UK had the most unhinged work drinking culture I had ever seen.
We conducted interviews after lunch, for this exact purpose. I saw good candidates interview but decline the pub afterwards - they did not get offers.
That company had at least two pub sessions a week, typically running to six rounds or more. We hit our medically-recommended maximum weekly intake by Tuesday; Fridays were carnage.
Pubs sound even worse.
Assuming that a love of social interaction equates to programming skill would be a mistake, as would assuming that lack of love of social interactions equates to programming skill. The two sets of skills are unrelated, but in a company of people who don't enjoy socialising, forcing a social interaction is counterproductive.
To be fair, I find US forced company events like this way more unbearable than UK/European ones. In the US, the incessant combination of excessive alcohol with neurotic self-awareness gets you to another level of hell.
In another FAANG, the L7s were complaining that the level of office machinations that were occuring stateside was off the charts compared to the offices overseas.
UK afterwork pub culture should be under UNESCO cultural protection at this point, I'm always surprised it's lasted this long. One would have to admit it's fended off the decreasing consumption of alcohol in the new generation impressively even though they may despise the tradition.
I'm not familiar with European ones, but I agree that forced company events like this is the US are unbearable. I rejoiced once I hit a point in my career where I could safely skip attending them.
You can clearly see who are the consulting people, and who are the HR/marketing ones based on who's got fake smiles, and who looks like they are dead inside.
Not only it's more of a redflag than anything, but also, since they are all doing it, what's the goal?
If a contractor partakes they are deemed to be a permie, and their soul is taxed for eternity, or the end of the tax year, whichever one comes first.
That's one hell of a lawsuit you're opening yourself up to there. People who don't drink have significant overlap with protected classes.
1. Which ones? I used to be able to stereotype with the best of them, but I cant quickly come up with any protected class that is assigned as teetotalers.
2. Saying you're not hiring someone because they don't drink is a perfectly valid reason for not hiring someone, even if it's a cover for not hiring them because of protected class membership. The laws protecting protected classes are super weak. It is virtually impossible to prove that is the sole reason they weren't hired. All you need is an actual other reason to not hire them--and of course don't put into writing that the real reason is their protected class membership.
Religious or spiritual belief.
Many religions discourage or disallow drinking.
I believe a recovered/recovering alcoholic could be considered a protected class.
Many medical conditions or medications cannot be combined with alcohol.
And just more broadly, some people have lives, family where they can't just be expected out on the piss in the afternoon.
Admitting it on forum is the in. Just like admitting you've been working while up on ket.
The excuse is always culture fit, if that even gets recorded anywhere...
Then COVID came around and I also moved to Finland where that sort of thing is just unheard of.
The company has moved to Bermondsey now, and to be fair the drinks-after-work culture seems to still going fairly strong around this part of town.
The biggest spanner in the works has been my cohort all having kids and not having the spare time to socialise after work.
Definitely miss all that. My liver & pancreas don't miss it though, so it's probably for the best.
Of course, there's nothing enforcing that managers respect it. The main mechanism is that many managers realise it's in their interests to be able to hear unvarnished truths, and for their team to be able to relieve their feelings outside work instead of inside. And for them to be able to get to know their team better. But not all have the integrity or humility to do so.
To be fair I did enjoy the ‘unhingedness’ but I’m also appreciating that being at least a decade younger was also great.
You can decide whether that was better or worse.
I think my lunchtime record was 4 1/2 pints. Another IT guy on the same session had keys to the building's small data room so let himself in and had a kip.
Didn't stay long because I got a PE offer at an American firm in their London office very quickly, and the culture there was so staid and lonely in comparison.
Part of the reason why we have an office bar with a bartender too set up at my current office. I don't drink, but nothing like drinks to help with bringing people together right after work.
University in the UK is (or was) a great training ground for livers.
Sounds like a law suit waiting to happen.
I prefer the term 'enlightened'.
Here in Blighty, if somebody got rat-arsed at an office party, photocopied their arse and puked in the Yucca plant, they would be regarded as an absolute legend (providing they didn't make a habit of it).