| Boozing at work 11:20 - May 25 with 5120 views | Cotty |
Just interested to know how many would not blink an eye about drinking at work on a regular basis, ie in meetings rather than at social events. Personally I’d probably be disciplined if found to have drunk booze on the job. |  | | |  |
| Boozing at work on 14:52 - May 25 with 1630 views | STYG |
| Boozing at work on 13:50 - May 25 by itfc24 |
Christ you sound a barrel of laughs.
I have rarely met someone who doesnt turn into all those things mentioned the second the beer hits the lips.
We should go out for a drink sometime, but im warning you there is a real risk of me being handsy. |
Alcohol, like porn, should have no place in the workplace.
Nothing to do with being fun. You are being paid, to do a job and to be a professional.
I can have 8 pints down the pub on a Friday night or several across the course of a lunchtime in the pub before football but as far as I am concerned if you are in work time then there's absolutely no reason to drink.
The issue is that I have worked with people who've been pleasant enough in the office but after 2-3 beers after work start spouting all sorts of things they'd never usually say. Given people can comfortably have a couple at lunchtime I just don't see why it should be allowed.
It doesn't help anyone do their job better, unless they are an actor playing a drunk I guess. |  | | |
| Boozing at work on 14:54 - May 25 with 1626 views | GlasgowBlue |
| Boozing at work on 14:52 - May 25 by STYG |
Alcohol, like porn, should have no place in the workplace.
Nothing to do with being fun. You are being paid, to do a job and to be a professional.
I can have 8 pints down the pub on a Friday night or several across the course of a lunchtime in the pub before football but as far as I am concerned if you are in work time then there's absolutely no reason to drink.
The issue is that I have worked with people who've been pleasant enough in the office but after 2-3 beers after work start spouting all sorts of things they'd never usually say. Given people can comfortably have a couple at lunchtime I just don't see why it should be allowed.
It doesn't help anyone do their job better, unless they are an actor playing a drunk I guess. |
"Alcohol, like porn, should have no place in the workplace".
Trey telling that to Ron Jeremy. |  |
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| Boozing at work on 15:00 - May 25 with 1604 views | jeera |
| Boozing at work on 13:50 - May 25 by itfc24 |
Christ you sound a barrel of laughs.
I have rarely met someone who doesnt turn into all those things mentioned the second the beer hits the lips.
We should go out for a drink sometime, but im warning you there is a real risk of me being handsy. |
To be fair I'm not sure racism, sexism and homophobia are side effects of alcohol. |  |
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| Boozing at work on 15:57 - May 25 with 1555 views | Churchman |
Years ago when I started working (80s) there would be alcohol in the office for customers and staff the day before Christmas and on Christmas Eve when we shut at 12.00. We’d actually be given bottles, fruit, chocolate, you name it by customers and it was shared amongst staff to take home or in the office.
We never had drink in the office during working hours but there were do’s in the office after work sometimes. Usually with messy outcomes. Ok, I was young!!!
I later worked for an IT company and there was the odd celebratory sparkly glass if the company had signed a contract or delivered something and we even had wine tasting on the odd occasion the owners wanted to do something different - after work.
When I joined the Civil Service in 2003, the habit of Friday afternoon drinking (in the pub) had just died out. There had been bars in government buildings and I think the last HMRC one in Custom House closed about then.
In terms of alcohol in the office, there were the odd event in the at Christmas in the afternoon, leaving do’s, including booking the bigger rooms, but these were rare. On my last day, a Prosecco event was organised for me in the office. It started at 3pm and was nice. Not everybody’s attended. Some were still working or out of the office. There was no problem with this at all. It was not an every day thing.
People (lower grades) in the CS work flexi time. As long as they do their hours and record them there isn’t usually a rigid pattern to working hours. Just what the job demands. More senior grades don’t work flexi time and nor are they paid overtime. Long hours are just part of the job expectation.
As it goes, ‘downtime’ if work is pressured is no bad thing. I always preferred it to be out of the office where people could truly be taken out of themselves. It’s actually a really good way to get to know people. One rule I had was never to return to the office if I’d had a drink and it’s something I’d plan ahead with.
Did some people get stuck in and return to work? Yep, plenty. The best was a manager in a banking branch I worked in as a yoof who had to be helped to his Ford Capri 3 litre car to go home every afternoon. In the banking world when part of my job was meeting contacts there was often a lot of booze involved and again, I’d go home rather than back to the office and not in my car!
In terms of the Civil Service and alcohol, I never saw it in any meetings I ever attended, high or low level. I never saw it at peoples desks or lying around in any of the gov buildings I visited and that’s quite a few of them across the country. No 10 culture? I worked with people who had worked for Blair, Brown, Cameron and I certainly heard of nothing like this. Maybe they kept it quite, but I suspect it’s something that rolled in with Johnson. I can’t imagine Macbeth’s cauldron stirrer May getting into that sort of thing. I might be wrong.
There is no excuse for events at no 10 during lockdown. None at all at any level. If it was up to me every single person that attended would have to prove why they shouldn’t be disciplined/fired for gross misconduct. Certainly all the senior people involved should be kicked out, starting with Johnson and piano teeth Sunak. [Post edited 25 May 2022 16:01]
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| Boozing at work on 16:25 - May 25 with 1531 views | GlasgowBlue |
| Boozing at work on 15:57 - May 25 by Churchman |
Years ago when I started working (80s) there would be alcohol in the office for customers and staff the day before Christmas and on Christmas Eve when we shut at 12.00. We’d actually be given bottles, fruit, chocolate, you name it by customers and it was shared amongst staff to take home or in the office.
We never had drink in the office during working hours but there were do’s in the office after work sometimes. Usually with messy outcomes. Ok, I was young!!!
I later worked for an IT company and there was the odd celebratory sparkly glass if the company had signed a contract or delivered something and we even had wine tasting on the odd occasion the owners wanted to do something different - after work.
When I joined the Civil Service in 2003, the habit of Friday afternoon drinking (in the pub) had just died out. There had been bars in government buildings and I think the last HMRC one in Custom House closed about then.
In terms of alcohol in the office, there were the odd event in the at Christmas in the afternoon, leaving do’s, including booking the bigger rooms, but these were rare. On my last day, a Prosecco event was organised for me in the office. It started at 3pm and was nice. Not everybody’s attended. Some were still working or out of the office. There was no problem with this at all. It was not an every day thing.
People (lower grades) in the CS work flexi time. As long as they do their hours and record them there isn’t usually a rigid pattern to working hours. Just what the job demands. More senior grades don’t work flexi time and nor are they paid overtime. Long hours are just part of the job expectation.
As it goes, ‘downtime’ if work is pressured is no bad thing. I always preferred it to be out of the office where people could truly be taken out of themselves. It’s actually a really good way to get to know people. One rule I had was never to return to the office if I’d had a drink and it’s something I’d plan ahead with.
Did some people get stuck in and return to work? Yep, plenty. The best was a manager in a banking branch I worked in as a yoof who had to be helped to his Ford Capri 3 litre car to go home every afternoon. In the banking world when part of my job was meeting contacts there was often a lot of booze involved and again, I’d go home rather than back to the office and not in my car!
In terms of the Civil Service and alcohol, I never saw it in any meetings I ever attended, high or low level. I never saw it at peoples desks or lying around in any of the gov buildings I visited and that’s quite a few of them across the country. No 10 culture? I worked with people who had worked for Blair, Brown, Cameron and I certainly heard of nothing like this. Maybe they kept it quite, but I suspect it’s something that rolled in with Johnson. I can’t imagine Macbeth’s cauldron stirrer May getting into that sort of thing. I might be wrong.
There is no excuse for events at no 10 during lockdown. None at all at any level. If it was up to me every single person that attended would have to prove why they shouldn’t be disciplined/fired for gross misconduct. Certainly all the senior people involved should be kicked out, starting with Johnson and piano teeth Sunak. [Post edited 25 May 2022 16:01]
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I used to shop at a clothes shop in Edinburgh with my business partner and as soon as we walked in we were handed a bottle of beer by the assistant. | |
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| Boozing at work on 16:30 - May 25 with 1526 views | Weekender |
We have a floor to ceiling wine rack in the office, is that not normal? |  |
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| Boozing at work on 17:31 - May 25 with 1496 views | ITFC_Forever |
| Boozing at work on 13:09 - May 25 by Plums |
I've been in a few police HQ's that had bars on the premises. I suspect they don't any more. Personally, I don't think I've ever drunk at work, regardless of whether I was on a building site or in an office. |
The police station on Civic Drive used to have a bar on the top floor as recently as this century.
I used to work at GRE in the mid-90s, and while there wasn't a bar on-site then (although I think there used to be), it wasn't uncommon to have a couple beers on a Friday lunchtime.
I can remember when I first started work and someone left we went to the pub one Friday lunchtime and had 4-5 beers.... I wasn't very productive that afternoon! |  |
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| Boozing at work on 18:59 - May 25 with 1436 views | eastangliaisblue |
| Boozing at work on 17:31 - May 25 by ITFC_Forever |
The police station on Civic Drive used to have a bar on the top floor as recently as this century.
I used to work at GRE in the mid-90s, and while there wasn't a bar on-site then (although I think there used to be), it wasn't uncommon to have a couple beers on a Friday lunchtime.
I can remember when I first started work and someone left we went to the pub one Friday lunchtime and had 4-5 beers.... I wasn't very productive that afternoon! |
Fire stations used to have their own bars too, even on-call stations. |  | | |
| Boozing at work on 22:11 - May 25 with 1367 views | NBVJohn |
I was at a morning meeting at a client site a few weeks back that proved to be a bit of a waste of time. I left the building with a chap from another company who I’d been chatting to and he asked if I fancied a quick pint.
I declined on the basis that I had further meetings elsewhere and that lunchtime drinking knocks me out. We did have a quick coffee though. It was the routine way that he suggested it that took me by surprise. Provided it’s controlled and no one is driving I can’t see that it’s such a terrible thing,. It brought it home to me about how cultures move on though and what used to be the norm is now the exception. | | | |
| Boozing at work on 22:41 - May 25 with 1354 views | ArnoldMoorhen |
| Boozing at work on 11:46 - May 25 by catch74 |
I run a pub, no one, including myself drink whilst working and very rarely after.
We had a pub full of beer that we had to pour away during any time we were locked down. We did take away food, staff came in, worked, distanced, wore masks, went home, didn’t drink.
The more time goes on, it becomes easy to forget how strictly we followed the restrictions - at a pub - but we did, for the good of the elderly, infirm and even a number of healthy people that we didn’t want to fall seriously ill/ die, if we could possibly help it. |
Thank you.
I hope business is picking up now. | | | |
| Boozing at work on 23:13 - May 25 with 1334 views | stonojnr |
| Boozing at work on 17:31 - May 25 by ITFC_Forever |
The police station on Civic Drive used to have a bar on the top floor as recently as this century.
I used to work at GRE in the mid-90s, and while there wasn't a bar on-site then (although I think there used to be), it wasn't uncommon to have a couple beers on a Friday lunchtime.
I can remember when I first started work and someone left we went to the pub one Friday lunchtime and had 4-5 beers.... I wasn't very productive that afternoon! |
Suffolk police HQ definitely had a bar once, as it was a feature on the tour they gave us as schoolkids.
but lots of companies used to have on premise bars, or if not a bar a handy sports & social club within easy wandering distance of the office, though most have closed now..
the lunchtime friday session in a pub was always a regular thing for office workers with birthdays, or celebrations, or people leaving, being extra occasions you did.still is for some, but it was just a couple of social drinks to get to know each other outside of work, it wasnt like someone said earlier they go out for 8 pints on anight stuff, most people who arent tee totallers,or the only go drinking at christmas mob can handle a couple of drinks and not be totally drunk.
as for London, well the office drinking culture is definitely a thing, I mean it was only like in the last decade some of the city firms brought in no alcohol on the premise rules, and rules about not being visibly drunk at work anymore, I dont think its as out of hand as it used to be now, because it was brutal I know people who quit jobs in London because you were expected to go on 6pint drinking sessions at lunchtime and return to the office afterwards, maybe after some pep up pills were offered if you were a bit sleepy, and then back to the pub after work to carry on.
I mean goto any pub around the square mile during the week, and youll have to because most of them shut at the weekends because theres no trade (so work it out), at lunchtimes or after 4pm and the places are packed to the gunnels with people "at work",some who will return to the office afterwards, or go home and pick up work later, theres a real blurring of work/social life as a culture there
I remember one pub I visited near St Pauls down a tiny back street, no tourist was likely to find unless they were lost, but it was in the good beer guide, and the street alone was rammed with all the nearby office workers with drinks who were smoking out side the pub, inside the pub it was 3 deep at the bar, it was like a Saturday night at the most popular bar you can imagine, except it was 4pm on a Tuesday, beer was good so that was ok, but standing room only. | | | |
| Boozing at work on 23:58 - May 25 with 1306 views | tomo |
I work from home but occasionally go to our companies WeWork in London. There is a free bar in there and the taps get turned on at 4pm until 7pm. I usually have a pint while finishing up some work then stay for a couple after. It’s a nice way of getting to know other folk who work their from other companies, I don’t know if I would do it if I worked there everyday although when it’s free it’s almost rude not too. |  | | |
| Boozing at work on 06:12 - May 26 with 1255 views | fab_lover |
In terms of drinking alcohol whilst both physically in the office and actually working, not "after hours", in 35 years of work, I've done that precisely once, just BC (before Covid) at the place I'm at now, as there were some out of date beers in the bottom of the fridge for some reason and we decided one each wouldn't hurt during an afternoon (internal) meeting.
I think *actually having a drink at work* rather than at lunchtime / after hours, i.e. like on "Mad Men" where there was a booze cupboard is something that probably disappeared around the same time as smoking in the office, if not earlier.
Coming back to what I imagine was the point of the question, I can't imagine anyone, even the most rabid Tory, thinking that throwing up at a "work event" that goes on till 4AM was anything other than a "jolly". I just hope this absolute shower get hammered at the next election as a result. |  | | |
| Boozing at work on 06:44 - May 26 with 1245 views | LegendofthePhoenix |
I can remember during the 70s and 80s that going to the pub on Friday lunchtime was pretty common, especially in my first job in the civil service. But since joining the NHS in 1988, the culture of drinking any alcohol at all soon vanished. I was on duty at my NHS Trust during the Millennium. Yes, from 10 pm through until 3 am, whilst the rest of the world were celebrating and pissing it up big time, having memories to cherish forever, I was on duty in case medical equipment failed to work and we needed to implement the contingency plans we had been developing for months prior. Not a bottle of wine or beer in sight anywhere. And I received the princely bonus of £25 for giving up that night. We are not all the same as Johnson or Richard Bacon. |  |
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| Boozing at work on 10:05 - May 26 with 1180 views | GlasgowBlue |
| Boozing at work on 11:46 - May 25 by catch74 |
I run a pub, no one, including myself drink whilst working and very rarely after.
We had a pub full of beer that we had to pour away during any time we were locked down. We did take away food, staff came in, worked, distanced, wore masks, went home, didn’t drink.
The more time goes on, it becomes easy to forget how strictly we followed the restrictions - at a pub - but we did, for the good of the elderly, infirm and even a number of healthy people that we didn’t want to fall seriously ill/ die, if we could possibly help it. |
I don't think people realise how much money hospitality businesses had to spend, on extra staff, screening, track and trace, masks, hand wash etc, in order to keep their customers safe.
Pubs and eateries provided a safe place a lot of elderly and lonely people to meet during the pandemic and were a vital part of a community hub. | |
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| Boozing at work on 11:48 - May 26 with 1151 views | Leaky |
| Boozing at work on 14:52 - May 25 by STYG |
Alcohol, like porn, should have no place in the workplace.
Nothing to do with being fun. You are being paid, to do a job and to be a professional.
I can have 8 pints down the pub on a Friday night or several across the course of a lunchtime in the pub before football but as far as I am concerned if you are in work time then there's absolutely no reason to drink.
The issue is that I have worked with people who've been pleasant enough in the office but after 2-3 beers after work start spouting all sorts of things they'd never usually say. Given people can comfortably have a couple at lunchtime I just don't see why it should be allowed.
It doesn't help anyone do their job better, unless they are an actor playing a drunk I guess. |
Alcohol, like porn, should have no place in the workplace.
How about posting on a football forum whilst at work |  | | |
| Boozing at work on 11:52 - May 26 with 1147 views | itfcjoe |
| Boozing at work on 10:05 - May 26 by GlasgowBlue |
I don't think people realise how much money hospitality businesses had to spend, on extra staff, screening, track and trace, masks, hand wash etc, in order to keep their customers safe.
Pubs and eateries provided a safe place a lot of elderly and lonely people to meet during the pandemic and were a vital part of a community hub. |
We lost a load of money on a job which had to be put on hold and then restarted.
High profile job in a town centre, when we went back it was separate vans driving from ipswich to Stansted everyday so 6 lots of fuel rather than 2, extensive signage, H&S visits, only able to work one person per room which made job take 5 weeks longer but not able to claim any more prelims, materials were massively up, blokes not able to stay away when needed.
The sort of job which would have killed many a company off, we were fortunate to have reserves at the time - it's an absolute p155 take. We could have just done what we wanted, saved masses of money and not given a toss. |  |
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| Boozing at work on 12:54 - May 26 with 1126 views | Churchman |
| Boozing at work on 11:52 - May 26 by itfcjoe |
We lost a load of money on a job which had to be put on hold and then restarted.
High profile job in a town centre, when we went back it was separate vans driving from ipswich to Stansted everyday so 6 lots of fuel rather than 2, extensive signage, H&S visits, only able to work one person per room which made job take 5 weeks longer but not able to claim any more prelims, materials were massively up, blokes not able to stay away when needed.
The sort of job which would have killed many a company off, we were fortunate to have reserves at the time - it's an absolute p155 take. We could have just done what we wanted, saved masses of money and not given a toss. |
I don’t disagree, but this was about avoiding transmitting Covid. Whose to say that pre vaccine you might have spread it amongst yourselves and one of you died?
The whole point was about not spreading it and reducing pressure on the NHS - and trying to avoid a serious virus. That Johnson’s crowd didn’t (and still don’t) think it applied to them, made what they did even worse. Barstewards. | | | |
| Boozing at work on 12:57 - May 26 with 1120 views | itfcjoe |
| Boozing at work on 12:54 - May 26 by Churchman |
I don’t disagree, but this was about avoiding transmitting Covid. Whose to say that pre vaccine you might have spread it amongst yourselves and one of you died?
The whole point was about not spreading it and reducing pressure on the NHS - and trying to avoid a serious virus. That Johnson’s crowd didn’t (and still don’t) think it applied to them, made what they did even worse. Barstewards. |
Johnson and his cronies like to talk about being at war - but they were meeting MPs, having Cobra meetings, then having leaving dos with 100 or so staff there.......it's ambarrassing.
My friends who were key workers were on shift patterns to ensure that if someone got it it wouldn't take down whole workforce etc, whilst those at the very heart of the control room weren't taking any precautions.
Look at Ukraine now - as soon as war started the main guys have all separated themselves - it's just another area where if you look into it it shows just how poorly organised and thought out it was | |
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| Boozing at work on 13:03 - May 26 with 1113 views | clive_baker |
| Boozing at work on 14:54 - May 25 by GlasgowBlue |
"Alcohol, like porn, should have no place in the workplace".
Trey telling that to Ron Jeremy. |
Why, did he like a drink? |  |
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| Boozing at work on 13:21 - May 26 with 1102 views | vilanovablue |
I work in recruitment and beer on a friday afternoon isn't unusual. I worked in the city in my 20's during the 90s and yep they were boozy times indeed. Spent the last 5 years working with a government client and never once saw alcohol in the office. |  | | |
| Boozing at work on 14:30 - May 26 with 1079 views | BlueStreak |
I didn't realise how far the insurance broking industry is from other sectors. It is extremely common for people to go out still for between 2 and 5 pints on a lunchtime meeting insurers / other brokers and then going back to our desks for the rest of the day. Beers and wine in the office is restricted to post town halls meetings etc.
Cannot think of a time where it has ever been an issue (inappropriate behavior) as we are treated and normally act like adults.
Perk of the job and city pubs are class |  | | |
| Boozing at work on 15:09 - May 26 with 1060 views | LeBlue |
Back in the 90s, I used to work at a County Council. Shire Hall had a bar that was rammed full of ruddy faced podgy local government officers every lunchtime. Not many of them made retirement. |  | | |
| Boozing at work on 15:13 - May 26 with 1052 views | GlasgowBlue |
| Boozing at work on 11:52 - May 26 by itfcjoe |
We lost a load of money on a job which had to be put on hold and then restarted.
High profile job in a town centre, when we went back it was separate vans driving from ipswich to Stansted everyday so 6 lots of fuel rather than 2, extensive signage, H&S visits, only able to work one person per room which made job take 5 weeks longer but not able to claim any more prelims, materials were massively up, blokes not able to stay away when needed.
The sort of job which would have killed many a company off, we were fortunate to have reserves at the time - it's an absolute p155 take. We could have just done what we wanted, saved masses of money and not given a toss. |
And people think running a business is easy. | |
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