[projektir]

We have a pro-drinking culture at my company due to the nature of the business and I haven't found that it's causing any problems. It's generally done outside of work or for specific events, and I've never felt unsafe on any gathering where a lot of drinking was going on.

This is a red herring, if anything.

I think there's a difference between a culture where people drink a lot vs a culture where people get black out drunk and irresponsible with it, though, and maybe Uber is more like the latter.

[tclancy]

>I've never felt unsafe on any gathering where a lot of drinking was going on.

Are you a woman?

I am a good coder with a bad drinking habit who has worked at companies that were ok with drinking on site. While they handled it well and while I love an excuse to get together over beers and discuss coding, it's definitely a smell. Black out drunk has nothing to do with it. Hell, it would be preferable if people just passed out. The problem is all the folks who don't pass out but all of a sudden think this is a good time to declare their love for a coworker's body.

[projektir]

> Are you a woman?

Yes.

> The problem is all the folks who don't pass out but all of a sudden think this is a good time to declare their love for a coworker's body.

The problem is if they say something like that, the target is clearly uncomfortable, and then nobody else cares. Banning alcohol isn't going to fix something like that.

[bootload]

"We have a pro-drinking culture at my company due to the nature of the business and I haven't found that it's causing any problems."

Anecdotal.

If drinking is done outside work/events this isn't what is being described in the article. What about the personal who a) don't drink or b) harassed by those who do? Drinking at work tells me the place isn't interested in performance or their customers.

[projektir]

> Anecdotal.

Sure, but I'm not entirely sure what else you expect. Isn't your statement also anecdotal?

> If drinking is done outside work/events this isn't what is being described in the article.

Sorry, what article? It's not mentioned in the main OP, and the person a few parents up is talking about what sounds very much like events or after work happy hours. I can absolutely see how that can turn bad, I'm just saying it doesn't have to.

[bootload]

Are you really supporting drinking at work? Tell me about the great experiences through the eyes of other people.

"talking about what sounds very much like events or after work happy hours"

The number of engineers bleeding from uber suggests, drinking isn't ^the problem^ but one part of a bigger culture problem. Do you work at Uber?

[madeofpalk]

> Are you really supporting drinking at work?

Yup. 100%. Because I'm an adult and I and my coworkers know how to drink responsibly and not make a fool of ourselves and keep things relatively professional.

It's not like I'm taking shots of vodka at the top of every hour - it's maybe having a beer or two at the end of Thursday and Friday, or having a boozy lunch every now and then to celebrate a success or birthday or someone leaving.

[mst]

I think projektir is talking about how a team-drinks-together-outside-of-work culture can still be healthy.

Their "maybe Uber is more like the latter" description of an unhealthy culture I think makes it obvious they don't work at Uber.

[bootload]

"I think projector is talking about how a team-drinks-together-outside-of-work culture can still be healthy."

@mst fair enough point.

[alasdair_]

>Are you really supporting drinking at work?

We have beer on tap at work. If I'm in the office late, having an occasional beer at 6pm or so seems perfectly reasonable.

Getting hammered is obviously way out of line but one beer is hardly the same thing.

[jonathankoren]

>We have a pro-drinking culture at my company due to the nature of the business

Do tell what business this is, because unless the industry is alcohol production, I'm having a hard time believing this is an instrinc quality of an industry and not just a "boys will be boys" excuse.

[tjalfi]

Alcohol use isn't an intrinsic quality of the legal industry but it might as well be.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4736291/

The following excerpt is the first sentence of the conclusion.

"Attorneys experience problematic drinking that is hazardous, harmful, or otherwise consistent with alcohol use disorders at a higher rate than other professional populations."

[jbronn]

This morbid fact is actually taught in law school. Something like 10% of attorneys abuse substances, multiple times over the national average. To demonstrate the scope of the problem: a phone number for an assistance hotline is placed in bold on all Texas state bar cards.

[wheelerwj]

> We have a pro-drinking culture at my company due to the nature of the business

what? what possible nature of business are you in that makes drinking more (or less) acceptable.

There is no such thing. at work, you work. if you want to get drunk, you aren't working.

[smsm42]

I think you are looking at it too narrowly. Drinking has an important social function in many cultures, western culture among them but by no means alone. Having good social interaction between coworkers is important. Of course, one has to be cognizant of the fact that not everybody drinks and not to exclude people that are not - by making sure drinking is not the only way people can interact socially. But having a round of beers once in a while with coworkers, among other things, is not that bad.

Of course, all that is about social drinking, not getting completely shitfaced to the point one loses control. That is never good.

[santaclaus]

> There is no such thing.

Works at a bar or brewery? Wine related startup? Sales?

[mooreds]

Agreed. I know some folks who worked in the alcohol industry and drinking on the job was expected.

[wheelerwj]

none of those are any more pro drinking on the job culture than any other job.

you still have work to do, and you probably still have colleagues whose time is valuable that aren't as big on drinking as you think they are.

drinking and having fun is great. at my company, if i wanted us all to drink, everyone got the afternoon off and we went out.

[throwaway1892]

He did said that the drinking was done outside of work hours.

[wheelerwj]

he said the "nature of the business" made it more pro drinking. but thats not accurate. people's decisions might make for a more pro-drinking atmosphere, but a business can't.

[jonathankoren]

Sales strikes me as as just perpetuating old habits. If a salesman has to get me drunk to make a sale, he's pitching a shitty product and he knows it.

The fermentation industries on the other hand are more legit.

[SturgeonsLaw]

Ever worked in hospitality? I can assure you that there are workplaces out there where drinking on the job is expected.