Are the days of a three-martini lunch gone? Watching an episode of AMC’s “Mad Men” you harken back to the days of liquor in the office and long lunches where booze was not an exception but the rule.
I had thought those days were mostly in the past. I am just now finding out how wrong I am.
For many drinking during and after work is a requirement of the job. After all, the client is always right. Right?
Even as three-martini lunches and whiskey-fueled staff meetings become harder to find outside of cable TV, plenty of American business rituals continue to revolve around alcohol. Whether it’s courting a client, sketching out a deal or simply proving you’re a team player, quaffing a round of beers is arguably more vital to many jobs than nailing a round of golf.
Like the days of yore, for many, if you don’t drink with your colleagues and clients it is much more difficult to succeed.
As a counselor for both in-class and online alcohol classes I have heard my students complain that drinking is expected as part of their job. They cannot go and meet a client for lunch and order an iced tea. How ridiculous is that?
The time is here for employers and clients alike to realize that alcohol need not be part of the deal. Alcohol certainly does not help the decision-making process. If you work in a job and are pressured to consume alcohol, perhaps you should start looking for different employment!