on the job drinking

[SeaJay]

"We never realized that one of my co-workers drank until he showed up for work sober one day."


Call them losers, drunks or what ever. But they are alcoholics. They need a few drinks to stop the shakes in the morning and they need a few drinks to keep the shakes away during the day. Many do not get visibly intoxicated until after they go home and have more than a few. Most will be sound asleep a couple of hours after the workday ends, and will get up several hours before the next work day starts to "get right" with a few drinks.

A viscous cycle for those who go down this road that in many cases (if not all) leads to an early death. I have known many such folks, none of whom have lived to reach their 60th birthday.

 

[klt1986]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
We only know what the guy is said to have done.
We don't know that he actually did it.
One of the dirty little secrets of every workplace is that some people may drink a bit while at work.
Most of us know who they are and as long as they remain competent and functional nobody really remarks upon it.
Drinking alcohol is a part of our culture as it is in many others.
As long as people separate their consumption from serious work, there is no problem.
When coworkers and subordinates comment upon someone's drinking, then there is a problem that must be addressed.
That would be my definition of excessive drinking.
In any event, as I wrote above, we have only anonymous reports that this nominee drank at work and we need a bit more than that before condemning him.


Especially in this case. It seems odd this is just now coming up on Dr Jackson. I believe they have "performance" reports from former President Obama & possibly Bush that speak very highly of the man and his performance of duties.

In my line of work drinking is an immediate dismissal.

Kind of off the subject but a very good friend had a son that was hit by a drunk driver(drinking while on the clock) a couple years ago. He had/has serious TBI and was fortunate to even survive the accident. He has had so many surgeries and still requires 24 hour care. The drunk driver, who was working at the time, worked for a national cable tv company and was driving one of their bucket trucks when he crossed over the double yellow lines and hit this young man in his Chevrolet S10.

I'm not sure why any company would want their employees drinking while on the clock. In todays society it would seem to be a risky practice.

 

[IndyIan]

Having a single drink at a celebratory lunch is fine at my office, I think two would probably have your manager giving you warning.
The organization I used to work for was more of a boys club, and as long as you did your job well, no one would mind someone having a drink at every lunch. No one was making life or death decisions or calculations so running at 80% mentally for an hour after lunch wasn't an issue.

 

[DriveHard]

NEVER drank at work...except once. I was visiting a rather large gearbox OEM in Italy. We went to lunch at their corporate cafeteria. I grabbed my lunch in line and sat at the reserved table for our meeting. On the table were several bottles of wine. I look around and every table had several bottles of wine on them. Everybody was enjoying a glass or two of wine with lunch...free of charge. I did have a glass, but passed on the second that was offered.

 

[Bladecutter]

Originally Posted By: bubbatime
People that drink at the job are 100% LOSERS (except those in the alcohol testing/manufacturing trade and other similar jobs)

Your such a drunk that you cant go 8 hours without a cocktail in your hand? Losers. All of them.


Can you change that to anyone who drinks at all?

I've been working in a company (6 years) that after-hours company/team events always seem to have alcohol as their main attractions.
I don't drink, so going out to a golf driving range to watch coworkers drink and smack little balls around never really interests me, when instead, I could be at home, with my wife, having dinner, watching the hockey game on tv. And yet coworkers wonder why I don't come to any of the company events.

What events do I attend?
Team events during the work day, or department events that take place at places like the zoo, or museums, or to a go cart racing facility.
Way more fun, and no alcohol consumption.
Unfortunately, they are so few and far between, I usually never attend the department events.
Maybe 1 out of the 4 events a year.

BC.

 

[pandus13]

Originally Posted By: Bladecutter
Originally Posted By: bubbatime
People that drink at the job are 100% LOSERS (except those in the alcohol testing/manufacturing trade and other similar jobs)

Your such a drunk that you cant go 8 hours without a cocktail in your hand? Losers. All of them.


Can you change that to anyone who drinks at all?

I've been working in a company (6 years) that after-hours company/team events always seem to have alcohol as their main attractions.
I don't drink, so going out to a golf driving range to watch coworkers drink and smack little balls around never really interests me, when instead, I could be at home, with my wife, having dinner, watching the hockey game on tv. And yet coworkers wonder why I don't come to any of the company events.

What events do I attend?
Team events during the work day, or department events that take place at places like the zoo, or museums, or to a go cart racing facility.
Way more fun, and no alcohol consumption.
Unfortunately, they are so few and far between, I usually never attend the department events.
Maybe 1 out of the 4 events a year.

BC.

...You can be the guy like me who in a sea of casual-to-heavy drinkers will mash a glass containing pepsi/coke (looks like coke+rum or coke+vodka) or mountain dew (looks like white wine) all night.
If anybody is awake enough to realize there is no alcohol in your glass, you can delight them with the boring story of your particular neighborhood where the cops have 50+ places to hide in an area less than 1/2 mile (I move about a year ago from a place like that)....
P.S. I grew up in an industrial area where drinking heavy was heavy. I choose not to drink, but I was offered a drink as of 9 years old (me tall guy for my age)

 

[andyd]

I was 20 before I could choke down a beer. I like hard liquor for the buzz, but don't have the time slots for it very often.

I wish I could stop smoking as easily as I deal with booze

 

[93cruiser]

not drinking on the job if you report to me. Unless we are out for a company celebration, have an event where alcohol is offered, etc. If you are going out with a buddy and having a few on lunch, good bye.

Drinking is for after work. No problem "un winding" with a few after work at home, but certainly not during work.

If one needs to drink prior to work, during work, or basically when awake, please seek help.

 

[Leo99]

I've been at other companies where we drank more at work than my current company. We have ( or used to have) a few mixers throughout the year with booze. One guy that fired for some inappropriate behavior. That was the end of last year. We haven't had a mixer since. People go out to lunch. I assume they have cocktail or two now and then.

When I worked in a factory during the summer while I was in college...we drank a lot. Lunch was only 30 minutes and guys would drive to the liquor store, park in a private area, and down a six pack and smoke a j. That was day shift. People were shooting up in the parking lot during the night shift lunch break.

 

[02SE]

Originally Posted By: Donald
The doctor picked to become head of the VA has been criticized for excessive on the job drinking.

So some on the job drinking is fine as long as you do not drink too much then its labeled excessive?


It's curious why the previous President appointed him as official Physician to the President.

 

[Kira]

I'm impressed with the level of detail offered in this thread.

I've worked where drinking OTJ is overlooked sometimes and verboten at others.

The kicker was this guy who was smashed all the while. His receiving umpteen "second chances" was demoralizing. Somehow it didn't matter to the "department head" that all of us had to take up the slack.

I figured he was the boss's snitch. I know that sounds childish but let's be frank, rats exist. Everyone called this guy "The son Eddie (the boss) never had".

Regarding the previous president appointing this guy: They say alcoholism is a progressive disease (it only gets worse). Perhaps the guy wasn't as bad 8 years ago.

 

[Wolf359]

Not only that, but alcoholics get pretty good at hiding it and coming up with excuses so that people give them the benefit of the doubt. When it really gets bad, they end up running out of excuses and then it's out in the open.

About 10% of the population drinks about 73 drinks a week.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk...-will-tell-you/

I knew an alcoholic who told me that he used to drink a whole bottle of rum every night. He liked his rum and coke before he finally stopped drinking. Looking up a chart, a bottle of rum is about 17 drinks so I guess he was doing about 119 drinks a week.

 

[supton]

Worked at a company that had beer'o'clock around 4 or so, particularly on Friday. They seemed to manage just fine, but it was a silicon design house.

Few years ago someone had their last day so a bunch went out to a bar for a brew. I had a tough time keeping the brain going that afternoon, and that was after just one. Makes me too drowsy. That and I'm too much of a cheapskate to drink other than at home (no overpriced drinks, no cab required, etc).

 

[mk378]

Originally Posted By: 02SE
It's curious why the previous President appointed him as official Physician to the President.

The current President, who has promised to undo everything the previous President did, not only kept this guy on the job but also recommended him for a promotion.

 

[Claud]

My father told me when he worked as a farmhand before WW2, during harvesting the laborers were provided with all the rough cider they could drink while working. The work was so physically demanding that nobody ever got really drunk, and it was mostly muscle power that was required, not brains.
The British Royal Navy used to issue a daily tot of rum to ratings over 21 years old, this was only discontinued in 1970.
British soldiers on the Western Front in WW1 were given a tot of spirits before they went "over the top" attacking the German lines.

But in the modern technical age a clear head is a paramount requirement for almost any line of work, so alcohol and mind altering narcotics have no place in the workplace.

Claud.

 

[02SE]

Originally Posted By: mk378
Originally Posted By: 02SE
It's curious why the previous President appointed him as official Physician to the President.

The current President, who has promised to undo everything the previous President did, not only kept this guy on the job but also recommended him for a promotion.


I'm well aware. The point, is where was this overwhelming concern about the guy, during the previous Administration?

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted By: 02SE
Originally Posted By: mk378
Originally Posted By: 02SE
It's curious why the previous President appointed him as official Physician to the President.

The current President, who has promised to undo everything the previous President did, not only kept this guy on the job but also recommended him for a promotion.


I'm well aware. The point, is where was this overwhelming concern about the guy, during the previous Administration?

Reporting is that he treated everyone above his "pay grade" well and kept his nose clean when they were watching, but that there were concerns by the people who worked for him. Sounds like they were too scared to say anything about a superior, but when there's something as high profile as a cabinet appointment where there are confirmation hearings, all the dirty laundry comes out.

 

[andyd]

Back in the 1700s, when the North River ship yards were active; it was reckoned that it took a gallon of rum per ton of burthen.

Alcohol usage flourished in the old daze. Not so much lately

 

[SHOZ]

I saw some union masons putting up a block wall inside the factory once. It was just for a cleaning area and 3 sides about 6' high. The blocks were nice and square before lunch but got pretty wavy after lunch.

 

[Wolf359]

Well I guess his drinking finally caught up to him, Ronny Jackson withdrew his nomination.