Beer at work?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Jmarsh544

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2008
Messages
289
Reaction score
42
Location
Costa Mesa
I know of a few former co-workers that have moved on to companies that have beer fridges at work and have very loose policies/ encourage drinking at work (obviously as long as they don't get carried away). Does anyone work for a company like this? It seems a lot of the young tech. Companies and companies in the Pacific Northwest embrace this. After a very long week at work, it seems that a beer or two after lunch might help deal with the stress/ interesting people that I get to deal with daily.

P.S. I also think anyone who works more than 12 hours a day should be able to crack a beer at work. At some point you need to live some life (or pretend to) to go along with all the hard work and long hours.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 
This should get interesting...

This clearly has a lot to do with the type of work...creative, brainstorming-requiring industries may benefit from this sort of thing. OTOH, I work in the medical field...anyone think I should down a few if I have to work a long shift, or be on call overnight?
 
This should get interesting...

This clearly has a lot to do with the type of work...creative, brainstorming-requiring industries may benefit from this sort of thing. OTOH, I work in the medical field...anyone think I should down a few if I have to work a long shift, or be on call overnight?

Ya could definitely work in some industries I guess. I work in the oilfields, so I too would have to stop and say "uhhhh probably not a good idea to have beer in the same zip code as where I work". haha
 
I was thinking of that as I wrote this. I agree that there are field where this would apply, but there are a lot of field where it seems like it might not be a bad thing at all. For instance, I manage construction contracts for 12+ hours a day and at some point it seems like a beer helps to take the edge/ stress off slightly.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 
The transit authority in my city is as frownie-faced, para-militant as you can get short of being enlisted in the armed forces. True, driving all day is not an alcohol friendly arena, but damn it, driving better than 99.997% of the general populous with a brew down the hatch should be as acceptable as driving better, safer, than 99.998% of the north Omaha $hit-bird jerks without one...
 
I work for the railroad. Old guys say back in the day everyone drank, they got more done, and with less injuries. Hard to believe. Today you can't even fart without someone wanting to fire you.
 
At my last job we didn't have a beer fridge or anything like that at the company, but some of my co-workers did drink a beer or two at lunch. We had some company lunches too where the managers and so on drank a beer, wine, or cocktail before heading back to work. There were also a few end-of-the-day get-togethers at the company itself where beers, spirits, wine, and cocktails were served.

In general, the unspoken word was that it was okay to have one beer or one wine at lunch, but I knew a guy who occasionally had two or even three. He wasn't a lightweight, though, and no one who hadn't gone out to lunch with him seemed to notice. I personally refrained simply because I prefer to be able to concentrate to my maximum when I'm working and alcohol, even in small quantities, tends to impair my concentration to some degree or another.

Nowadays I'm self-employed and I never drink while I'm working unless I'm working at night, exhausted, and not as concerned with getting A TON done but feel that I should still be at it.
 
I used to be IT administrator for The Onion, and yes - drinking was tolerated. Whiskey Fridays were a thing. We had two kegerators, one with a local brew on tap, the other usually filled with my homebrew. Again, not getting carried away was key.. but good times.
 
Not where I work. In fact, the last time there was laughter on the floor a memo came out about professionalism and customer focus.
 
Back in the early 1980's, nobody really gave a rat's ass about a beer or two here and there. One of the old guys I worked with, drank a can of Bud while I drove us to work. Everybody knew he had a beer for breakfast. He never got hurt or endangered anyone else, so the boss looked the other way because he was exceptional at what he did.
 
I only wish the school board would let me have a beer or 2 at work.


Im sorry but kids today SUCK.

On the other hand the school board(being perpetually broke) has asked several of the teachers who home brew for yeast to assist with the biology classes.
Wonder if I can write off my brewery equip as "lab equipment" because now the school gets my old yeast.
 
A hypothetical situation. An employee has one-half a glass of beer. The employee trips on an extension cord in an office or outdoors work site. Employee has a broken arm and can not work until the arm heals. The employee applies for unemployment compensation. The EMTs noted in their report the smell of alcohol on the employees breath.
That would not go over well for the employees case.
 
It used to be the standard when I first joined the military...but with more people doing dumb crap and getting caught, it is not as accepted, but every once in awhile it still does.
 
I would be on board with that idea if I didnt work in a chemical plant.. I can envision the disasters that would occur if people were drinking on the job.

However if i worked in a corporate/creative/tech type environment I would be all about it.
 
Beer at work has been acceptable at a couple places I have worked in the past.

At one prior job, someone would volunteer to go around each Friday and collect money for a beer run. Once 5 o'clock hit, everyone who contributed would get together and enjoy a beer or two with upper management. This was a great way to allow free flowing conversation with the higher ups and the practice was still going on when I left. Cisco did purchase the company, and I am sure things have changed since then.
 
On the other hand the school board(being perpetually broke) has asked several of the teachers who home brew for yeast to assist with the biology classes.
Wonder if I can write off my brewery equip as "lab equipment" because now the school gets my old yeast.


Yeah I have been doing some work with our biology teachers and talking about yeast and cells with their classes.
 
I work for myself, and other than client interaction I could definitely drink on the job. As it is, I find enough time to drink beer when I'm not at the office.
 
When I'm in the office...not so much. I could probably get away with a beer at lunch, but I rarely take a lunch anyway. Too busy.

When I'm travelling, however, it's a different story. Even when the big boss is with me, we usually seek out places that have a decent tap list when it's time to eat.

My old roomate from college went to work for Lost Abbey, wonder how much they get to drink at work?:)
 
When i worked at Coinstar back in the mid 90's they stocked the fridge with beer and wine. That place was like a party to work at. I understand that practice is long gone now though.
 
Tour guide at Sierra Nevada does tasting at the end of every tour with the tour group. Something like 10 - 12, ~2 oz glasses. Tour takes 1 1/2 hours so I'm guessing they probably do four a day. I figure this helps explain our guides very relaxed, happy and enthusiastic attitude. She'd probably had a few pints before our tour began. It's a tough job but somebody's gotta do it.
 
I work at a brewpub, so drinking on the job is pretty much required. gotta know your product :)

I think most work environments should be beer friendly (not saying they are), unless there are specific hazards to even minor impairment (plant workers, medical professionals, etc.). however, it's a fine line to walk, and there's always "that guy/girl" that's going to have one too many on the job and ruin it for everyone... I can see not wanting to promote that possibility from a management perspective.
 
Working in the construction industry it's not out of place for me or one of the guys to show up with a 6 pack at lunch to share.
 
IT here. We don't have anything like that but other places do. It's usually software people and places that are heavy on development.
 
We used to always have a few at lunch time. In fact, our shop used to close everyday from noon - 1 and we would often times go to the strip club down the street for a few beers, free lunch and...well we'll just stop at beers and lunch.

But one jack wagon ruined it for everyone. Of course it was the bosses son. He didn't know when lunch was over and work time started. He started drinking at lunch and would just keep going all day.

He got in a fight with a customer one day, cops were called, and he was arrested for assault. In the report it stated he was drunk.

After that, drinking on the clock was a no no. We still keep some in the fridge for the 5 o'clock bell though. Once we are clocked out, it's beer time.
 
I'm a Barber and a Taxi driver on the side. Love drinking on the job (concealed, of course).
 
Personally, there is no way I could do my current job underwriting with even one beer in me, can't concentrate at all. But as a coffee roaster, we kept a beer fridge, I also kept a personal whisky stash for the particularly difficult days. If nothing else, if countered the effects of the copious amounts of caffeine we where consuming all day (we drank a lot of coffee, yes, but it can also absorb into the skin from touching large amounts of product/byproduct) the way I saw it, we needed beer to calm our nerves
 
Not in my office that i know of (i work from home most of the time), although, on occasion, we've left the office early to go for a couple drinks to finish a meeting at a bar.

I'm a consultant, and I've worked with a couple customers where a beer at lunch was no problem, and if they order first, I'll join them.

Working from home, and having it be well known with my coworkers and boss that i homebrew and am into craft beer, I don't take chances. I may have a beer while I'm finishing up some paperwork after 5, but if I'm going to get on a phone call with a customer, not a drop. I just don't ever want that concern to come up.

I had a friend who worked as an engineer for one of the largest corporations in the US, and their office had beers on Friday afternoons.

This gets dicey though, small offices can have a culture where this works, but before you get too big you're likely to have someone who has a problem with alcohol, or had a family member that did. If they raise a big stink about it, it's over.
 
Beer wouldn't work in my office.

We have a few hard core partiers here. If we allowed drinking on the job I envision people duct taped to their chairs (probably me), looting, fires in the wastebaskets, orgies, and general mayhem.

As one of the bosses I would fear for my life. :D
 
I work for the railroad. Old guys say back in the day everyone drank, they got more done, and with less injuries. Hard to believe. Today you can't even fart without someone wanting to fire you.


My father retired from the railroad in 1973 and told me of two guys that lost limbs after effing up while drinking on the job. It was pretty prevalent according to my dad.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 
Beer wouldn't work in my office.

We have a few hard core partiers here. If we allowed drinking on the job I envision people duct taped to their chairs (probably me), looting, fires in the wastebaskets, orgies, and general mayhem.

As one of the bosses I would fear for my life. :D

PM me, attach a job application :rockin:
 
My wife has a friend in Seattle, who works in an advertising agency with a 5L mini-kegerator.

Unfortunately, I've never worked at a place like that.
 
Another not-my-job story. About 30 years ago I was friends with a few of the cops in a small city. They invited me to come hang out & drink beer in the police station parking lot with them Friday & Saturday nights after they got off their shift at midnight. They'd confiscate kegs & cases from underage parties & only needed to save a small amount of evidence in case it went to trial. They were always sure to tell me where the sobriety checkpoints were so I could avoid them on my way home. I only went a couple of times but it seemed pretty institutionalized at the time.
 
My office is pretty relaxed about it - the company stocks a variety of beers in the company fridge, and no one blinks twice if you have one for lunch or one in the afternoon at your desk. No one minds if you bring in homebrew to share as well.

I work in tech in the Bay Area, so it's fairly normalized in this industry. My office mostly has beer drinkers or non drinkers, but cocktails and wine happen a few times a year.
 
There used to be. Global sales haven't really changed much in 10 years, but the amount of pinheads working there has, which has changed everything.
 
Another not-my-job story. About 30 years ago I was friends with a few of the cops in a small city. They invited me to come hang out & drink beer in the police station parking lot with them Friday & Saturday nights after they got off their shift at midnight. They'd confiscate kegs & cases from underage parties & only needed to save a small amount of evidence in case it went to trial. They were always sure to tell me where the sobriety checkpoints were so I could avoid them on my way home. I only went a couple of times but it seemed pretty institutionalized at the time.

Ha...I knew it! I always suspected that the cops got to keep all the beer they confiscated! :rockin:
 
I'm self employed, working from home. When I go in for lunch, the right tap is seltzer water, the left is beer. Two reasons I go for the seltzer. First, I program and run CNC machines and enjoy having all my fingers. Second, I really look forward to the end of the day. Sitting down, relaxing and enjoying a beer. Just wouldn't be the same if I was drinking all day.
 
At one of my jobs in the past (chef) at the end of a busy night the owner would give all of us a beer. I now work for my self but if I have anything to drink whilst working I get no work done.


Drink more coffee and do stupid things faster
 
I was an over the road truck driver back in about the 1980-82 era. I remember picking up a load of beer at the Budweiser plant in St Louis Mo.

Me and my co-driver had to wait all afternoon for our loading time. So we hung out in the cafeteria, and soon learned that it was stocked with free beer when we saw employees drinking beer on there breaks.

They had big coolers that were keep full. Workers kept coming in with more beer so it never got low.

I read somewhere years later that employees sued Budweiser for turning them into alcoholics. So naturally they did away with the free beer.
 
Back
Top