work parties. Everyone else does and I get some peer pressure to drink but I don't care. Its normal to see people get super drunk and embarrass themselves which is why I don't even start.

Specifically at lunch, if I'm not driving and others are having a beer I will but only one. If I'm driving, it depends on how I'm feeling.

Working from home I've been known to have a beer or two on a Friday afternoon by my self.

When I left my last job we had a meeting at the end of the day with the guys I got along with and anyone they wanted to invite. There was about 15 people from different departments with their cameras on having a drink or smoking (pot) if they didn't drink as a goodbye. Was a nice goodbye. Lol

in reply to skankhunt42

I've drank, and got drunk, at exactly one work function in my current capacity. The living hell that was a day of serious meetings with 3 hours of sleep and a wicked hangover/still being drunk has made all other functions water and bed by 9:30 affairs.

Luckily everyone in the meetings had either made the same mistake before, or were functioning alcoholics, so the fallout was just being a pile of misery.

If a VP decides to take everyone for drinks at a club after the official function, at absolute most show up to nurse one drink then leave. Do not be the last one out the door.

This entry was edited (8 months ago)
in reply to Sadbutdru

IT related to ships and geophysical surveys.

For larger projects, as long as the heavy duty work is out of the way, grabbing a beer or two with the meal is pretty common.

Related story:
We were mobilizing for a project, and I had a real headscratcher of a problem. Work day was over, and we all headed back to the hotel for the evening. We all met at dinner, and I called it "a night" early as I excused myself after a few beers to head back ip to my room.

Project manager, who knew of the issues I was having with the system said something along the lines of the issues being serious when it caused me to be the first to leave the bar. "Nah, I'm gonna VPN in and try something I just thought of"

Yup, turns out it was abgood idea: Misconfigured soanning tree was the root cause, and the fix took 5 minutes. It was fun rejoining the others and Announce that the system would be ready the next day after some cleanup, and all that was missing was a few beers. The Ballmer Peak is real.

in reply to Sadbutdru

I'm currently in a production support role in the US, and I'd never consider it: I work too closely with production operatives that they'd smell it on me. My last couple of role involved programming automated forklifts, so it was strictly forbidden.

Ten years ago I was doing an internship an engineering firm in the UK, and a few times we went out for a beer with lunch. It wasn't exactly common, but it did happen.

in reply to Sadbutdru

I am a winemaker in the Pacific Northwest. I sample wines a lot throughout the day but mostly I spit, I still catch a bit of a buzz sometimes though. Sometimes during harvest when we're working long days outside I'll have a beer or two. We celebrate the start and end of harvest with champagne. When I work wine tasting events I look forward to trying wines from other local wineries, I usually have a fair number of tastes throughout the event. I think I actually drink more at work than I do at home.
in reply to Sadbutdru

US/Engineer

At my first job, a fairly large firm with a few hundred people, I remember the furtive glances around the table as everyone didn't want to be the first one to order a beer. Once a single person ordered one, several others would too. The boss was fine with it, but nobody did it in front of the boss's boss. We never had more than one, though.

At my second job, a small, new company with 12ish people, it was pretty common. Sometimes someone would bring a six pack to share into the office on a Friday afternoon. Usually, the owners would join in.

At my current job in the public sector, the culture just isn't there. Nobody drinks at all during work hours. I don't drink as much anymore, anyway.

This entry was edited (8 months ago)
in reply to Sadbutdru

Chef/owner & I've stayed away from the 'glass of wine when you cook' because I have grown attached to my fingers. I like to relax when I drink, so it's either when I'm off or after we shut down.

Currently in Spain, probably going to end my career here and drinking is very different from where I grew up.

Lunch is at 9am, and it's common to see people having a beer (followed by coffee)

People tend to nurse drinks, it's a more social thing, and if they get buzzed it's usually low key and don't get too sloppy- however I've seen holiday parties for businesses get everyone wasted....and fiestas all bets are off, lol.

I love it here.

This entry was edited (8 months ago)
in reply to BCsven

tostada and coffee at 730-8
lunch 9-11
comida (brunch) 14h
marinda (sp?) 17-18h (coffee, sweet cake or pastry)
dinner 21-23h

summertime we have reservations up until 23h for dinner

most nights in the summer are English/n. Europeans 19h-21h, then the Spanish hit us.
good times....it's an American BBQ joint so it will be interesting to see how the boycotts suss out....

seriously fuck trump

in reply to Sadbutdru

US, audit & tax

Once in a blue moon, on a really nice day, we would get a patio table and have a margarita with lunch. Only if it was a slow work day, like with nothing but webinars scheduled for the afternoon (as attendees, not presenters).

It was not uncommon to see beer in the office fridge during tax season because those folks would be pulling 15+ hour days for pretty much 3 months straight.

in reply to Sadbutdru

Most places have an alcohol restriction on premises. But lunch time is your own time. Bars near the auto plants used to have 30+ beers already opened so the workers could come in slap their money down and get right to drinking at 12:05.
I worked at one place where boss bought beer and pizza for the whole company for doing well that week. I think shop guys had 1 beer restrictions, for "safety". Us office guys could have more. 2 beer and pizza makes it hard to stay awake at the computer though.
in reply to Sadbutdru

I personally don't drink, but my team is all WFH, so I don't doubt at all that there are some that have a beer or two with lunch. Or a glass of wine.

When we have in person events, there's a pretty strict no drinking culture, but once the event is over, usually people will shuffle off to the nearest pub or bar or we've done a board game cafe with booze before.

in reply to Sadbutdru

Depends on what the boss does, but if I'm the most senior person, and especially if it's a conference or lunch meeting with someone I know well, and the itemized bill isn't required for reimbursement, sure thing. Have many times.

Some older companies have policies in place that define appropriate circumstances under which staff can have 1 drink during duty hours and it not be an actionable offense.

in reply to Sadbutdru

Product designer/engineer in the US

If the team is going out to lunch to celebrate a special occasion, then a single drink has always been fine in the teams I worked with. I don't partake anymore because it makes me really sleepy in the afternoon.

I worked at one company that hosted a weekly happy hour. I was one of the employees who took turns setting up the kegs in the common room, and pouring drinks during the event. That was a fun place. The extra social time really improved some working relationships. And we got a surprising amount of productive work done just by talking for an hour or two while standing around sipping microbrews and wine.

in reply to Sadbutdru

My current job is WFH, so no one would know or care. But I previously had a safety sensitive job that held us to either the same or higher standards as the federal Dept of Transportation. They were so strict that we had posters advising against drinking kombucha at lunch or using pure CBD products at all. My SO at the time had a CBD balm that I would put gloves on to help apply because I didn't want to risk it. The company said that while these products were likely fine, if an accident or something happened and we had to then take a drug test, any registerable amount would be grounds for immediate dismissal with no recourse.
in reply to Sadbutdru

I see no problem with a single drink at lunch, specially with your team. It helps you relax and build rapport imo.

At my previous job, my manager would take our 5-6 people team out for lunch and a beer for anyone's birthday and at the end of the year. I miss that.

My current job doesn't allow it, so going out for lunch with co workers is a little more stiff, and so is my relationship with my manager.

Last christmas I had to work during the break with only 1 co-worker, we snuck out and had pizza with a berr. It was great.

in reply to Sadbutdru

Used to work for a company that started out as a US startup for IT Services, later it was purchased by a large German company.

During its startup days, you did not dare drink alcohol at lunch time.

After being bought by the German company, you did not dare NOT to drink alcohol at lunch time. Especially if someone from Germany was visiting. They viewed it odd that we had an aversion to drinking beer at lunch.

in reply to Rayquetzalcoatl

Hell yeah, spirits only though since no one's yet found a 'medicinal' reason to bring beer along. I like a bit of Hayman slo gin, we've got some Schadlerer schnapps, and plenty of clear bottles.

Being drunk's pretty much the same but it hits you way faster and passes quicker too, hence why you only do a little bit at a time. No one's vommed yet, but got plenty of towels around for other reasons just in case

in reply to Rayquetzalcoatl

I sort of fell into it, did a couple of STEM degrees back when they were handing those out, took a foreign language course in Russian and Japanese, met someone there whose partner worked for the ESA, and then did an internship, and then went through years of vigorous training outrunning and outdrinking my colleagues. None of this is true btw, and please don't believe people who claim to be astronauts on the web.
This entry was edited (8 months ago)
in reply to Sadbutdru

IT worker in system analysis and design in the public service in Canberra, Australia.

There's no official policy though many of my co workers believe a lunch time drink is not allowed. I have often enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine or a beer at lunch, have never made a secret of it, and have never been told off or warned by anyone above me

This entry was edited (8 months ago)
in reply to fubarx

alternatively, i’ve found the bulmer peak concept to be entirely real: a drink sometimes helps you to just do rather than spending too much time thinking about if what you’re doing is best… it can help with decision paralysis on the micro scale

that said, you can train yourself out of decision paralysis and as someone gets more experienced this is likely to be less and less helpful

in reply to ☂️-

I work in europe in sector that have signed that we only have to work 35 hours a week. So I work 8 to 15 and that's it.

The secret sauce is that we have massive unions. So we have achieve a lot of labor rights.

You should see my desk is full of propaganda of 4 different unions, and everyone desk is the same, Unions are very present in my sector.

This entry was edited (8 months ago)
in reply to Sadbutdru

I've had white collar jobs where champagne breakfast was a thing, and blue collar jobs with heavy equipment where driving with any degree of intoxication had serious consequences but, surprisingly enough, not necessarily dismissal.

Also, decades ago, I worked with skilled laborers who would have a beer over lunch, and with concrete finishers who would drink a case of beer between 2 or 3 people while working. I feel like concrete finishers used to work for a flat dollar rate plus beer. If there was enough beer, they would stay all night long.