Drinking on the job

[Bob Loblaw Law Blog]

Taylee, you've got to get on board with where this started. This wasn't about having a beer at home while working. If you want to do that, I doubt anybody has a problem with it.

This was about stopping on the way to coverage and having a beer or two.

Well, to be fair, it was about both. It seems most people don't have a problem with the former but most everyone has a problem with the latter. I just wanted to see where people drew the line on the issue and encourage some banter on the subject. Mission accomplished.

 

[Bob Loblaw Law Blog]

I'd want to file ASAP so I could then relax with a beer. Not crack one open, take a sip, hammer a few grafs, take a sip, doublecheck the boxscore, take a sip, add quotes, take a sip, finish the story.

Actually, that's exactly what it was like and it was magnificent. Of course, if it was a hard deadline I would totally agree with you. But it was a soft deadline to file a prep gamer on our company web site on a Tuesday, which isn't our big preps coverage night. I felt like taking my time with the story and enjoying an ice cold brew in the process. Like Taylee said on here earlier, it wasn't to help me write faster or better and it wasn't to help me wind down or decompress after work — it was because I wanted to enjoy a nice, refreshing beverage. I could have had a Coke instead, but I think Coke tastes like ass. I prefer beer. Hopefully that doesn't make me an alcoholic.

 

[ServeItUp]

Wow! I always knew we drank a lot in this profession, but not THIS much.
Nice to know I picked the right career.

heck, in my career I've had four coworkers and a boss in AA ... that I know of ...

Do ya one better. Had co-workers fired for drinking on the job. Weren't drunk or anything, just kicking it old school while putting the paper out. Check your employee manuals, folks.

 

[FileNotFound]

I've discovered in my travels that other countries have more permissive attitudes toward at-lunch or after-the-shift-is-over drinking than we do here in the U.S. Not that it makes them (or us) better, it's just different.

And as for DUI: In Australia, you can lose your license for many years if you blow .05. Not .10, or .08, but basically, for most of us, one beer.

As for my opinions: No problem with having the beer in the home office while typing; big problem with consuming anything while representing the paper in public.

 

[Tom Petty]

Let's just go ahead and get to the heart of the matter.

I think everybody toys around with the idea that, "I'll be a better writer after a beer. It will calm me down. The words will come more easily."

People say the same thing about driving, even when studies show that's not the case-- 100% of the time.

I toyed around with the idea my freshman year in college that I'd write better after a beer or two. Went out with friends one afternoon, had 2 Bud Lites, came back and sat down to write my paper. Handed it in the next morning.

Got an F.

That answered that question. ;D

i'd be willing to bet that instance took place a full two years before you lost your virginity.

 

[Just_An_SID]

My old boss wouldn't let me bring beer into the pressbox after a game and I totally understood. We would however go and visit one of the athletic suites to have a beer when our work was done.

My only answer to your questions is actually a question.

Go ahead and drink that beer if you are never going to write about somebody drinking on the job. Otherwise, wouldn't it be hypocritical of you to drink even one beer?

 

[busuncle]

My old boss wouldn't let me bring beer into the pressbox after a game and I totally understood. We would however go and visit one of the athletic suites to have a beer when our work was done.

My only answer to your questions is actually a question.

Go ahead and drink that beer if you are never going to write about somebody drinking on the job. Otherwise, wouldn't it be hypocritical of you to drink even one beer?

I recently wrote about a couple of college players who were arrested for minor-in possession... I was an avid drinker before I turned 21, but I don't feel hypocritical.

I understand your point, but there's a difference between reporting something and sermonizing on it.

 

[shockey]

time for this geezer to weigh in:

i never even had so much as one beer on the job in a press box, even when they were routinely available post-game. that's just me.

back in the day, as a copyboy at a major ny tab circa 1978-79, i'd often be sent to the corner bar to fetch a couple of six-packs for the night sports desk. heck, the slot guy would put the 12 beers in ice under his desk and ask, "anyone else want one?"

my, how things have changed.

 

[Bob Loblaw Law Blog]

Go ahead and drink that beer if you are never going to write about somebody drinking on the job. Otherwise, wouldn't it be hypocritical of you to drink even one beer?

Don't see the issue. If I'm writing a column about how horrible it is to drink on the job then yes, I am a hypocrite. But if I'm reporting facts that are not in dispute, I don't see how that makes any difference.