Drinking while working remotely

[boltnrun]

This topic has wandered, which is not a bad thing!

I personally enjoy structure. Even though I see no one and am not required to be on video for team calls, I rise every day an hour plus before my sign in time. I drink a cup of tea, shower, shampoo and dress. Then I sign in.  My brother does the same thing. 

I know some people who set their alarms for 10 minutes before sign in time and stay in their pajamas all day. I can't do that because it wouldn't feel like a work day to me. But people do what works for them, of course!

I am a rule follower. That's why I don't drink during my work day. BUT, I go online, read books and do chores in between work tasks or if it's a slow work day. On the rare occasions I go into the office I can't do laundry or wash dishes but I do go online on my phone when I am caught up with my work. 

Being a rule follower actually is freeing. If I do everything I'm supposed to do when I'm supposed to do it, I have lots of free time during off work hours. And I don't have to re-do tasks that were done sloppily because I didn't follow the processes.

Also, I am a salaried/hourly employee which means I have a schedule and will be paid for any OT I work. I can't work OT unless my manager approves it in advance. So my free time is predictable and is completely free of work tasks. It's nice.

I have errands to run after work today, but once they're done and chores are finished I will enjoy a glass of wine!

[catfeeder]

56 minutes ago, boltnrun said:

This topic has wandered, which is not a bad thing!

I personally enjoy structure. Even though I see no one and am not required to be on video for team calls, I rise every day an hour plus before my sign in time. I drink a cup of tea, shower, shampoo and dress. Then I sign in.  My brother does the same thing. 

I know some people who set their alarms for 10 minutes before sign in time and stay in their pajamas all day. I can't do that because it wouldn't feel like a work day to me. But people do what works for them, of course!

I am a rule follower. That's why I don't drink during my work day. BUT, I go online, read books and do chores in between work tasks or if it's a slow work day. On the rare occasions I go into the office I can't do laundry or wash dishes but I do go online on my phone when I am caught up with my work. 

Being a rule follower actually is freeing. If I do everything I'm supposed to do when I'm supposed to do it, I have lots of free time during off work hours. And I don't have to re-do tasks that were done sloppily because I didn't follow the processes.

Also, I am a salaried/hourly employee which means I have a schedule and will be paid for any OT I work. I can't work OT unless my manager approves it in advance. So my free time is predictable and is completely free of work tasks. It's nice.

I have errands to run after work today, but once they're done and chores are finished I will enjoy a glass of wine!

I hear you on the pajamas thing. It would feel like a sick day for me. I'd become depressed and lazy.

The hotter the temps, the earlier I rise, because I get a good hour walk in before work.

I fit in my shower afterward depending on meetings. I look presentable from the waist up, and nobody can smell me if I have to pull off a meeting before my shower.

Beyond that, I have no structure. I create it 'around' meetings and deliverables, but I'm good with flexibility--thankfully.

Every time my work hours run into after hours, I put that in my pocket and use the time whenever it's useful.

Key here is, I live alone. I'm not trying to factor in a loved one's schedule. I'd be far more structured if that were the case.

Oh, and to stay on topic: cheers!!! 

[jul-els]

 No, but if I worked indoors I’d be tempted. Mostly because I don’t like working indoors, lol. During lockdown/furlough I thought I was going to go nuts. I did have a few drinks sporadically whist confined at home when it got boring. Had a lot of a personal stuff going on at home too at the time, so maybe a bit of self soothing going on there as well. So yeah. That’s my tmi, lol. 

[Wiseman2]

[Rose Mosse]

I don’t drink actually. No, this wouldn’t cross my mind. 

[reinventmyself]

It started early pandemic.  My previous employer's CEO's Exec Secretary sent an email in a public folder marked Classified the entire company can view.  She included a picture of bottles of alcohol and mixers and asked everyone what they were drinking. 

It was late afternoon but during operating hours.  It was a hilarious email thread the went on for the remainder of the day with maybe a couple dozen of employees responding with pictures of whatever they were drinking at the moment.  Truth be known, I may have had a glass of wine at that time, but didn't dare disclose.  

No longer working for the company and working from home during a pandemic is old news at this point in time.  But I tend to believe a lot of drinking was going on.  I hadn't thought of it, but wonder if it still continues.  At the time I think we were all just trying to cope with the situation and isolation.  

[Fudgie]

31 minutes ago, reinventmyself said:

No longer working for the company and working from home during a pandemic is old news at this point in time.  But I tend to believe a lot of drinking was going on.  I hadn't thought of it, but wonder if it still continues.  At the time I think we were all just trying to cope with the situation and isolation.  

In the US, alcohol sales EXPLODED during the pandemic. As you said, people were just trying to cope. I think there was a lot of self-medication going on. My understanding is that that they still remain high. 

I know for me, my alcohol consumption increased during the pandemic and it remains higher than it was. I used to drink about every other week, max. Now I drink about 1-2x a week, usually only one at a time. Not unhealthy but still, makes you go "hmm". I also went up on my antidepressants during the pandemic and I don't think I will be able to go down on those. 

Working in healthcare (critical care) during the pandemic, while being completely physically isolated from my family/friends (I live alone) for almost a year kind of wrecked me physiologically. How I managed to lose weight I don't know. But I consider myself lucky overall. 

[boltnrun]

I didn't drink during the beginning and the height of the pandemic because I was already anxious and depressed to the point of going on disability leave and I was placed on medication.  I didn't want to wake up dead lol. I felt the depressant effects of alcohol were the complete opposite of what someone who was suffering from anxiety and depression needed.  I didn't need to be even more depressed!

My obsession became You Tube videos.  And binge watching old-ish TV shows.  For some reason certain YouTubers' videos calmed me down.  Not ones about the pandemic (didn't need THAT!) but ones about different major US cities and how the people were coping.  It made me feel less alone and isolated.  

Once I went back to work I was concerned about keeping my job.  So I wasn't going to take any kind of chances.

I also read somewhere that integrity is doing the right thing when no one's watching.  Drinking during the workday isn't necessarily WRONG but it was for me.  It wasn't a matter of whether or not I'd get caught. Plus, I was pretty sure the people who were working in the office weren't busting open bottles of wine and beer or mixing themselves cocktails in the office kitchen so I felt I shouldn't be either. 

Of course, not every workplace is the same.  Many years ago I worked for a major corporation that had mandatory "Margarita Fridays" once each month.  The employees didn't HAVE to drink but we all had to attend.  It was considered a team building event.  I think nowadays that wouldn't be done because of the liability of knowingly sending people to drive their cars home after drinking.

[reinventmyself]

17 minutes ago, boltnrun said:

 

Of course, not every workplace is the same.  Many years ago I worked for a major corporation that had mandatory "Margarita Fridays" once each month.  The employees didn't HAVE to drink but we all had to attend.  It was considered a team building event.  I think nowadays that wouldn't be done because of the liability of knowingly sending people to drive their cars home after drinking.

Long before my employment our company did the same thing they called team building.  Staff stayed late and drank on the premises.  I heard legends of all sorts of shenanigans.

An extreme shift to the environment I worked in, which was uber conservative, dealing with liability and extremely litigious minded.  So much so staff walked on eggshells, knowing how to use and not use simple buzz words amongst each other. 

Such a contrast to 'who was boinking who' in the supply room the decade before and then driving home drunk. . .lol

[boltnrun]

I had to go pick up the kids after work, so no way was I going to drive them if there was even the slightest possibility of being intoxicated.  I just allowed them to pour me a margarita and I walked around with the glass in my hand and then snuck into the bathroom to pour it out.

I worked with someone who got a DUI in his work truck after work.  That to me was one of the stupidest things to do, especially since he lived within walking distance of the bar he was drinking at.  Needless to say, he was termed as soon as he was formally charged.  He was not at a work sponsored event so the company was spared liability.

I once had a coworker (my supervisor!) come in reeling after lunch when she'd had a few glasses of wine.  She came back and proceeded to dry hump one of the project managers she had a crush on and was giggling and being extremely loud.  Everyone was giving her looks of disgust.  She said she "needed" to loosen up. OK, but why did it need to be when she had to return to work afterward??  It was cringeworthy.  She didn't go far in the company after that and ended up leaving about a year or so later on when it became apparent they weren't going to promote her or even give her a raise.

I did have a glass of wine last night while watching the end of a movie.

[greendots]

Interesting to read everyone's experiences.

Well, my philosophy is that getting dressed in the morning is good for you. Sure, we all have 'off' days. Generally, though, it's nice to make an effort. It feels good when you smell nice and look presentable. Plus, should there be an impromptu online meeting, you know you're ready and are able to give others a good impression.

Regarding alcohol consumption at work, the drunken office after-hours shenanigans weren't ever alluring so I generally avoided attending such events — and I really enjoy a drink or two in the right circumstances.

What increased is my coffee intake, lol, but I am curbing that.

[Batya33]

1 minute ago, greendots said:

Interesting to read everyone's experiences.

Well, my philosophy is that getting dressed in the morning is good for you. Sure, we all have 'off' days. Generally, though, it's nice to make an effort. It feels good when you smell nice and look presentable. Plus, should there be an impromptu online meeting, you know you're ready and are able to give others a good impression.

Regarding alcohol consumption at work, the drunken office after-hours shenanigans weren't ever alluring so I generally avoided attending such events — and I really enjoy a drink or two in the right circumstances.

What increased is my coffee intake, lol, but I am curbing that.

My analogy is showering in the morning - because I have my morning shift - somewhere between 5am-8:45-isham of getting my son ready for and taking him to school before I have my "work work" and before any of that I work out.  Fortunately it's extremely rare that we have impromptu meetings and since I worked as a full time mom for 7 years where I didn't get dressed in that sense I still feel productive/alert/ready to work even if I'm not suitably dressed.  But showering even if I don't "have to" is that good transition feeling.  

 

[boltnrun]

Well, I got a good indication of why I can never drink during work hours (not that I was planning to!)

I went to brunch with my son, his spouse, my brother and my niece.  We ordered a carafe of mimosas.  I drank two glasses.  I'm not used to champagne so I got a strong buzz.  I was telling a story and noticed the ladies at the next table were giving me hard looks.  Yeah, I was being loud.  I immediately quieted down, but I feel bad that I might have ruined their dining experience.

So yeah, alcohol and I can be friends but I need to be very careful.  And definitely none during work hours.

I've gone to work holiday parties and I never, ever drank at any of them. I didn't want to say or do anything embarrassing.  Some coworkers got so drunk they literally fell down.  That is never going to be me!

[mylolita]

The hubbies worked from home and for himself for nearly 20 years now. He has never once “drank on the job!” He works for himself and mostly always alone (unless he works away, every other week; and goes to meet a lot of customers). 
 

I think maybe what happened is, a big number of people got to work from home for the first time, and it was a big novelty not having to go into the office, people felt freed, almost like they got a mock taste of being self employed; with no boss breathing down their backs! That and the isolation and scare mongering of the pandemic, I think the freedom and the lock and key made people hit the booze.

 

Most people I know who have always worked from home, I can think of one of our good friends who is an artist, journalist and book binder - she must have been working for herself and from home a good 40 years! And she loves her wine! But it is always when her day has ended, or she is done with work. The other long term working at home peeps I know don’t drink during the day either. I guess if you worked from home always, for the next 20 years, and had two glasses of wine every weekday you worked, most people would develop maybe some kind of issue with alcohol. I can’t imagine much work getting done either - realistically.

 

Maybe I’m wrong! This topic just made me think of my husband and the people we know who have always been at home working for themselves and; to what I know, they don’t have liquid lunches every day of the week 🤪 but again; it doesn’t bother me what people do as long as the job gets done I guess!

 

I think people got wrapped up in the novelty and suddenly feeling unsupervised. Maybe people needed some fun in that time of stress and to let go. We had so many rules pushed upon us, maybe people kicked back against it a bit by drinking and letting loose! 

 

x

[greendots]

4 hours ago, Batya33 said:

Fortunately it's extremely rare that we have impromptu meetings

Lucky you! Fortunately, in my line of work wearing denim is appropriate, so I don't have to worry about formal wear.

27 minutes ago, mylolita said:

I think people got wrapped up in the novelty and suddenly feeling unsupervised. Maybe people needed some fun in that time of stress and to let go. We had so many rules pushed upon us, maybe people kicked back against it a bit by drinking and letting loose! 

Your post reminded me of Mad Men, where drinking for execs was the norm at work, lol. They did exaggerate though.

I think that having, for example, a beer when working from home is like having a glass of wine during lunch time. As long as you're doing so responsibly, why not? Of course, should you need a strong bevy for breakfast you might want to consider professional help.

[catfeeder]

41 minutes ago, mylolita said:

That and the isolation and scare mongering of the pandemic, I think the freedom and the lock and key made people hit the booze.

I think you're right. During the first 3 weeks of lockdown I phoned or was phoned by nearly everyone in my past and present who I'd ever been fond of. None of us knew whether we'd caught the thing and might start with symptoms at any time.

Some of these people drank, but I was too frightened to touch the stuff until I knew I was in the clear. I feared that if I had Covid, any amount of alcohol could make it worse.

I had been watching Italy and couldn't understand why, if their lockdown was so tight, people were still catching it and dropping like flies even after 6 weeks.

That really did a number on my head. On one hand I was thankful to live alone, but on the other hand, I was afraid of not waking up.

I'm amazed that I didn't booze my brains out, but I was scared straight. I was clear that I wanted to live through this.

 

 

[dias]

All I have to say is if you are a software engineer and you can't solve a problem whiskey helps. 

From what I heard funky mushrooms work well too if you want to develop a new software and you need creativity.

Just say.

[Batya33]

It's been years since I worked in an office and also felt "supervised" any more than when I was out of the office - when I first started -pre-internet- yes.  Because then you had to be present, I was new in my career, and certainly people who you worked for would stop by or call randomly so you were "watched' in that sense.  And when I had my high school and college and grad school jobs and internships yes for sure. 

But before covid when I went into the office I actually sat a few floors away from my boss plus I wasn't and still am not heavily supervised and also teleworked a lot (which is what I needed as far as child care when I returned to work after being a SAHM). What felt freeing was not having to commute at all.  I love that.  

I know of many people (but not me!) who would feel no effects of any manner from a glass of wine with lunch so I don't see any issue with it.  

[reinventmyself]

4 hours ago, Batya33 said:

But before covid when I went into the office I actually sat a few floors away from my boss plus I wasn't and still am not heavily supervised and also teleworked a lot (which is what I needed as far as child care when I returned to work after being a SAHM). What felt freeing was not having to commute at all.  I love that.  

 

I would have never fathomed my experience would be different.  I managed to avoid my boss while in the office.  Often for days at a time.  He was erratic, needy and often triggered me.   While working from home he basically harassed me, abusing the unsaid need to be accountable seeing that working from home was seen as a privilege. 

I didn't feel I could completely avoid him and just not take his call.  Surely it must be important, right?  Several times a day he dialed in unannounced on a zoom call.  Having a face to face and the feeling this man was in my home that many times a day was grueling. 

At some point I would not take the zoom call and in turn call him back on his cell.  He kept telling me he preferred the zoom calls.  I didn't say anything and still continued to call him back on his cell.  If I didn't take his call, he'd ask me where I was.  It was so disrespectful, inferring I didn't have anything else to do but entertain him. 

He rarely had anything work related to really say and if so, it could have just as easily be shared in an email.  He was just being super needy, kooky and it felt so inappropriate.  I had to end most days with "meeting" with him and his boss, which ended up being this social hour where I watched to two of them chat and giggle about the weather and didn't participate.  I wasn't getting paid for this.

I was immensely grateful to not be on the freeway for 3 hours a day.  But at some point, I yearned to be back in the office if it meant I could go back to hiding from him again.

I'll stop my rant here. . one of the many reasons I quit. . .

[Batya33]

1 minute ago, reinventmyself said:

I would have never fathomed my experience would be different.  I managed to avoid my boss while in the office.  Often for days at a time.  He was erratic, needy and often triggered me.   While working from home he basically harassed me, abusing the unsaid need to be accountable seeing that working from home seen as a privilege. 

I didn't feel I could completely avoid him and not take his call.  Several times a day he dialed in unannounced on a zoom call.  Having a face to face and the feeling this man was in my home that many times a day was grueling.  At some point I would not take the zoom call and in turn call him back on his cell.  He kept telling me he preferred the zoom calls.  I didn't say anything and still continued to call him back on his cell.  If I didn't take his call, he'd ask me where I was.  It was so disrespectful, inferring I didn't have anything else to do but entertain him.  He rarely had anything work related to really say and if so, it could have just as easily be shared in an email.  He was just being super needy, kooky and it felt so inappropriate.  I had to end most days with "meeting" with him and his boss, which ended up being this social hour where I watched to two of them chat about the weather and didn't participate.  I wasn't getting paid for this.

I'll stop my rant here. . one of the many reasons I quit. . .

That is AWFUL.  I'm so very sorry to hear this.  My former mentor/boss didn't believe in teleworking but back then it was really unusual to have an internet connection from home /ability to remote in -so he had "a" point.  I mean he permitted it in certain situations just wasn't a fan. 

Your boss sounds -OMG.  I am so so glad you quit.

[reinventmyself]

1 minute ago, Batya33 said:

That is AWFUL.  I'm so very sorry to hear this.  My former mentor/boss didn't believe in teleworking but back then it was really unusual to have an internet connection from home /ability to remote in -so he had "a" point.  I mean he permitted it in certain situations just wasn't a fan. 

Your boss sounds -OMG.  I am so so glad you quit.

ewww. . .just reliving it takes me back.  Need to shake it off.

[waffle]

1 hour ago, reinventmyself said:

Having a face to face and the feeling this man was in my home that many times a day was grueling. 

One of the many reasons I flat-out refuse(d) to work from home. 

At home I'm on MY time and doing what *I* want.  The hours that I'm supposed to work, they can provide the necessary space and resources for me to do that and it is not in my home.  I want to use their facilities and drink their coffee, etc.

But if I did work from home, would I drink?  No, that thought never occurred to me.  What would the purpose be?  That's weird.  I can't imagine needing a drink so bad that I can't wait til work hours are over.

[Batya33]

45 minutes ago, waffle said:

One of the many reasons I flat-out refuse(d) to work from home. 

At home I'm on MY time and doing what *I* want.  The hours that I'm supposed to work, they can provide the necessary space and resources for me to do that and it is not in my home.  I want to use their facilities and drink their coffee, etc.

But if I did work from home, would I drink?  No, that thought never occurred to me.  What would the purpose be?  That's weird.  I can't imagine needing a drink so bad that I can't wait til work hours are over.

I don't have set hours during the day or even weekend -it depends on work flow and I am hourly.  I have an office if I want it.  If I want to commute there and wear a mask (which would be my choice at this point) and commute home and have to keep an eye on whether I need to leave sooner because of an issue at school, etc.  I have a work issued laptop and IT at work is available to help me if I need help with a computer issue.  I love using my own restroom and being able to get laundry done and deliveries etc.  

Having said  that -I get it -to each their own of course!

[boltnrun]

I absolutely love working from home.  If I had to go into the office it would be over a two hour round trip commute.  I'd be spending $150 per month on gas at least.  I would have a LOT more laundry to do and much less time to do it (and having to try to get it done when everyone else in my building is using the machines). I don't have to dress "corporate".  I can wear shorts or leggings or sweat pants with a t-shirt and a zip up hoodie over it in the winter.  I can go and get a snack from my kitchen whenever I get hungry, and I don't have to pack a lunch and snacks the night before.  My car gets much less wear and tear.  I can go for a walk right after work instead of having to try to fit it in between when I get home after my commute and when I have to start fixing dinner.  The list goes on and on and on.

And if I really want a drink?  I can have it right after work (which I don't do, but I could) or when I feel more comfortable going out I can walk to one of the many bars or restaurants in my neighborhood.  If I wanted to, I could actually make it to happy hour which is usually 3-5 PM (if I commuted I'd never make it in time).

There's really no reason at all for me to go into the office.  Everything is done electronically.  I do go in every so often especially if my skip level manager is in the office or if I just want to make an appearance.  And I can drive home at lunch time and finish my day at home.  I love it.  Only a handful of my coworkers actually go into the office every day anyway.  Not one time has anyone walked into my office to ask for something.  They always email or send a Teams message. I've never even used my desk phone!

But I can understand wanting to keep your work space and home space separate.

[greendots]

4 hours ago, boltnrun said:

I absolutely love working from home.

Me too! I find that I'm more productive when working from home as I don't have to be interrupted with drivel, and I can efficiently manage my time. Plus, the hours you gain each day that you don't spend commuting — priceless!