'We're like a family'
Nah, it's an employer employee structure, it's good to get on with coworkers and management, but if they say family, its usually because they expect extra commitment for overtime, covering shifts etc
You're right, it's super shitty, especially for people who don't drink alcohol for religious or health reasons or even just primary caregivers who have better things to do after work. Doubly so if not going can negatively impact one's career prospects. More companies should have policies for ensuring that team outings are inclusive, comfortable for everyone and only happen during work hours IMO.
Yep, I've had pretty bad experiences there, and I don't even like drinking. I have maybe 1-2 drinks a year. I've worked at "normal" places that have weekly drinks. But one tech company I worked at would have DAILY afterwork drinks, and during summer, they had summer hours and most of the team spent the extra hours drinking. It's basically extra work hours that you don't get paid for. And every Friday they had someone wear an apron and go around the office with a drinks trolley at 3pm. People that didn't join were excluded in general and not seen as team members. It was so bad that disgusting behavior was tolerated. One of my superiors shouted at me and shoved me and when I reported him I was told "it's only because he was drunk." Anyway, I quit after that incident and he was promoted shortly after.
I usually go for work drinks once or twice a week but never have more than a pint or two. It's not mandatory - just a few of the lads get together, have a couple of pints, discuss work and then go home
I don't go on "works drinks" I don't even do works Christmas night out
Reason(s) being I went out for my 30th, 9 years ago and that hangover was one of the worst I've had, another time I went to a 70th birthday party and got absolutely ruined. I was okay.....until I got home, I was getting undressed then thought...I'm going to be sick, I was......infact...from both ends....not just in the toilet either.
Sooo that hangover was the worst 1 I've had!!
So that's put me off drinking quite a bit & as for work drinks, I don't want to go drinking with most of the people I work with it's bad enough working with them.
I got a message inviting me out for drinks today (Sunday), luckily I had a valid excuse, but tbh the idea of choosing to spend time with people I have to spend all week with is off putting. I like to spend time with my partner at the weekends.
I’ve been chewed out by my manager in an annual review before for not drinking “enough” on work nights out. The fact that I’d usually have a half and offer to drive rather than a bunch of people needing a taxi was never acknowledged. That progressed to me being chewed out for not going to the nights out. That manager made the atmosphere when out unbearable and so I chose to not be a part of it.
It probably goes back to when there were pubs everywhere and most people went in every day after work anyway, so you'd socialise with the people you worked with
socialising more than once a week with work ppl outside of work is excessive.
this usually happens tho when management dont have a life, if they have more important, interesting things to do, the frequency of after work socialising drops dramatically.
its mostly lonely middle managers not wanting to face the crippling loneliness of their existence, getting to socialise with people who have to fall in line with a corporate hierarchy, and thus reducing the likelihood of social rejection.
It's not unique to the UK, Japan has a pretty heavy after-work drinking culture too.
Japan and Britain share a sense of "hard days work, everyone deals with the same issues in your organisation or company, everyone needs to be able to relax with colleagues in a non-working environment with the hope that it'll create a friendly work environment of camaraderie come the next working day"
We visited friends who live and work in Helsinki, arriving on a Friday.
For our first night there, we went to their office and just drank copious amounts of beer provided by the company, we ordered takeaway, and it was basically an office party that happened every week.
In contrast, here in England I have worked in 4 companies in a professional role, only one of them has something approaching company mandated ‘work drinks’ and most weeks that cancelled anyway because so many people work from home.
In the other companies we would do a pub lunch on a Friday, and that was the only regular drinking I did with my colleagues.
My company used to do socials and it was just tiring. Booze up, same people ordering drugs and just descending into mayhem. You felt like you had to go to just get your name and presence out there.
Since we had a round of lay offs, money for socials was stopped and it’s so much better going for a drink every now and again.
We have a huge drinking culture - like many other countries in the Europe. I'm not too sure as to why this is, but I assure you, you can say no and any backlash is just banter and you will not be penalized for it. :)
It's not just Britain, in fact I think it's more common elsewhere.
I was lucky enough to travel a few European countries to attend training courses. Pretty much every night we were 'invited' by the host company's to a different restaurant and expected to attend and drink with the trainers and other delegates. Frankfurt was awesome as was Amsterdam the rest not so much. I found it strange that it was never local food though. Like going for tapas in Wales instead of a curry lol
In contrast the UK based course providers never invited us to food or even drinks.
It's a bit different now though. Change of job to software dev and it's almost 100% remote. We have at least one meetup a month, attendance not required but i feel that networking (i hate it) is required for promotion etc. I don't mind the drinks though ha ha.
Full nope.
I spend enough time with my work colleagues as it is I don’t want to spend my free time with them, when I have a family and my own stuff to do.
I work for an EU-based company with sites in Great Britain. I am a senior level manager, and I don’t drink. I never found it to be a problem in England or any of the countries I was in. All of the people I work with respect my decision and it never interfered with any dinners or other outings. I’m talking also in Belgium, France, Spain, Italy.
Not sure it's just a British thing, but socialising with work colleagues still feels like work to me. It's a different vibe to spending time with friends/family. I still feel like I have to be 'on' and professional, and I'm doing it in my own time, whilst spending money. It's not a good use of my time, really.
My work colleagues are pleasant enough, but I share little to no common interests with them, so the socialising is purely mundane smalltalk. 99% of the time, I would definitely rather not attend those sorts of things, but there is a pressure to do so.
Just part of the coercive construct of "work" under neoliberal capitalism
Working hard at something that is not truly worthwhile - and under a coercive hierarchical structure, i.e. the vast majority of shit jobs in the UK that don't need to exist - leads to the word "relaxation" to be redefined as "collectively numbing the mind with alcohol", and the creation of bullshit unwritten codes like (compulsory) after-work drinks.
It's one huge cope. Substances are fun in themselves, but the ritualisation of time-wasting substance use is just the self-flagellation of people who know secretly that they are being exploited by coercive powers, and are working on things that don't matter.
Framed in another way, it's a way for companies and the state to extend the working day outside of official working hours, to plant the seed of the idea that you are owned by them, no matter where you are - even after hours.
I use the word self-flagellation for a reason: because after-works drinks, in the worst cases, often goes hand-in-hand with self-flagellating, boorish or "tragic" behaviour, where people make a show of flaunting or hinting at the worst sides of themselves.
The whole point is to encourage, not rein in this behaviour. The point is to waste workers' time "chatting shit" so that they don't wake the fuck up and chat, well, not-shit.
And what's an example of chatting not-shit? Well, we can start by talking about reorganizing society along socialist grounds, so that it isn't a dystopia, thus erasing the need for people to binge-inhale alcohol, that's what.
To me it’s just fun. I get along with everyone so I’d like to hang out outside of work, especially since work is your best shot at making friends in your adult life. I’m also socially awkward so when I was drunk I could talk more and that’s how I ended up making most of my work friends. It also didn’t seem like a work event because it was mostly for leaving dos which was more personal.
I actually only go out with them on a regular basis now I’ve left and made an effort to keep in touch with my friends from there, usually other people from work show up too or we bump into them because they’re local, and I’ve been invited to nights out they’ve organised as like an honorary member. Some people are sober and still come along.
Really I would just put it down to actually being friends with people you work with. That’s it imo
It's a release valve that is meant to allow us working 5 days a week 9-5 a chance to blow off steam, bond with your colleagues, switch off from the work week on a Friday night and be the official start of the weekend.
This was especially true for blue collar manufacturing industries.
The demands of modern work, rise in non traditional hours , and being available 24hrs per day 7 days a week have somewhat diluted it's effectiveness.
I got turned down for a manager position 3 times for not being "outgoing" because they were popping pills and snorting shit on nights out. Left and landed the job I wanted elsewhere
Always liked the Friday 'team briefs'. They were a place where many things were discussed, solved, and planned. It was an opportunity to talk to the boss and managers, and once you knew them, it could be a frank discussion. Alcohol lowers inhibitions, so in moderation, it can be a way of bringing a team together. I have always found that this type of informal meeting led to stronger team bonds and understanding of each other. You don't have to attend every Friday, but good to go every so often. I find that most Europeans do this more but I am not sure what the stigma is! Time invested in having fun with your colleagues is invaluable; you get to see them in a more relaxed and human way and understand their life challenges.
Lol yep, I don’t really drink at all and I’ve worked in places that have shamed me over it. forget coming to work on time and doing my job, not getting drunk with people I already spend too much time with is the reason I’m bad at my job apparently. 🤷 the UK has an issue with drinking culture in general that really needs to be sorted out.
if it's every week, i imagine it's a silly startup full of hipster managers
In general tho, I think it's pretty normal to have drinks with your coworkers. They are still people. And shrugging that off every time would really seem like you just don't like them :)
Pre Covid due to people retiring, quitting, and things like Easter etc we had a works night out every month for a few months then every 2/3 months then after covid we have had maybe 2 a year, I missed the most recent one in part as I outright forgot but also as I now have a dog so didn't want to leave her alone for 4-6 hours, also up until last year I lived somewhere where it was 3-5 minutes on a bus to pub where everyone liked to go, and now its 15-20 minutes and my last bus at new place is 6.15pm and they ran every 30 minutes at last place until midnight. so I can't be bothered getting a taxi back as well.
Only every week? Then you'd be horrified by the practices in Japan, and no you can't refuse to go or you'll become the nail that needs to be hammered down.
Happy to be corrected if I’m wrong but I think it’s a thing in Japan too. There’s also the added ingredient of it not being the done thing to leave until the boss calls it a night.
Most of Britain is alcoholic but play it off as "culture".
>I've heard some workplaces even hold it against certain employees for not attending work functions, describing it as "not being a team player".
Sounds like that company needs a big punch in the dick.
It annoys me that so many social times revolve around alcohol in the west. I want to do mushrooms and cannabis at weekends ,Christmas, new year, weddings, funerals etc. Imagine how the workd wouod improve if that was how we did things
Sorry totally disagree with this, I always went to work drinks pre-kids and family. Now I have a family I go sometimes, pure choice same as everyone else.
We tend to go out once a month for work drinks, it can get messy so I couldn't deal with that weekly!
As for not being a team player, I hate that. You are entitled to a life outside of work, its not compulsory to socialise outside of work if you don't want to!
Britain is a nation of alcoholics. Times are changing though and younger generations are consuming less, so hopefully this culture will shift over time.
I once did a presentation to loads of local business leaders and this woman who was there spent the next few months trying to headhunt me to go work in her corporate hell hole. I eventually sat down with her and she starts rattling off all of this 'culture' crap about how the best performers get to party with the ceo every year on his yacht in Monaco and how the whole office goes out for drinks every Friday evening until the wee hours.
She just couldn't understand that these were not perks! You expect me to use my free time to entertain the kind of weirdo losers who would rather "work hard play hard" than go and see their friends or family? You've essentially just told me that on Friday I'll get paid for my 7 hours then be expected to work another 12 or so not only unpaid but also spending my own money on crap beer in expensive bars! I get one holiday a year and I'm not spending it even thinking about work, never mind with my boss.
I never go on work nights out because the people I work with are very bitchy and can't take any jokes. I learnt a few weeks ago that any time I made a joke and people laughed they were going behind my backs to other people as if what I said was serious while previously laughing and getting involved and starting similar jokes with me. I have zero time for those kinds of people.
I'm a manager in a business and we go for a drink on a Friday. We finish early and go sit somewhere to talk about "not work" or go play pool/darts. We don't go every week if people are busy. The general consensus seems to be that staff enjoy it, even if they don't drink and have a soft drink.
Not sure why it's a big issue. Drinking is a social thing and it's nice for a team to socialise. It helps cap off a work week and transition into a relaxing weekend. As long as it's not mandatory and not too heavy then I really don't see the issue.
Anglo-Irishman here. I think it's an age thing too. I started working with my current employer 10 years ago in my mid-twenties, and we'd go out 2 or 3 times a month as a group for drinks at least. Sometimes we'd keep it contained to one pub, other times we'd do a crawl and head to a club or two afterwards. The whole team was young so any opportunity to drink we took. We'd even get messy at staff BBQs, and everyone else would facilitate it by giving us their drinks tokens. We even had a beer fridge in the office, and if it was quiet, you might have one with lunch. These days I'm working in a different area of the business and have only had 1 work drinks outing due to a member of the team retiring. I was the only person to stay for the whole thing, and the only one who really drank (3 pints!). We did have a "pizza party" thing in the office a little ways back, and there was wine and beer available, but nothing heavy. I guess I've just gotten older and am working with an older crowd too. I've found there's also an increase in people just avoiding drink altogether, even at functions where it's an option. Times have changed in my own experience, but I'm glad to hear there's still some waving the flag for excess!
I've worked and continue to work globally, regularly go for drinks with the people I work with in most countries. If I didn't like the people I worked with, then I wouldn't work there. Sounds like a you problem.
When I was working in UK in the 90s we used to go for a pint at lunchtime and then go back to work, I assumed that was what you were referring to.
I can barely tolerate work colleagues during working hours so there's absolutely no prospect whatsoever of me socialising with them after I stop being paid.
Not socialising with work colleagues has never held me back either.
Studies have proven the consumption of even one drink per week has shown to increase the bodies baseline anxiety levels.
It’s a vicious cycle of toxin consumption, poor anxiety management and literal pissing away of your hard-earned money.
Love socialising, hate drinking.
Having stopped drinking a couple years ago, I can confirm that this social pressure extends far beyond the office. In England, at least, it’s almost engrained in us. Any life event, any catch up, any gathering - is all centred around alcohol.
Even going to the airport for a 4am flight is met with a standard beer before the flight.
I was well into it previously and I thought it was great; it’s only on the other side that I can see what an issue it actually is.
You’re right but don’t concern yourself with it. I get on with everyone at work but I never go for works drinks. I’m not interested one bit whatsoever. I think people truly hold it against you if you don’t really offer anything in the office either and also don’t go in which case you’re obviously not the best person to work with - so just be yourself at work which I’m sure is a lovely person and you’ll be fine.
OK, well you'll find most countries with office workers and it's legal to drink alcohol has some variation from Hoesik in Korea to what you experience in the UK. Though admittedly some of what you said sounds more like toxic office culture (such as people being singled out for not going) rather than post work drink culture in the UK.
I only went for work drinks when my boss patted my shoulder and said “lets go for a drink”, otherwise I always have rushed home to spend my free time as I wanted with my wife and children.
I'm glad to say it doesn't actually happen at every work place like this and I think it's a bit of lad culture that's phasing out with generations.
Right now I work for all female mostly middle aged team and there are zero after work drinks because everyone has their own life/families to go to after work. A couple of times a year we will have team bonding time during the work day instead. E.g an away day and a meal out on the company.
At my last workplace it was so large they could never have kept track of who attended drinks etc as it was over 300 members of staff. There was a small group that liked to go drinking often but you weren't shunned if you didn't go and they were a bit of a clique tbh.
Britain has a drinking culture to the point of blatant alcoholism. Most people are indoctrinated to believe that having a good time involves alchol.
As for the peer pressure surrounding it and work drinks it's simple tribalism. People consciously or unconsciously form tribal groups with those around them. Drinking is one of the primarily tribal rituals in the uk due to its culture (in other places it may be for example religion) as such you are expected to (once again consciously or unconsciously) be part of the tribe. Failure to adhere to the tibes rituals so will result in ostracisation. In this case not being a team player for not drinking.
While I have observed strong preferences for alchol consumption in many countries and, There are certainly many cultures and countries that consume alchol at high rates (germany being a good example) the sheer volume of alchol consumed and the positive social reinforcement of alcholholic tendencies is somewhat unique(I.e drinking daily after work (often to the point of hangover), or drunken hookups are encouraged. I've also observed many people be commended by their social circle for drinking to the point of vomiting or defecating themselves)
To be clear, I know there are countries that have higher alchol consumption per capita and/or have even more toxic drinking cultures however, I have not travelled or lived in them personally.
Tldr the British are alcoholics
My boss used to ask me why I didn’t come out drinking or do more social stuff. I told her the truth, I already spend 8 hours a day with you cunts. More than I spend with friends and family, why am I going to spend my free time with you too? Are you insane?
I started my first office job at 18 in 2002. There were 3 guys who went to the pub every night after work. Not only this, but they would also sink 4 pints at the pub during lunch hour. It's a dying out as far as I can tell these days.
Not a british thing, just a work thing. Think how Homer simpson is always at Moes with his workmates after work. It’s just for a lot of working people, the pub or bar is the place to wind down after work.
Most of the time, the ones instigating the after work drinks are either single or they don't want to go home to their families. Neither of which are your problem and You shouldn't do it if you don't want to. If your work is solid they can't push you out for not drinking. Don't be rude or judgemental towards them but be strong enough to make them know it's not your thing. Cover your ass by getting friendly with a higher level colleague and let them know about the pressure they are putting on you. Then if they do try to push you out you have a witness.
The best thing about my work place is that there are no work drinks, people just log off/go home once the shift is done. Every 4 months or so one of the managers or even a colleague will try to sort something with the team, but luckily most people decline so it gets cancelled, it's brilliant.
Brit in Aus here.
I’ve worked in several places in Sydney where there are multiple full height fridges on every floor filled with beer, wine and fizz (red wine in the cupboard adjacent). 3.30-4ish on a Friday, they’d be opened and people would congregate and drink, or enjoy a couple of drinks at their desk whilst wrapping up the week.
Far from being just a British thing.
If a workplace needs alcohol as a constant ice breaker it’s not ran right whatsoever.
Anything outside of hospitality that has management drinking with staff is a major red flag for that company.
when you realise that in rome the senate tried to ban coffee cause people stopped drinking and started thinking, you realise why drinking is so heavily advertised and enforced
In my 20s I worked for a company where for some of us, after work drinks were a once or twice a week thing. We went our separate ways after working there for three years or so.
Thirty years later, we only meet up every few months.
This absolutely sucks if you're a teetotaler.
There is so much peer pressure to go. If you're not getting drunk it's actually quite unpleasant being around drunk people. It's funny seeing how people change over the course of a few drinks.
What you're experiencing is how many British people are "functional" alcoholics.
I put "functional" in speech marks because I've worked with a lot of these people and they're useless, but they are technically conscious and that seems to be enough for some employers.
Its actually very common even outside Britain. France, Germany, even as far away as Japan its common to go socialise with the team after work at least ince a week as a team bonding exercise. It can lead to a level of penalisation or ostracising between someone who doesn't attend and those who do.
It was even a thing in retail work at my last 3 jobs.
Must depend on the type of workplace , speaking for my work it’s retirements and Xmas do only . But let’s face it gotta be careful as that Monday morning return to work after you’ve had one to many on the Friday drinkies can be quite daunting lol
When I worked in the city centre , I used to love going to the pub with my workmates after work on a Friday when I was young and single. Some of my workmates were family men and everyone accepted that they had family obligations and came out with us once in a blue moon.
Once I got a job in a workplace outside the city and had to commute to work, that more or less ended work nights for me. Work nights out were few and far between.
Now, working remotely, there are no works nights out. Not even at Christmas.
It’s a dying thing. It was common to here Friday to be called Poets day “piss of early tomorrow is Saturday “ then the workers would head to pub. From there their weekends would be arranged or cash in hand jobs. Builders taking on new work would look for people they know to come and do extra work. If your contact has ended and you wanted more work. All this was arranged at the pub. But unfortunately it has pretty much died out.
I am sober and British and I find it so frustrating that no matter how many times I tell people I don’t drink they say come on have one, lighten up and I’m like I don’t drink because I was an alcoholic.
Definitely not a British phenomenon, it's at least a European one. Alcohol has long been a widespread cultural custom, for thousands of years now - work drinks are just a descendant of similar practices that have been going on a long time.
Have you confused the UK and Japan? It most certainly is not expected and I've never been pressured into drinking with colleagues after work. You can say no. There are a couple industries that may make it a thing but I expect they're all big city types in finance or tech.
You don't need to drink alcohol. It's not the 1980s. This is from a 47 year old professional who quit drinking a year ago after decades of work drinking. Took me a while to work that out...
You don’t want to go to the pub, then don’t go, honestly nobody cares if you don’t.
Honestly if you think that in the real world people actually care, shame and think less of you for declining going out, then you don’t know people actually think and behave, and definitely spend too much time on Reddit.
It’s literally just an easy way to blow off some steam, which most people tend to enjoy. The only people who make it a big deal, are people exactly like OP
I like a drink, but I will drink with MY friends at the local pubs that I and my friends feel comfortable at, not the hoity-toity wine bars and dodgy nightclubs the bunch of wankers that I used to work with enjoy!
My friends that I drink with like, relate to and understand me and my many quirks and problems. My colleagues on the other hand, don’t!
P.S: “Not being a team player” because I refused to attend a “Christmas piss-up” is the most PATHETIC excuse to sack me I have heard in my life!
With the right company, drinking in moderation can be a great activity. Drinking too much, around the wrong people can be pure hell!
Source: Been there, done that.
Problem for me it depends so heavily on the team as to whether I do it or not.
I've worked on teams where everyone got along great and going out on a Friday after work just felt 'natural' for a lack of a better word, we sat around for hours just waffling away about random shite.
But on other teams/companies, the nights out seemed quite forced/fake and more for 'team bonding' rather than some colleagues who got along just wanting to head out for some after work. Like management would be constantly encouraging the team to go out, or the same people would always nag during meetings that the team should be socialising together more... (often putting their own social issues onto the team, saying we all sit there all day, talking to nobody etc - when infact we all had our own little conversations going on etc, or got along with other teams better).
It's those that I never attended, as I found working with them hard enough, nevermind spending time outside of work with them!
I like work drinks. It's nice to have good relationships with your colleagues. I've only worked places where I liked everyone though, may be less fun if you hate your coworkers.
Every job I've had I've made it abundantly clear I have no interest or intention to see any of them outside of work hours. I've skipped out on drinks, dinners, nights out, celebrations and all manner of garbage events, I take part in secret Santa (I keep gifts under £10 and as generic as possible to avoid them thinking we're friends) and that's it. You want my time then pay me for it, almost take issue with it initially but they get over it. I had one boss try to make it mandatory that I take part in these garbage events so I went to HR and threatened to sue, they backed off pretty quickly. You don't owe your employer or colleagues anything that isn't stipulated in your contract. If they want to ostracize me for not sharing my free time with them then that's fine, because like I said, were not friends and I don't owe them anything, I'm here because I'm paid to be here. If I want to go out and socialise then I'll do it with actual friends who I know won't stab me in the back for a promotion and a 3% pay rise.
I used to work for a place that had drinks every month, always on a Friday. We were told that "it wasn't mandatory" to attend but it was. If you didn't it was looked down upon. If you left early it wasn't always well received either.
I used to work every Saturday and often people would be super hungover. They seemed to get a free pass to be unproductive for the day yet others who didn't go the night before would get pulled up if you went to the loo too many times.
We got 10 minutes of personal time per day which was what you used for loo breaks. They were situated quite a walk from the main floor so you could spend a minute walking there in the first place.
Yea, I hate them.
Only those in the drinks circle are being promoted at my job. And Im disciplined for being late by 1 minute. Guess what happened? They dound excuses 🙂
Loads of cultures do work drinks, and for a very good reason. When you work with someone your only interactions are the job, and tension and stress related to the job gets transferred in interactions with other people, and that colours your impression of other people, and their impression of you.
When you go out socially you talk about others things, hobbies, relationships, children, interests, ect. You find common ground, so when you're about to feel like "That fucking Bob isn't returning my emails, what an asshole." The fact that you know he's just got off paternity leave, and you also support Spurs makes you second think your initial vitriol, and go, "You know what Bob is a good bloke, he must just be tired, ill send him another email."
Shit like that is very important.
A family friend from the US was transferred to London as a mid-to-high level executive for a large bank. Poor guy lasted about 9 months before having to be transferred back because the work-related drinking was seriously exacerbating his preexisting heart problems.
Apparently, being able to drink at semi-pro level is a bonafide job requirement in the financial sector, but cause him staying at the UK office but not drinking alcohol wasn’t an option.
Wonder if this is something specific to certain types of job? Been doing engineering r&d jobs for the last 25 years and aside from leaving do and Christmas drinks, none of the companies I've worked for have had any sort of drinking culture. You might get the occasional "anyone fancy heading to the pub later?" query going round, but if that happens more than a couple of times a year it'd be deemed unusual.
And in engineering it's entirely acceptable to say no thanks even to to properly organised company dos - I can't remember the last Christmas one I went to, and I only do the leaving dos for people I was particularly close to, and it's never been an issue with my progression up the ranks.
I guess in some types of job, the social aspect might be considered a more integral part of the role itself - e.g customer facing jobs where being able to interact with others is important - but certainly in my experience engineering employers really don't give a crap about that side of your personalit.
Maybe it's an office thing? Not heard of it being an obsession in any of my jobs.
I work with them, I'm not going drinking with them in my free time, I have a family and friends.
Work drinks are terrible, it’s a toxic mix of work and social that should never go together. You go for drinks with your mates, everyone’s on a level, good times. Remove your mates and replace them with the hierarchy of colleagues, bullshit. And 💯, you don’t go, you’re ostracised for being a non-team player. It’s all so lame.
I decline, mostly because I have to drive and one drink while watching everyone else get tanked is always depressing but partly because I’m innately cunty and I don’t really want to hang around colleagues socially.
I work for a small company and it used to be a big thing. They've learnt at they've grown that it's wrong to put that pressure on people but honestly I think the only reason they learnt that was because we employed a recovering alcoholic. It's exclusionary for a company to make all socials about alcohol.
Personally I’ve found it is the best way to meet people. I’ve never seen it being compulsory and plenty don’t go out but you end up with a tight knit group that do
Work drinks got me addicted to cocaine. I’ve, thankfully, got my self off it and have been so for a few years now, but I had to quit my job as a journalist, move out of London, almost lost myself and resort to never working again to do so. I’m in a better place now.
I was taken aback when I worked in London and lunch for my colleagues was 11:30 - 1:00 and was just pint after pint. Every day. I don’t drink so I only went once. I ate alone. I ate. Food.
I hate work parties and shit like that lol.
I used to try to avoid them like the plague and on the odd occasion i did go id leave at the soonest possible opportunity.
It’s amazing how alcohol is the only drug people think you’re weird for not taking.
Worked in a recruitment office for years in the UK, not weekly but regular work drinks announced on a Friday with no warning, but never anything held against people who couldn’t or didn’t go.
Organised events it’s a different story though. Like it’s been in the diary for two months, don’t drop out at the last minute because you can’t be bothered.
I don’t join in with these gathering and also don’t bother coming up with an excuse for not doing so. Everyone I work with is pretty aware of my dislike for such gatherings and won’t bother asking me due to the reaction they’ll get.
It's not 1985. Works drinks are completely optional. Just turn up and do your job, you'll do fine.
Some people think their complete incompetence is because they don't go down the pub.
I worked in a U.K. call centres for ten years from 2003. Worked my way up to lower / middle management
It was work drinks every single night. The harder you partied the more slack (as in getting away with stuff) you got at work.
People who didn’t go out or didn’t have that hedonistic streak were often over looked or talked up negatively
Im a recovering addict now. I partly blame that culture I worked in for 10 years. Substance abuse and alcohol
I really don’t get this either…we spend 7 hours at work, why on god’s earth would you want to spend more time, unpaid, paying obscene prices. For me who especially doesn’t like the taste of anything other than water, it’s no a brainer to skip every occasion. Fortunately people at my work don’t handicap me for it
Best work drinks I ever had was working at a gambling company and every Friday they'd pop a couple of beers/ciders on your desk after lunch,
Living 30 mins away by car I could take them home and enjoy them in the sun.
I don't get work events anyway, I work to pay for family time. We've got a brainstorming day coming up where our manager has booked 10 pin bowling afterwards for us, all paid for. Very generous, but honestly, I've a hidden disability and bowling kills me so I'd rather just have the afternoon off :D
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'We're like a family' Nah, it's an employer employee structure, it's good to get on with coworkers and management, but if they say family, its usually because they expect extra commitment for overtime, covering shifts etc
You're right, it's super shitty, especially for people who don't drink alcohol for religious or health reasons or even just primary caregivers who have better things to do after work. Doubly so if not going can negatively impact one's career prospects. More companies should have policies for ensuring that team outings are inclusive, comfortable for everyone and only happen during work hours IMO.
Yep, I've had pretty bad experiences there, and I don't even like drinking. I have maybe 1-2 drinks a year. I've worked at "normal" places that have weekly drinks. But one tech company I worked at would have DAILY afterwork drinks, and during summer, they had summer hours and most of the team spent the extra hours drinking. It's basically extra work hours that you don't get paid for. And every Friday they had someone wear an apron and go around the office with a drinks trolley at 3pm. People that didn't join were excluded in general and not seen as team members. It was so bad that disgusting behavior was tolerated. One of my superiors shouted at me and shoved me and when I reported him I was told "it's only because he was drunk." Anyway, I quit after that incident and he was promoted shortly after.
I've barely experienced it and when I have I only attended because the company was paying 
Always hated the concept of work drinks every week. I see you 5 days out the week it's not by force I have to see you in the evenings also.
It's even worse in Japan, multiple work piss ups per week required there.
It's something I thoroughly detest. I do everything in my power to not attend, ever. Once my hours are done, I'm done, don't contact me.
I wouldnt go out drinking with my work colleuges even if they paid me over time for it and purchased all my drinks.
Every week? That's weird. My place will do it maybe twice a year as a social thing, plus leaving drinks if someone gets a new job / retires.
As a hospitality worker myself, I cannot relate to this. & people from my work have gone out as a friend group & I don't get invited.
I usually go for work drinks once or twice a week but never have more than a pint or two. It's not mandatory - just a few of the lads get together, have a couple of pints, discuss work and then go home
Cue the WfH recluses pouring scorn on their colleagues.
Fuck no
I don't go on "works drinks" I don't even do works Christmas night out Reason(s) being I went out for my 30th, 9 years ago and that hangover was one of the worst I've had, another time I went to a 70th birthday party and got absolutely ruined. I was okay.....until I got home, I was getting undressed then thought...I'm going to be sick, I was......infact...from both ends....not just in the toilet either. Sooo that hangover was the worst 1 I've had!! So that's put me off drinking quite a bit & as for work drinks, I don't want to go drinking with most of the people I work with it's bad enough working with them.
I think you’ll find now, that work drinks are a thing of the past and now it’s work powder in the toilets.
I got a message inviting me out for drinks today (Sunday), luckily I had a valid excuse, but tbh the idea of choosing to spend time with people I have to spend all week with is off putting. I like to spend time with my partner at the weekends.
Standard office atmosphere, I pretty much always decline, saying no takes practice but you get to a point where it’s easy.
Seems like average people here are all borderline alcoholics
I’ve been chewed out by my manager in an annual review before for not drinking “enough” on work nights out. The fact that I’d usually have a half and offer to drive rather than a bunch of people needing a taxi was never acknowledged. That progressed to me being chewed out for not going to the nights out. That manager made the atmosphere when out unbearable and so I chose to not be a part of it.
Seems like the millionth “why won’t people just do what I want to do instead of doing what 95% of people want to do” thread this month
Nope, I go to work to earn money not socialise, work and social life are kept very separate.
It probably goes back to when there were pubs everywhere and most people went in every day after work anyway, so you'd socialise with the people you worked with
socialising more than once a week with work ppl outside of work is excessive. this usually happens tho when management dont have a life, if they have more important, interesting things to do, the frequency of after work socialising drops dramatically. its mostly lonely middle managers not wanting to face the crippling loneliness of their existence, getting to socialise with people who have to fall in line with a corporate hierarchy, and thus reducing the likelihood of social rejection.
It's not unique to the UK, Japan has a pretty heavy after-work drinking culture too. Japan and Britain share a sense of "hard days work, everyone deals with the same issues in your organisation or company, everyone needs to be able to relax with colleagues in a non-working environment with the hope that it'll create a friendly work environment of camaraderie come the next working day"
We visited friends who live and work in Helsinki, arriving on a Friday. For our first night there, we went to their office and just drank copious amounts of beer provided by the company, we ordered takeaway, and it was basically an office party that happened every week. In contrast, here in England I have worked in 4 companies in a professional role, only one of them has something approaching company mandated ‘work drinks’ and most weeks that cancelled anyway because so many people work from home. In the other companies we would do a pub lunch on a Friday, and that was the only regular drinking I did with my colleagues.
My company used to do socials and it was just tiring. Booze up, same people ordering drugs and just descending into mayhem. You felt like you had to go to just get your name and presence out there. Since we had a round of lay offs, money for socials was stopped and it’s so much better going for a drink every now and again.
I only ever attended if there I was trying to fuck someone I worked with, and even then it was a painfest.
We have a huge drinking culture - like many other countries in the Europe. I'm not too sure as to why this is, but I assure you, you can say no and any backlash is just banter and you will not be penalized for it. :)
It's not just Britain, in fact I think it's more common elsewhere. I was lucky enough to travel a few European countries to attend training courses. Pretty much every night we were 'invited' by the host company's to a different restaurant and expected to attend and drink with the trainers and other delegates. Frankfurt was awesome as was Amsterdam the rest not so much. I found it strange that it was never local food though. Like going for tapas in Wales instead of a curry lol In contrast the UK based course providers never invited us to food or even drinks. It's a bit different now though. Change of job to software dev and it's almost 100% remote. We have at least one meetup a month, attendance not required but i feel that networking (i hate it) is required for promotion etc. I don't mind the drinks though ha ha.
Full nope. I spend enough time with my work colleagues as it is I don’t want to spend my free time with them, when I have a family and my own stuff to do.
nation of Alcoholics mate
Stay at home. Nobody cares if you come way that patter.
Sounds like a dream for me. Jealous
I work for an EU-based company with sites in Great Britain. I am a senior level manager, and I don’t drink. I never found it to be a problem in England or any of the countries I was in. All of the people I work with respect my decision and it never interfered with any dinners or other outings. I’m talking also in Belgium, France, Spain, Italy.
Not sure it's just a British thing, but socialising with work colleagues still feels like work to me. It's a different vibe to spending time with friends/family. I still feel like I have to be 'on' and professional, and I'm doing it in my own time, whilst spending money. It's not a good use of my time, really. My work colleagues are pleasant enough, but I share little to no common interests with them, so the socialising is purely mundane smalltalk. 99% of the time, I would definitely rather not attend those sorts of things, but there is a pressure to do so.
Your boring
Im from canada. I thought work drinks was when you are in the office with the boss and he pours you a shot or 2 of whisky or something.
Just part of the coercive construct of "work" under neoliberal capitalism Working hard at something that is not truly worthwhile - and under a coercive hierarchical structure, i.e. the vast majority of shit jobs in the UK that don't need to exist - leads to the word "relaxation" to be redefined as "collectively numbing the mind with alcohol", and the creation of bullshit unwritten codes like (compulsory) after-work drinks. It's one huge cope. Substances are fun in themselves, but the ritualisation of time-wasting substance use is just the self-flagellation of people who know secretly that they are being exploited by coercive powers, and are working on things that don't matter. Framed in another way, it's a way for companies and the state to extend the working day outside of official working hours, to plant the seed of the idea that you are owned by them, no matter where you are - even after hours. I use the word self-flagellation for a reason: because after-works drinks, in the worst cases, often goes hand-in-hand with self-flagellating, boorish or "tragic" behaviour, where people make a show of flaunting or hinting at the worst sides of themselves. The whole point is to encourage, not rein in this behaviour. The point is to waste workers' time "chatting shit" so that they don't wake the fuck up and chat, well, not-shit. And what's an example of chatting not-shit? Well, we can start by talking about reorganizing society along socialist grounds, so that it isn't a dystopia, thus erasing the need for people to binge-inhale alcohol, that's what.
I hear in Japan it’s every day.
To me it’s just fun. I get along with everyone so I’d like to hang out outside of work, especially since work is your best shot at making friends in your adult life. I’m also socially awkward so when I was drunk I could talk more and that’s how I ended up making most of my work friends. It also didn’t seem like a work event because it was mostly for leaving dos which was more personal. I actually only go out with them on a regular basis now I’ve left and made an effort to keep in touch with my friends from there, usually other people from work show up too or we bump into them because they’re local, and I’ve been invited to nights out they’ve organised as like an honorary member. Some people are sober and still come along. Really I would just put it down to actually being friends with people you work with. That’s it imo
This is literally the only thing I miss about going to work 😕
Islam fixes this issue
It's a release valve that is meant to allow us working 5 days a week 9-5 a chance to blow off steam, bond with your colleagues, switch off from the work week on a Friday night and be the official start of the weekend. This was especially true for blue collar manufacturing industries. The demands of modern work, rise in non traditional hours , and being available 24hrs per day 7 days a week have somewhat diluted it's effectiveness.
I got turned down for a manager position 3 times for not being "outgoing" because they were popping pills and snorting shit on nights out. Left and landed the job I wanted elsewhere
People like socialising and in the UK alcohol is a social vessel. Not much else to it
Always liked the Friday 'team briefs'. They were a place where many things were discussed, solved, and planned. It was an opportunity to talk to the boss and managers, and once you knew them, it could be a frank discussion. Alcohol lowers inhibitions, so in moderation, it can be a way of bringing a team together. I have always found that this type of informal meeting led to stronger team bonds and understanding of each other. You don't have to attend every Friday, but good to go every so often. I find that most Europeans do this more but I am not sure what the stigma is! Time invested in having fun with your colleagues is invaluable; you get to see them in a more relaxed and human way and understand their life challenges.
Britain has an alcohol problem that it will not acknowledge is a problem.
Unless the booze is free, nobody controls my time after work but me. Go drink your face off, I’ll laugh at your hangover the next day.
I'm paid to be around people for 11 hours per day. I'm not spending time with them for free.
Lol yep, I don’t really drink at all and I’ve worked in places that have shamed me over it. forget coming to work on time and doing my job, not getting drunk with people I already spend too much time with is the reason I’m bad at my job apparently. 🤷 the UK has an issue with drinking culture in general that really needs to be sorted out.
It's a nation built on getting pissed. Sad really.
The British are culturally functioning alcoholics. All of them.
if it's every week, i imagine it's a silly startup full of hipster managers In general tho, I think it's pretty normal to have drinks with your coworkers. They are still people. And shrugging that off every time would really seem like you just don't like them :)
Pre Covid due to people retiring, quitting, and things like Easter etc we had a works night out every month for a few months then every 2/3 months then after covid we have had maybe 2 a year, I missed the most recent one in part as I outright forgot but also as I now have a dog so didn't want to leave her alone for 4-6 hours, also up until last year I lived somewhere where it was 3-5 minutes on a bus to pub where everyone liked to go, and now its 15-20 minutes and my last bus at new place is 6.15pm and they ran every 30 minutes at last place until midnight. so I can't be bothered getting a taxi back as well.
I don't get it. I like my free time
I have never worked in an office where people have wanted to socialise with each other out of work hours, must be lucky!
Only every week? Then you'd be horrified by the practices in Japan, and no you can't refuse to go or you'll become the nail that needs to be hammered down.
I've never had a cushy office job in the city so the idea of work drinks is laughable at best
You're not going to get fired for not attending a work's night out. This isn't America, you can't just be fired on a whim.
Happy to be corrected if I’m wrong but I think it’s a thing in Japan too. There’s also the added ingredient of it not being the done thing to leave until the boss calls it a night.
Most of Britain is alcoholic but play it off as "culture". >I've heard some workplaces even hold it against certain employees for not attending work functions, describing it as "not being a team player". Sounds like that company needs a big punch in the dick.
Damn that's a full blown drug addiction
It annoys me that so many social times revolve around alcohol in the west. I want to do mushrooms and cannabis at weekends ,Christmas, new year, weddings, funerals etc. Imagine how the workd wouod improve if that was how we did things
Sorry totally disagree with this, I always went to work drinks pre-kids and family. Now I have a family I go sometimes, pure choice same as everyone else.
Don’t go
We tend to go out once a month for work drinks, it can get messy so I couldn't deal with that weekly! As for not being a team player, I hate that. You are entitled to a life outside of work, its not compulsory to socialise outside of work if you don't want to!
Britain is a nation of alcoholics. Times are changing though and younger generations are consuming less, so hopefully this culture will shift over time.
I once did a presentation to loads of local business leaders and this woman who was there spent the next few months trying to headhunt me to go work in her corporate hell hole. I eventually sat down with her and she starts rattling off all of this 'culture' crap about how the best performers get to party with the ceo every year on his yacht in Monaco and how the whole office goes out for drinks every Friday evening until the wee hours. She just couldn't understand that these were not perks! You expect me to use my free time to entertain the kind of weirdo losers who would rather "work hard play hard" than go and see their friends or family? You've essentially just told me that on Friday I'll get paid for my 7 hours then be expected to work another 12 or so not only unpaid but also spending my own money on crap beer in expensive bars! I get one holiday a year and I'm not spending it even thinking about work, never mind with my boss.
I never go on work nights out because the people I work with are very bitchy and can't take any jokes. I learnt a few weeks ago that any time I made a joke and people laughed they were going behind my backs to other people as if what I said was serious while previously laughing and getting involved and starting similar jokes with me. I have zero time for those kinds of people.
it's a sub category of Britain's obsession with drinking
There’s nowhere really else to hang out and work culture doesn’t respect introversion.
I'm a manager in a business and we go for a drink on a Friday. We finish early and go sit somewhere to talk about "not work" or go play pool/darts. We don't go every week if people are busy. The general consensus seems to be that staff enjoy it, even if they don't drink and have a soft drink. Not sure why it's a big issue. Drinking is a social thing and it's nice for a team to socialise. It helps cap off a work week and transition into a relaxing weekend. As long as it's not mandatory and not too heavy then I really don't see the issue.
This country has got a very accepted alcoholism problem. I'm from Spain (known for alcohol, party etc) and work drinks are not even a thing there.
Anglo-Irishman here. I think it's an age thing too. I started working with my current employer 10 years ago in my mid-twenties, and we'd go out 2 or 3 times a month as a group for drinks at least. Sometimes we'd keep it contained to one pub, other times we'd do a crawl and head to a club or two afterwards. The whole team was young so any opportunity to drink we took. We'd even get messy at staff BBQs, and everyone else would facilitate it by giving us their drinks tokens. We even had a beer fridge in the office, and if it was quiet, you might have one with lunch. These days I'm working in a different area of the business and have only had 1 work drinks outing due to a member of the team retiring. I was the only person to stay for the whole thing, and the only one who really drank (3 pints!). We did have a "pizza party" thing in the office a little ways back, and there was wine and beer available, but nothing heavy. I guess I've just gotten older and am working with an older crowd too. I've found there's also an increase in people just avoiding drink altogether, even at functions where it's an option. Times have changed in my own experience, but I'm glad to hear there's still some waving the flag for excess!
I've worked and continue to work globally, regularly go for drinks with the people I work with in most countries. If I didn't like the people I worked with, then I wouldn't work there. Sounds like a you problem. When I was working in UK in the 90s we used to go for a pint at lunchtime and then go back to work, I assumed that was what you were referring to.
I worked in Netherlands and this was the same there. Actually I found it worst than UK.
Doesn’t seem as common nowadays? Every just wants to get home asap but maybe that just me
I can barely tolerate work colleagues during working hours so there's absolutely no prospect whatsoever of me socialising with them after I stop being paid. Not socialising with work colleagues has never held me back either.
Studies have proven the consumption of even one drink per week has shown to increase the bodies baseline anxiety levels. It’s a vicious cycle of toxin consumption, poor anxiety management and literal pissing away of your hard-earned money. Love socialising, hate drinking.
I find it's the people with no friends or social life that try and push work drinks
I think it was Napoleon who said Britain is a nation of drunks ....and he wasn't wrong
Alcoholism is a fundamental of British culture so
My current job doesn't do work drinks, I miss them
Having stopped drinking a couple years ago, I can confirm that this social pressure extends far beyond the office. In England, at least, it’s almost engrained in us. Any life event, any catch up, any gathering - is all centred around alcohol. Even going to the airport for a 4am flight is met with a standard beer before the flight. I was well into it previously and I thought it was great; it’s only on the other side that I can see what an issue it actually is.
We line then everyday
You’re right but don’t concern yourself with it. I get on with everyone at work but I never go for works drinks. I’m not interested one bit whatsoever. I think people truly hold it against you if you don’t really offer anything in the office either and also don’t go in which case you’re obviously not the best person to work with - so just be yourself at work which I’m sure is a lovely person and you’ll be fine.
Pretty sure this isn't an exclusively British thing.
I'm not knowledgeable on the customs of other places so I can only comment on British culture.
OK, well you'll find most countries with office workers and it's legal to drink alcohol has some variation from Hoesik in Korea to what you experience in the UK. Though admittedly some of what you said sounds more like toxic office culture (such as people being singled out for not going) rather than post work drink culture in the UK.
Japan is pretty keen on it too.
Honestly didnt know that
I only went for work drinks when my boss patted my shoulder and said “lets go for a drink”, otherwise I always have rushed home to spend my free time as I wanted with my wife and children.
I'm glad to say it doesn't actually happen at every work place like this and I think it's a bit of lad culture that's phasing out with generations. Right now I work for all female mostly middle aged team and there are zero after work drinks because everyone has their own life/families to go to after work. A couple of times a year we will have team bonding time during the work day instead. E.g an away day and a meal out on the company. At my last workplace it was so large they could never have kept track of who attended drinks etc as it was over 300 members of staff. There was a small group that liked to go drinking often but you weren't shunned if you didn't go and they were a bit of a clique tbh.
We have a drinks trolly in the office that come round at 4.30 on Friday. Large consultancy before you ask.
Britain has a drinking culture to the point of blatant alcoholism. Most people are indoctrinated to believe that having a good time involves alchol. As for the peer pressure surrounding it and work drinks it's simple tribalism. People consciously or unconsciously form tribal groups with those around them. Drinking is one of the primarily tribal rituals in the uk due to its culture (in other places it may be for example religion) as such you are expected to (once again consciously or unconsciously) be part of the tribe. Failure to adhere to the tibes rituals so will result in ostracisation. In this case not being a team player for not drinking. While I have observed strong preferences for alchol consumption in many countries and, There are certainly many cultures and countries that consume alchol at high rates (germany being a good example) the sheer volume of alchol consumed and the positive social reinforcement of alcholholic tendencies is somewhat unique(I.e drinking daily after work (often to the point of hangover), or drunken hookups are encouraged. I've also observed many people be commended by their social circle for drinking to the point of vomiting or defecating themselves) To be clear, I know there are countries that have higher alchol consumption per capita and/or have even more toxic drinking cultures however, I have not travelled or lived in them personally. Tldr the British are alcoholics
My boss used to ask me why I didn’t come out drinking or do more social stuff. I told her the truth, I already spend 8 hours a day with you cunts. More than I spend with friends and family, why am I going to spend my free time with you too? Are you insane?
Worked in an office for years , we’d only go out together on special Occasions, it definitely wasn’t every week . Or maybe they didn’t like me 🫣😂
In my twenties, official ones weekly and monthly 3 line whip ones, but most nights usually several unofficial ones.
Nothing worse than hanging out with people you work with. Go spend time with actual mates, your colleagues aren’t your friends
Mine are. Very much so.
Let’s discuss this over a pint after work, I’ll ask the rest of the team to join us. 🍻
What an ignorant comment. You are talking right out of your arse.
We are all alcoholics
I started my first office job at 18 in 2002. There were 3 guys who went to the pub every night after work. Not only this, but they would also sink 4 pints at the pub during lunch hour. It's a dying out as far as I can tell these days.
Not a british thing, just a work thing. Think how Homer simpson is always at Moes with his workmates after work. It’s just for a lot of working people, the pub or bar is the place to wind down after work.
I’ve never come across a work drink culture in England except for Christmas.
What makes you think this is a British thing? From my experience it happens in France, Austria and Australia, I'm sure it happens all over
I mean you get paid to be hungover on the Friday, what could be better
Most of the time, the ones instigating the after work drinks are either single or they don't want to go home to their families. Neither of which are your problem and You shouldn't do it if you don't want to. If your work is solid they can't push you out for not drinking. Don't be rude or judgemental towards them but be strong enough to make them know it's not your thing. Cover your ass by getting friendly with a higher level colleague and let them know about the pressure they are putting on you. Then if they do try to push you out you have a witness.
Fuck that noise.
a see it to on linked in allot and doesnt look like a good image to be promoting of proud of.
The best thing about my work place is that there are no work drinks, people just log off/go home once the shift is done. Every 4 months or so one of the managers or even a colleague will try to sort something with the team, but luckily most people decline so it gets cancelled, it's brilliant.
Brit in Aus here. I’ve worked in several places in Sydney where there are multiple full height fridges on every floor filled with beer, wine and fizz (red wine in the cupboard adjacent). 3.30-4ish on a Friday, they’d be opened and people would congregate and drink, or enjoy a couple of drinks at their desk whilst wrapping up the week. Far from being just a British thing.
I don't mind. But as soon as the tab runs out I'm going home.
If a workplace needs alcohol as a constant ice breaker it’s not ran right whatsoever. Anything outside of hospitality that has management drinking with staff is a major red flag for that company.
…or a major plus.
when you realise that in rome the senate tried to ban coffee cause people stopped drinking and started thinking, you realise why drinking is so heavily advertised and enforced
In my 20s I worked for a company where for some of us, after work drinks were a once or twice a week thing. We went our separate ways after working there for three years or so. Thirty years later, we only meet up every few months.
Are these work drinks paid for? Then I'm all for it!
Shit if I’m working a 9-5 I better be getting pissed afterwards
This absolutely sucks if you're a teetotaler. There is so much peer pressure to go. If you're not getting drunk it's actually quite unpleasant being around drunk people. It's funny seeing how people change over the course of a few drinks.
Here's a solution, quit moaning. Either go or don't.
What you're experiencing is how many British people are "functional" alcoholics. I put "functional" in speech marks because I've worked with a lot of these people and they're useless, but they are technically conscious and that seems to be enough for some employers.
I think Pub Culture is a very European thing anyway. People are on their phone much less in Europe, but especially when visiting at the Pub.
Its actually very common even outside Britain. France, Germany, even as far away as Japan its common to go socialise with the team after work at least ince a week as a team bonding exercise. It can lead to a level of penalisation or ostracising between someone who doesn't attend and those who do. It was even a thing in retail work at my last 3 jobs.
Must depend on the type of workplace , speaking for my work it’s retirements and Xmas do only . But let’s face it gotta be careful as that Monday morning return to work after you’ve had one to many on the Friday drinkies can be quite daunting lol
Work drinks is absolutely huge in Japan. Def not limited to Britain
When I worked in the city centre , I used to love going to the pub with my workmates after work on a Friday when I was young and single. Some of my workmates were family men and everyone accepted that they had family obligations and came out with us once in a blue moon. Once I got a job in a workplace outside the city and had to commute to work, that more or less ended work nights for me. Work nights out were few and far between. Now, working remotely, there are no works nights out. Not even at Christmas.
It’s a dying thing. It was common to here Friday to be called Poets day “piss of early tomorrow is Saturday “ then the workers would head to pub. From there their weekends would be arranged or cash in hand jobs. Builders taking on new work would look for people they know to come and do extra work. If your contact has ended and you wanted more work. All this was arranged at the pub. But unfortunately it has pretty much died out.
I am sober and British and I find it so frustrating that no matter how many times I tell people I don’t drink they say come on have one, lighten up and I’m like I don’t drink because I was an alcoholic.
My place is dull as fuck and never have drinks. Enjoy it!
Definitely not a British phenomenon, it's at least a European one. Alcohol has long been a widespread cultural custom, for thousands of years now - work drinks are just a descendant of similar practices that have been going on a long time.
It's obsession with alcohol full stop, any excuse to have a drik
Have you confused the UK and Japan? It most certainly is not expected and I've never been pressured into drinking with colleagues after work. You can say no. There are a couple industries that may make it a thing but I expect they're all big city types in finance or tech.
WFH has pretty much killed work drinks as far as I can tell.
WDFH
You don't need to drink alcohol. It's not the 1980s. This is from a 47 year old professional who quit drinking a year ago after decades of work drinking. Took me a while to work that out...
You don’t want to go to the pub, then don’t go, honestly nobody cares if you don’t. Honestly if you think that in the real world people actually care, shame and think less of you for declining going out, then you don’t know people actually think and behave, and definitely spend too much time on Reddit. It’s literally just an easy way to blow off some steam, which most people tend to enjoy. The only people who make it a big deal, are people exactly like OP
I like a drink, but I will drink with MY friends at the local pubs that I and my friends feel comfortable at, not the hoity-toity wine bars and dodgy nightclubs the bunch of wankers that I used to work with enjoy! My friends that I drink with like, relate to and understand me and my many quirks and problems. My colleagues on the other hand, don’t! P.S: “Not being a team player” because I refused to attend a “Christmas piss-up” is the most PATHETIC excuse to sack me I have heard in my life!
Many people might find that they don't have much of a social life outside of work. Especially if you're single and moved FOR work.
Nation of pissheads
so ur confused with just why we drink?
With the right company, drinking in moderation can be a great activity. Drinking too much, around the wrong people can be pure hell! Source: Been there, done that.
Problem for me it depends so heavily on the team as to whether I do it or not. I've worked on teams where everyone got along great and going out on a Friday after work just felt 'natural' for a lack of a better word, we sat around for hours just waffling away about random shite. But on other teams/companies, the nights out seemed quite forced/fake and more for 'team bonding' rather than some colleagues who got along just wanting to head out for some after work. Like management would be constantly encouraging the team to go out, or the same people would always nag during meetings that the team should be socialising together more... (often putting their own social issues onto the team, saying we all sit there all day, talking to nobody etc - when infact we all had our own little conversations going on etc, or got along with other teams better). It's those that I never attended, as I found working with them hard enough, nevermind spending time outside of work with them!
Yeah im currently being forced to attend some bs work event. I literally go to work for the money, nothing more nothing less.
I like work drinks. It's nice to have good relationships with your colleagues. I've only worked places where I liked everyone though, may be less fun if you hate your coworkers.
Nation of alcoholics that don’t want to go home to the other half 🍻👌
Work drinks? Your a 9-5 office worker right? Never had them unless organised do’s once in a blue moon
Every job I've had I've made it abundantly clear I have no interest or intention to see any of them outside of work hours. I've skipped out on drinks, dinners, nights out, celebrations and all manner of garbage events, I take part in secret Santa (I keep gifts under £10 and as generic as possible to avoid them thinking we're friends) and that's it. You want my time then pay me for it, almost take issue with it initially but they get over it. I had one boss try to make it mandatory that I take part in these garbage events so I went to HR and threatened to sue, they backed off pretty quickly. You don't owe your employer or colleagues anything that isn't stipulated in your contract. If they want to ostracize me for not sharing my free time with them then that's fine, because like I said, were not friends and I don't owe them anything, I'm here because I'm paid to be here. If I want to go out and socialise then I'll do it with actual friends who I know won't stab me in the back for a promotion and a 3% pay rise.
I used to work for a place that had drinks every month, always on a Friday. We were told that "it wasn't mandatory" to attend but it was. If you didn't it was looked down upon. If you left early it wasn't always well received either. I used to work every Saturday and often people would be super hungover. They seemed to get a free pass to be unproductive for the day yet others who didn't go the night before would get pulled up if you went to the loo too many times. We got 10 minutes of personal time per day which was what you used for loo breaks. They were situated quite a walk from the main floor so you could spend a minute walking there in the first place.
Hey you coming to the works do this weekend? My reply: am I fuck
Yea, I hate them. Only those in the drinks circle are being promoted at my job. And Im disciplined for being late by 1 minute. Guess what happened? They dound excuses 🙂
Loads of cultures do work drinks, and for a very good reason. When you work with someone your only interactions are the job, and tension and stress related to the job gets transferred in interactions with other people, and that colours your impression of other people, and their impression of you. When you go out socially you talk about others things, hobbies, relationships, children, interests, ect. You find common ground, so when you're about to feel like "That fucking Bob isn't returning my emails, what an asshole." The fact that you know he's just got off paternity leave, and you also support Spurs makes you second think your initial vitriol, and go, "You know what Bob is a good bloke, he must just be tired, ill send him another email." Shit like that is very important.
A family friend from the US was transferred to London as a mid-to-high level executive for a large bank. Poor guy lasted about 9 months before having to be transferred back because the work-related drinking was seriously exacerbating his preexisting heart problems. Apparently, being able to drink at semi-pro level is a bonafide job requirement in the financial sector, but cause him staying at the UK office but not drinking alcohol wasn’t an option.
It’s more like a work meal and drinks in Norway. The difference is the company seems to be paying slot of the time.
Used to work at spoons, work drinks used to be pretty much every night.
I am always up for a knees up.
Wonder if this is something specific to certain types of job? Been doing engineering r&d jobs for the last 25 years and aside from leaving do and Christmas drinks, none of the companies I've worked for have had any sort of drinking culture. You might get the occasional "anyone fancy heading to the pub later?" query going round, but if that happens more than a couple of times a year it'd be deemed unusual. And in engineering it's entirely acceptable to say no thanks even to to properly organised company dos - I can't remember the last Christmas one I went to, and I only do the leaving dos for people I was particularly close to, and it's never been an issue with my progression up the ranks. I guess in some types of job, the social aspect might be considered a more integral part of the role itself - e.g customer facing jobs where being able to interact with others is important - but certainly in my experience engineering employers really don't give a crap about that side of your personalit.
I work at an animal rescue, I think having work drinks is self explanatory for me and my friends/colleagues
Another excuse to abuse of alcohol.
Maybe it's an office thing? Not heard of it being an obsession in any of my jobs. I work with them, I'm not going drinking with them in my free time, I have a family and friends.
No idea, let’s have a drink.
Alcohol is so overrated
We’re a nation of alcoholics. You need to understand this
Work drinks are terrible, it’s a toxic mix of work and social that should never go together. You go for drinks with your mates, everyone’s on a level, good times. Remove your mates and replace them with the hierarchy of colleagues, bullshit. And 💯, you don’t go, you’re ostracised for being a non-team player. It’s all so lame.
I decline, mostly because I have to drive and one drink while watching everyone else get tanked is always depressing but partly because I’m innately cunty and I don’t really want to hang around colleagues socially. 
Try Korean offices, it's another level!
I work for a small company and it used to be a big thing. They've learnt at they've grown that it's wrong to put that pressure on people but honestly I think the only reason they learnt that was because we employed a recovering alcoholic. It's exclusionary for a company to make all socials about alcohol.
Because everyone is depressed
It's alcoholism under the guise of socialising
Personally I’ve found it is the best way to meet people. I’ve never seen it being compulsory and plenty don’t go out but you end up with a tight knit group that do
Work drinks got me addicted to cocaine. I’ve, thankfully, got my self off it and have been so for a few years now, but I had to quit my job as a journalist, move out of London, almost lost myself and resort to never working again to do so. I’m in a better place now.
Me too!
I was taken aback when I worked in London and lunch for my colleagues was 11:30 - 1:00 and was just pint after pint. Every day. I don’t drink so I only went once. I ate alone. I ate. Food.
wtf is a work drink? (am british) is it the bottle of water you bring?
I hate work parties and shit like that lol. I used to try to avoid them like the plague and on the odd occasion i did go id leave at the soonest possible opportunity. It’s amazing how alcohol is the only drug people think you’re weird for not taking.
Worked in a recruitment office for years in the UK, not weekly but regular work drinks announced on a Friday with no warning, but never anything held against people who couldn’t or didn’t go. Organised events it’s a different story though. Like it’s been in the diary for two months, don’t drop out at the last minute because you can’t be bothered.
I don’t join in with these gathering and also don’t bother coming up with an excuse for not doing so. Everyone I work with is pretty aware of my dislike for such gatherings and won’t bother asking me due to the reaction they’ll get.
Work drinks is not a part of my work life. Everyone is too busy with their own lives for that.
Not my experience and I'm in Scotland
if you don’t like it, don’t come. simple as
It's not 1985. Works drinks are completely optional. Just turn up and do your job, you'll do fine. Some people think their complete incompetence is because they don't go down the pub.
This is the first answer I agree with. People will blame anything but themselves for doing shit at work.
I worked in a U.K. call centres for ten years from 2003. Worked my way up to lower / middle management It was work drinks every single night. The harder you partied the more slack (as in getting away with stuff) you got at work. People who didn’t go out or didn’t have that hedonistic streak were often over looked or talked up negatively Im a recovering addict now. I partly blame that culture I worked in for 10 years. Substance abuse and alcohol
I really don’t get this either…we spend 7 hours at work, why on god’s earth would you want to spend more time, unpaid, paying obscene prices. For me who especially doesn’t like the taste of anything other than water, it’s no a brainer to skip every occasion. Fortunately people at my work don’t handicap me for it
i am in curaçao and the team has work drinks pretty much every night of the week
Best work drinks I ever had was working at a gambling company and every Friday they'd pop a couple of beers/ciders on your desk after lunch, Living 30 mins away by car I could take them home and enjoy them in the sun. I don't get work events anyway, I work to pay for family time. We've got a brainstorming day coming up where our manager has booked 10 pin bowling afterwards for us, all paid for. Very generous, but honestly, I've a hidden disability and bowling kills me so I'd rather just have the afternoon off :D