Do you have "work events" at your workplace?

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Blondiejude
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Re: Do you have "work events" at your workplace?

Post by Blondiejude »

I hate socialising with work. It’s not a problem now we run our own business but my worst was the American company who stipulated you couldn’t not go the Christmas do and you had to bring your partner. Mr immediately pointed out he I didn’t work for them hence didn’t have to go and I tried to make that a reason for not going and basically got told unless I was dead I had to go.

I didn’t go, but got a lot of grief for it and handed in my notice before the compulsory “trek round the Lake District two day away trip”

It’s work, I will endeavour to do my best, but I’m buggered if im being forced to socialise with people.
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Ruby
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Re: Do you have "work events" at your workplace?

Post by Ruby »

:mog: You all live in another world. We get a glass of warm white wine on the last day of summer term, some sandwiches and a cake. As penance, we have to listen to speeches for people leaving. I try to skive but it's usually a three line whip. If I had a drink at lunchtime, or beers on the premises after work, I would probably be sacked.

Now, obvs, this is at a school but in a previous life - when I worked for a bank in a big office/sales centre - drinking at work was gross misconduct. Even if you went to the pub at lunchtime & they smelled booze on you when you got back into the office, you would be walked off the premises.

The most booze-friendly place I worked was the Australian consulate. Sinking 3 pints on a Friday lunchtime was positively encouraged. They used to have a bar there with draft Fosters, :mog: although that had closed by the time I started. This was the 90s though.
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sally maclennane
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Re: Do you have "work events" at your workplace?

Post by sally maclennane »

Ruby wrote: Thu Jan 20, 2022 1:05 am :mog: You all live in another world. We get a glass of warm white wine on the last day of summer term, some sandwiches and a cake. As penance, we have to listen to speeches for people leaving. I try to skive but it's usually a three line whip. If I had a drink at lunchtime, or beers on the premises after work, I would probably be sacked.
I would be too, its written into our disciplinary policy. Even when someone is leaving, if we have speeches etc, there would not be drink - it wouldn't matter if it was after work or they had provided the booze themselves. In some ways, I think its easier, there's no grey areas. Years ago, I was involved in a disciplinary investigation for someone accused of drinking in work (this was before we had such a strict policy) and part of their defence that nobody had said they couldn't drink at work :woteva:
Christ on a bendy bus son, don't be such a fucking faff arse
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nineseven
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Re: Do you have "work events" at your workplace?

Post by nineseven »

I was a journalist for 20 years so yes, we had boozy work events :))
lazzbo
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Re: Do you have "work events" at your workplace?

Post by lazzbo »

You used to work with Boris Johnson, sal? :mrgreen:

Being self-employed means that any work event is me just drinking on my own.
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sally maclennane
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Re: Do you have "work events" at your workplace?

Post by sally maclennane »

lazzbo wrote: Thu Jan 20, 2022 1:54 pm You used to work with Boris Johnson, sal? :mrgreen:
I couldn't possibly comment :))
Christ on a bendy bus son, don't be such a fucking faff arse
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Epponnee Rae
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Re: Do you have "work events" at your workplace?

Post by Epponnee Rae »

I work for an American organization and yes, we do have events all the damned time. Or at least we used to. Drinking definitely permitted, NA alternatives always provided. When we were on site, pre-Covid, there would be regular large events in our atrium. Those during lunch time would be catered and no booze, those after work would be catered with booze. When people came to visit us it would be standard for the hosting team to take them out to dinner locally at least one night of the visit. If it was a big group visiting we’d often arrange a full team evening event and it would be considered a perk on both sides to go (and get free food and drink).

Informally there were a lot of internal team and friend group happy hours, especially on a Friday. Wine wednesdays were introduced as an internal informal way to meet people. They’d have a cheap (not free) wine bar and a guest winery come in so showcase their wines and encourage people to just mingle and chat to colleagues.

While it was hard as an introvert to adjust to all of the extra social time, there was an upside in terms of relationship building on a team and partner level. Since working remotely it’s one of the things people say they miss the most (though I’m sure many don’t!). Lots of teams have made a point of trying to replicate things with virtual events, including sending lunch and treat boxes to staff for team meetings, and lots of virtual happy hours. We had a themed one every Friday for most of 2020!

Most of my previous workplaces were social and had events. Even in the NHS years there were toasts for people leaving, retirements etc. Most permitted alcohol if not on site (only one didn’t actually) then in social gatherings.
Annabella
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Re: Do you have "work events" at your workplace?

Post by Annabella »

Pre covid obviously. Until 2018 I worked in IT sector and we definitely had very boozy times. Not at lunch but lots of after works drinks mainly, I felt due to young folks generally not brit born so a way of making new friends if they had just moved here from other parts of Europe or South America or Asia. Not everyone had to drink alcohol at all, but I had a G+T fountain most Fridays from 4pm

We also had some amazing weekends away each year to Marbella, Algarve, Ibiza which included lots of other activities than drinking (team building sand "communities", jeep safaris at volcano sites (Lanzarote or Tenerife), clubbing and our own disco parties, BBQs on boats)

With my current employer (which I joined in Covid times and not IT) Christmas champagne drinks, pantomime at Hackney Empire so far
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Leap
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Re: Do you have "work events" at your workplace?

Post by Leap »

Annabella! Those destinations sound amazing but my skin is actually crawling thinking about all that forced time with colleagues :lol: I have some really close work friends, but even if they were there it would still fill me with horror.

Boat based activities are the nadir of all events for me. I once voluntarily went on one that had been organised for my brother’s MBA class at Miami University (how the other half live ;) ) and even being 21, single and extremely keen on free booze, I absolutely hated it, and kept sizing up the distance to the shore :lol: A few years ago there was loads of pressure being put on my team to attend a work do on one (a “jazz cruise” :ruby: ) that may have been the tipping point for me leaving that role.
Ella77
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Re: Do you have "work events" at your workplace?

Post by Ella77 »

No events you can’t leave when you want to :panic:.
wendy james
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Re: Do you have "work events" at your workplace?

Post by wendy james »

I heard some stories about 'the good old days*' of my Swiss bank employer (when they had kegs of beer and pumps at the back of the maintenance office and endless supplies of alcohol) but by the time I joined it was limited to an occasional glass of bubbly when somebody retired/got promoted/went on ML. Lunchtime drinking was a definite no-no, unless we'd gone out for Christmas lunch and weren't due back.

*I remember getting drunk at an after-work supplier event (no vegan food and the beer wasn't SFV so I was on white wine WHICH IS BAD). I was hungover in the office the next day but as far as my boss was concerned, as long as I'd turned up (rather than wimped out) then he was happy. I got the impression that had been the case back then - party hard but show up the next day and all was fine. :lol:

I was definitely pushing for my inclusive activities before I left. All team building events seemed to revolve around drinking and/or physical activity, which appealed to the senior management demographic but less to the more diverse department.
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sally maclennane
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Re: Do you have "work events" at your workplace?

Post by sally maclennane »

I can't imagine anything worse than having to go on weekend breaks with colleagues :panic:
Christ on a bendy bus son, don't be such a fucking faff arse
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purple_dress
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Re: Do you have "work events" at your workplace?

Post by purple_dress »

My cousin in law works for an advertising agency and they're always jetting off on team away weekends etc. I would hate it but she loves the travel and food and the whole lifestyle.

I'm public sector and we're not allowed to spend public money on alcohol so the only time drink is provided it's funded by senior management and so it's very rare. There isn't a rule against having a drink at lunchtime but it's very much not the culture.
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nineseven
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Re: Do you have "work events" at your workplace?

Post by nineseven »

Jazz cruise :lol: :ruby:
Derek Nimmo
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Re: Do you have "work events" at your workplace?

Post by Derek Nimmo »

One of the best holidays I had was with work colleagues to South Africa (an incentive reward) but it was only a handful of us and the majority of them are friends "in real life" too.

I've swerved plenty of boat cruises and en masse weekends away though, and it's never been an issue. When I was very new to the company, I turned down a trip to Florida, which I could see was going to be a slow-mo car crash (the totally wrong mix of people, I was proved right!) and although they all thought I was mad at the time, nobody had a problem with it as such.

ETA Also things like Go Ape, Go Karting etc - none of it my cuppa.
Last edited by Derek Nimmo on Fri Jan 21, 2022 10:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
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purple_dress
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Re: Do you have "work events" at your workplace?

Post by purple_dress »

Three of my absolute closest friends are colleagues but I don't count socialising with them as a work thing. It's a bit awkward as I now line manage two of them but we're making it work.
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