Alcohol consumption at workplaces.

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simonineaston
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Re: Alcohol consumption at workplaces.

Post by simonineaston »

I was a hospital porter in the early '80s and socialising was baked into the job, back then. There were two bars on-site, the doctors' mess and the social club - kind of us & them - and they were both v. busy... for many people who lived on-site, the social club was the first stop after work. Given that there were catering facilities on site too, open 24 hours, the hospital was a small & rather vibrant eco-system. The night canteen's cooked-to-order breakfasts were legendary.
After my first year, I worked out that the winter social scene started, apparently, with the kids' ward's Guy Fawkes display in Nov. and ended, more or less, with the Radiology dept's wind-down party sometime in early Feb... truth was that there were parties, large & small, going on pretty much all the time, given that there was a busy population of female student nurses and young males, in the form of fitters, porters, doctors & lab staff, plus visitors from allied services eg ambulance, police and fire... things could get quite rowdy now and then.
But although there was a strong thread of socialising and partying running through the whole organisation, I don't recall any problems with drunkenness. Having said that I do recall bumping into a young anaesthetist one Xmas - he was on call ie not actually working, but could have been soon after, at the time I saw him... and he was very very drunk - he had a half-empty bottle of vodka in one of his white coat pockets and his stethoscope stuffed into the other! That was a one-off, though.
S
(on the look out for Armageddon, on board a Brompton nano & ever-changing Moultons)
Ben@Forest
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Re: Alcohol consumption at workplaces.

Post by Ben@Forest »

Tangled Metal wrote: 3 Jul 2022, 10:25pm I'm thinking about all those cases of MPs getting into trouble, blaming alcohol and going off to get "medical treatment ". Just shut the bars down now! For such bright people they're dumb as fcuk over this.
I don't think shutting down the bars would make any difference. It might make things worse if any parliamentary employee kept a bottle of whisky in their desk drawer rather than having a glass of Chardonnay at lunch whilst socialising or entertaining anyone from a constituent to a representative of a foreign embassy.

And of course plenty of business practice involves going somewhere else where alcohol is drunk. Just because a business doesn't have a bar doesn't mean they don't meet clients in pubs or restaurants.

I rarely drink at work (and certainly didn't when l used a chainsaw), but on occasion a client or potential client has wanted to go for a pub drink or meal after a site visit, and frankly it is more 'convivial' to have a pint with them - and remember there is or maybe work in it for you if the client likes you.

I think the only real issue about the Houses of Parliament is subsidised alcohol. They should pay the market rate - we do, so should they.
VinceLedge
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Re: Alcohol consumption at workplaces.

Post by VinceLedge »

I agree there was a lot of post work socialising in the 80s in hospitals, especially as a lot of the younger staff lived on site (many of us met our partners because of that) Some great parties 🥳
But there wasn't much drinking at lunchtimes and people like myself who were on call generally didn't drink when on duty. Obviously there was the odd person who wasn't so careful.
freeflow
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Re: Alcohol consumption at workplaces.

Post by freeflow »

I vividly recall back in the early 80's doing my PhD (lots of lab work). The Friday of the first week, as we were led out by colleagues to be indoctrinated in to the Friday lunchtime 'session', we were met by the chief technician of our department. His 'advice' to the new starters was that Friday afternoons were a really really good time to do some research in the Library.
Psamathe
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Re: Alcohol consumption at workplaces.

Post by Psamathe »

Ben@Forest wrote: 4 Jul 2022, 11:00am ...
I don't think shutting down the bars would make any difference....
Might save the taxpayer a bit of money? (given the bars are subsidised)

Ian
Ben@Forest
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Re: Alcohol consumption at workplaces.

Post by Ben@Forest »

Psamathe wrote: 4 Jul 2022, 11:45am
Ben@Forest wrote: 4 Jul 2022, 11:00am ...
I don't think shutting down the bars would make any difference....
Might save the taxpayer a bit of money? (given the bars are subsidised)
Look at my last sentence....
thirdcrank
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Re: Alcohol consumption at workplaces.

Post by thirdcrank »

Fundamental reform of the entire process might not go amiss as we drift through the 21C. Sensible working hours might attract a more sensible type of people. What might have been more-or-less ok in the Regency is looking dated now.
Ben@Forest
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Re: Alcohol consumption at workplaces.

Post by Ben@Forest »

thirdcrank wrote: 4 Jul 2022, 11:56am Fundamental reform of the entire process might not go amiss as we drift through the 21C. Sensible working hours might attract a more sensible type of people. What might have been more-or-less ok in the Regency is looking dated now.
Nobody outside regular shopfloor hours works sensible hours now. I check and respond to e-mails all the time. This morning the first email l read was from someone who sent it at 6.15pm Sunday evening. They only work 2 days a week at that job and neither of those days are ever Sunday.

In a week's time I'm taking holiday to work a week at my own business, where necessary l'll be responding to mails regarding my employer's business the whole week.
mattheus
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Re: Alcohol consumption at workplaces.

Post by mattheus »

I once knew an ex-Heineken employee. When he worked in their main office, there was a room-sized walk-in fridge, full of their products and the competition: staff could help themselves, no limits.

He said that most new staff got a bit squiffy once in their first week-or-so; then were so embarassed (partly as no-one else was overdoing it), that after that they only sampled in moderation.

Possibly a lesson in treating staff like grown-ups.

-----------------------
Meanwhile, in most banks, and parliament, you can bet that stuff like cocaine is being covertly consumed most days by someone.
gbnz
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Re: Alcohol consumption at workplaces.

Post by gbnz »

mattheus wrote: 4 Jul 2022, 12:25pm .
Possibly a lesson in treating staff like grown-ups.
.
Wish my neighbour of the past 18 months would work more and therefore drink at work :wink: . Though to be fair, he's often passed out by mid-day in the summer months, so maybe employers wouldn't want him? (Nb. Thank God he will not be a neighbour by the 24th July 2022)
Tangled Metal
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Re: Alcohol consumption at workplaces.

Post by Tangled Metal »

Ban drink and drugs on Parliament hours. Random testing then. Catch the coke fiends with the drunks and boot them out. No adults in HoC imho but I've got a very pessimistic view of politicians.

It seems most workplace drinking cultures ended 80s through 90s. Time for parliament to catch up.

Businesses wheeling and dealing in the bar or restaurants with alcohol? Time that got ended. It did in all the companies I've worked with. It has not had any negative effect on business. You simply do not need alcohol to operate at any level. If you do there's a real issue there.
pwa
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Re: Alcohol consumption at workplaces.

Post by pwa »

I have a feeling that the higher up the ladder you are, and the more important the decisions you make, the more likely you are to consume alcohol during working hours. Strong coffee I can understand, but alcohol, no, it seems bonkers to me. I know in my workplace you can't turn up for work with any suspicion that you may be under the influence, and alcohol at lunch is not tolerated. After work is another matter.

Perhaps MPs should be breath tested before being allowed to vote.
Tangled Metal
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Re: Alcohol consumption at workplaces.

Post by Tangled Metal »

Before being allowed in I'd say. No tolerance!
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simonineaston
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Re: Alcohol consumption at workplaces.

Post by simonineaston »

Churchill was famously, at least tiddly for much of his working day...
S
(on the look out for Armageddon, on board a Brompton nano & ever-changing Moultons)
Psamathe
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Re: Alcohol consumption at workplaces.

Post by Psamathe »

pwa wrote: 4 Jul 2022, 3:41pm ...
Perhaps MPs should be breath tested before being allowed to vote.
Would the Commons ever get a quorum?

Ian
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