41. "Office Drinks Etiquette"
- Bianca Blanch
- Dec 11, 2020
- 4 min read
Happy Hour at work is one of the perks of working at a start-up. Why would you leave work if they provide you with dinner and drinks on a Friday? This is my experience of drinking with your colleagues!
My Experience of Office Drinks
In Australia, office drinks happen in every workplace.
In academia, maybe three to four times a year the group would go out for a night and everyone would be at various stages ranging from sober, tipsy, drunk to completely gone.
I remember one academic night out. My colleague received a bottle of Tequila as a thank you present and she decided to throw a party at our bosses house.
The majority of our group were extroverts, and a little crazy but in a loveable way. The alcohol flowed. Games were played. It was a lot of fun.
My boss was a little less happy the next day. They woke up and found their dog had knocked over the salad, and the dressing ended up all over their beautiful white walls and carpet. They spent the rest of the weekend cleaning it up. Oops!
But in start-up culture, you could have office drinks everyday. (It was one person filled the alcohol fridge. They were Irish ;) )
The alcohol was stored in the board room in the 'alcohol' fridge. Office etiquette was to only drink alcohol from around 3pm on a Friday. But, if you were there late, no one would chastise you for opening a drink on a week night.
I was pleasantly surprised when they ordered me some gin, as I don't like beer or wine. What a great perk! And a great way to try different gins.
This company also funded two nights out a year, company-wide. Dinner, alcohol, karaoke an an Uber ride home were all provided by the company. And pretty much everyone who attended got drunk.
I loved these nights! I am an extrovert and realised how fun karaoke was, especially with a few drinks in me.
This company did a lot of things right. It is important to have non-work outings or social gatherings to strengthen team dynamics and build rapport. These outings give you a glimpse of another side to your colleagues, managers and bosses.
But this glimpse can be dark.
At the start up, a few colleagues were often the ones who headed to the fridge first on a Friday. They often drank way too much on the nights out, and could barely stand up or speak by around midnight. And sadly, for one of these people the company said 'if you work late on this project, help yourself to the beer fridge'. The company knew this employee liked to drink, and would happily work more hours if they were able to drink at work.
The Lessons
Blow off some steam and build rapport
Drinking nights are a great way to blow off some steam and grow closer with your colleagues.
How do you react to alcohol?
But these people are your work colleagues, so how do you react to alcohol? (Or any other drugs on offer)? Do you get aggressive? Do you get emotional? Do you want to touch other people?
If you have a strong reaction to alcohol. Drink less to make sure you have fun but do not behave in a way to make your colleagues uncomfortable or even lose your job. You still need to go to work on Monday.
Being sober is an option
If you have chosen to be sober for any reason, stick to it. You should never behave in a way just to fit into the culture. Be you, and if you are sober, be sober.
Watch out for your colleagues
Nights out are fun, but you don't want a drunken comment or behaviour to ruin the team's dynamic. If a colleague is starting to become offensive or acting in an odd way, maybe suggest they drink some water and hopefully they pick up on the hint.
Should you say something?
When alcohol is introduced into the workplace it is tricky if you think a colleague has a drinking issue. If you are concerned, maybe speak to your manager about the issue of alcohol being in the office. (Do not single out a colleague to your manager, if you are concerned consider speaking to them yourself.) It will be up to management if they decide to change the alcohol policy or provide support to any employee who needs it.
Leave when you want to
I think it is important to be social at work, and attend these outside of work activities. It helps you build rapport, gives you the chance to speak to other people in your team, and get to know them outside of work. However, you do not need to be there all night. Leave when the meal is over, or when you stop having fun, whichever happens later.
Stay safe
If you start to feel unsafe leave immediately. If anyone acts inappropriately towards you, report it to your manager. These gatherings should be fun, not an opportunity for bad behaviour.
Now that we are heading into the end of year gathering season, what are your rules for office drinks? Or drinking around colleagues? Let me know your experience by leaving a comment below or emailing me at AuthenticResearchExperiences@gmail.com
B
Photo by Rafnex Trent on Unsplash
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