Lunchtime Pints at work, why not in Ireland?

Your Superior

Working in Manchester and London this week, and most days the people I am working or meeting with go out for a pint or two(or a glass of wine) at lunchtime before going back to work for the afternoon. To me this has always been the norm, but it also made me realise that in about 25 years of work visits to Ireland, I've never known anyone to go to the pub for a swift lunchtime drink and meal.

Why is this? Does nobody pop out just for one or two drinks(well, usually 4 or 5 on a friday)?

xhoundx

Anytime I used to go for a liquid lunch it always lead to a half day work

Captain Chaos

I'd be sacked if there was any indication I had any drink on me in work. That and I only get one 20min lunch break a day. Basically don't have time to leave the office car park and get back so I sit at my desk. Also there are no pubs in walking distance of where I work, probably about 3-4 miles away to the nearest one.

Your Superior

is that the issue? Funnily I've had one or two of my Irish friends say pretty much the same thing. They same the same about driving to the pub and just having one drink too, that they just can't do it as they always want more.

stmol32

Yeah it's weird alright, it's the one aspect of alcohol where we're surprisingly disciplined.

Captain Chaos

Your Superior wrote: »

is that the issue? Funnily I've had one or two of my Irish friends say pretty much the same thing. They same the same about driving to the pub and just having one drink too, that they just can't do it as they always want more.

Well one pint and you are over the limit to drive.

Grayson

About 15 years ago I worked in Dell. People used to pop down to the silver tassie at lunch for a carvery and a pint. Last place I worked you would have gotten fired. Things have changed in the last few years.

somesoldiers

Personally I don't see the point, a couple of pints at lunch = falling asleep by 3 o'clock.... we have a fridge full of beer in our office though I only ever see anyone have one on a Friday evening.

The Moldy Gowl

Because how would it look if you leaned over to your neighbour or boss and there was a smell of beer off your breath?

The Backwards Man

Work when you're working, drink when you're drinking. If you can't separate them it's time to give one of them up.

Butterface

Have done it a few times over the years.. between the rushing to and from lunch and not drinking your pint/glass of wine at a relaxing pace because you're watching the clock.. it just left me feeling flushed going back to work.

hynesie08

I often used to have a half pint/bottle of beer with my lunch, just because it went well with the food. Always lead to funny looks when people found out.

somesoldiers

Yeah I actually drink to get drunk, not really because I enjoy the taste or it improves the taste of my food, binge baby, so wouldn't see the point in one or two!

henryporter

and they have the cheek to refer to us as drunken Paddies - they even have several TV soaps dedicated to life in the pub and yet think we have more a drink problem than they do

Tony Beetroot

Nothing wrong with having a few bulmers in the tractor at the silage.

Your Superior

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Work when you're working, drink when you're drinking. If you haven't time to separate them it's time to give one of them up.

a nonsensical attitude. why does "drinking" have to mean having a skinful? In the UK and mainland Europe millions of people are quite happy to have on or two drinks at lunch without the need to be "drinking". I'd say that if you don't have the strength to just have on or two and then stop because "if you're drinking, you're drinking", it's then that you need to give up.

Conall Cernach

Maybe in Ireland 1 or 2 pints is seen as a waste unless it is followed by several more. You're paying around a fiver for what is a beverage to wash down your dinner.

Your Superior

somesoldiers wrote: »

Yeah I actually drink to get drunk, not really because I enjoy the taste or it improves the taste of my food, binge baby, so wouldn't see the point in one or two!

xhoundx wrote: »

Anytime I used to go for a liquid lunch it always lead to a half day work

henryporter wrote: »

and they have the cheek to refer to us as drunken Paddies - they even have several TV soaps dedicated to life in the pub and yet think we have more a drink problem than they do

Yeah, can't see why anyone would make that assumption...

Your Superior

Conall Cernach wrote: »

Maybe in Ireland 1 or 2 pints is seen as a waste unless it is followed by several more. You're paying around a fiver for what is a beverage to wash down your dinner.

Why is it a waste to have a drink of something you enjoy? Is alcohol just something that people in Ireland use to get drunk? Does nobody just like sitting back with a glass of wine or beer and relaxing as they have lunch? Seems crazy to me, but perhaps it's just a cultural difference. It's definitely not something I've experienced outside Ireland.

BizzyC

I work in London and it's not at all common in my office.

Sure, if you're meeting with a client it's a done thing, but a random lunchtime pint, doesn't happen and would be frowned on.

sbsquarepants

Your Superior wrote: »

a nonsensical attitude. why does "drinking" have to mean having a skinful? In the UK and mainland Europe millions of people are quite happy to have on or two drinks at lunch without the need to be "drinking". I'd say that if you don't have the strength to just have on or two and then stop because "if you're drinking, you're drinking", it's then that you need to give up.

I think that's the nonsensical attitude to be honest. Alcohol is a drug, the point in taking any drug is to feel it's effects - if you aren't going to feel the effect you may as well drink water or a cup of tea.

Your Superior

sbsquarepants wrote: »

I think that's the nonsensical attitude to be honest. Alcohol is a drug, the point in taking any drug is to feel it's effects - if you aren't going to feel the effect you may as well drink water or a cup of tea.

Feeling the effects doesn't have to mean getting paralytic, though. I'd never realised the strange relationship between the Irish and alcohol. I suppose one big difference is the way the Irish talk about having "Taken a few drinks" or "having alcohol taken", never hear it referred to like that elsewhere.

The Backwards Man

Your Superior wrote: »

a nonsensical attitude. why does "drinking" have to mean having a skinful? In the UK and mainland Europe millions of people are quite happy to have on or two drinks at lunch without the need to be "drinking". I'd say that if you don't have the strength to just have on or two and then stop because "if you're drinking, you're drinking", it's then that you need to give up.

I'm not talking about a skinful, I'm not even talking about one. I'm talking about any trace of alcohol at all. Drink away when you're off duty, but I don't want to be conducting with anybody under the influence. And you can argue till the cows come home, even a mouthful of a pint impairs your judgment.

hynesie08

Conall Cernach wrote: »

You're paying around a fiver for what is a beverage to wash down your dinner.

You'll pay that for a pint of coke in a lot of places, might as well get something to complement the food.

sbsquarepants

Your Superior wrote: »

Feeling the effects doesn't have to mean getting paralytic, though.

Not paralytic no. But one pint - or half pint if the English soaps are to be believed, is just an exercise in pure futility.
You may as well just burn a fiver and drink a can of coke!

listermint

Your Superior wrote: »

Feeling the effects doesn't have to mean getting paralytic, though. I'd never realised the strange relationship between the Irish and alcohol. I suppose one big difference is the way the Irish talk about having "Taken a few drinks" or "having alcohol taken", never hear it referred to like that elsewhere.

Im glad you speak for everyone ...

Your Superior

sbsquarepants wrote: »

Not paralytic no. But one pint - or half pint if the English soaps are to be believed, is just an exercise in pure futility.
You may as well just burn a fiver and drink a can of coke!

It's £2.20 a pint here.

fleet_admiral

The pub I work in doesnt allow us to drink or even eat there when we are off duty. One barman a while ago pulled himself a sneaky pint when he was finished ork and hid behind a massive bamboo tree in the beer garden to drink it but was sacked on the spot as he was on camera, even though he as off duty.

riffmongous

No harm in having one with lunch, or maybe a radler on a hot day, very relaxing way to spend lunchtime. Just as cheap as a soft drink too if it's a lager

Your Superior

listermint wrote: »

Im glad you speak for everyone ...

It's a way of speaking only used in Ireland, so yes, it's the Irish that say it. Doesn't mean all Irish people do.

Your Superior

The Backwards Man wrote: »

I'm not talking about a skinful, I'm not even talking about one. I'm talking about any trace of alcohol at all. Drink away when you're off duty, but I don't want to be conducting with anybody under the influence. And you can argue till the cows come home, even a mouthful of a pint impairs your judgment.

What an absolute load of codswallop.

sbsquarepants

Your Superior wrote: »

It's £2.20 a pint here.

You could have hit the nail on the head there. If you were to go out for a carvery and a pint every day here it would cost you in the region of €250 - €300 a month. You could buy yourself a nice car with that!

buggy beag

Same in germany was there few years ago seen a workman getting 6 beers at lunchtime said to my friend look at your man hes going to get locked but she said no that hes down to get everyone at the site one beer each they drink that then back to work

the evasion_kid

A lot of the time it doesn't stop at one,people want to hit their buzz level, you'd think in this country it wouldn't be too looked down on,but I'd have to say the Canadians are absolute hoors for drinking on the job.

William F

It's the same reason we don't drink in parks or by the river, with the exception of Portobello Bridge or the Spanish Arch at summer, it's because there's a cultural awareness of our destructive drinking habit.

somesoldiers

Your Superior wrote: »

It's £2.20 a pint here.

Typical order by a bunch of English
"A lager top,
A lager Shandy,
A lager and lime"
waits til these have been served
"oh and 18 Guinness (es)"
"and a dandelion & burdocks"

why do ye feel the need to cocktail everything up, is it the James Bond influence?

The Backwards Man

Your Superior wrote: »

What an absolute load of codswallop.

Is it? As others have asked, why bother having a pint at all then?

Frynge

As i few people have said they would get fired if they did it. The main reason for this is us irish are great for being given an inch and taking a mile. Most people would be fine to have one or two drinks with their lunch and go back to the office and work but there are then the other minority who will have four pints and a double g&t then head back 15 min late stinking out the office with drink and also being inebriated. For that reason their is generally a blanket rule of no drinking while in work. For smaller companies/offices it is sometimes an ok thing to do but as an office gets bigger. It can quickly lead to abuse.

Slightly off topic but we used to host lunches for the county council once a month and one of the councilors used to drink 8 vodkas with two cokes in the space of 45 min and not a bother.

Your Superior

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Is it? As others have asked, why bother having a pint at all then?

Because it tastes nice? Why bother eating good food when cheap processed rubbish will fill you up just the same? I'd much rather have a good glass of wine with my lunch, it compliments the flavours far better than a glass of water or, heaven forbid, a pint of milk, would.

MonkeyTennis

Used to do this on fridays but it just seems to have gone out of fashion. Never had more than two pints.

somesoldiers

Your Superior wrote: »

Because it tastes nice? Why bother eating good food when cheap processed rubbish will fill you up just the same? I'd much rather have a good glass of wine with my lunch, it compliments the flavours far better than a glass of water or, heaven forbid, a pint of milk, would.

good for you, why did you open a thread asking for people's habits when you are knocking back everyone that doesn't tally with yours?

The Backwards Man

Your Superior wrote: »

Because it tastes nice? Why bother eating good food when cheap processed rubbish will fill you up just the same? I'd much rather have a good glass of wine with my lunch, it compliments the flavours far better than a glass of water or, heaven forbid, a pint of milk, would.

That's the most childish reasoning I've ever heard. Surely there's a multitude of other things that you enjoy doing that you have refrain from when you're working?

dilallio

Back in the eighties, all pubs in dublin had to close their bars for one hour - it was either 2pm or 3pm as lunchtime drinking was judged to be impacting productivity.
It was known as holy hour.

valoren

I've done this when working in London and Birmingham.
It was office IT work and it was always on a Friday, never midweek.
Always in a group and a regular thing in the summer.

It's not something I'd do here to be honest, the afternoon's seemed to be a long slog after a couple of pints. And productivity was pretty much non-existant across the board.

It's gross misconduct here in general. It is a drug after all.
If someone was known to be shooting up or snorting a line in the jacks they'd be sacked.

Your Superior

Frynge wrote: »

As i few people have said they would get fired if they did it. The main reason for this is us irish are great for being given an inch and taking a mile. Most people would be fine to have one or two drinks with their lunch and go back to the office and work but there are then the other minority who will have four pints and a double g&t then head back 15 min late stinking out the office with drink and also being inebriated. For that reason their is generally a blanket rule of no drinking while in work. For smaller companies/offices it is sometimes an ok thing to do but as an office gets bigger. It can quickly lead to abuse.

Slightly off topic but we used to host lunches for the county council once a month and one of the councilors used to drink 8 vodkas with two cokes in the space of 45 min and not a bother.

We have 4 offices worldwide, and each of them has a fridge with beer and wine stocked so that people can get a drink if they feel like it. Nobody abuses it. Only person that ever did was a young apprentice who started sneaking a few cans in to his back to take home, but that was 15 years ago. He got told not to take the piss, stopped and still works for us.

NachoBusiness

Cause Irish people get the ride on them when they have pints. They'd come back to the office and all start riding each other. Do you really want a situation where you walk into a solicitor's office or a bank at 3pm and just see one big filth fest? It'd be the ruin of the country. Nah, drink at night when there's plenty of time afterwards to be ateing schlapping one another.

Your Superior

The Backwards Man wrote: »

That's the most childish reasoning I've ever heard. Surely there's a multitude of other things that you enjoy doing that you have refrain from when you're working?

At lunchtime I'm not working, nor are my members of staff. It's their own time. As long as people are responsible adults, there is no problem. In the UK, Singapore and Panama there has never been a single case of someone coming in to work at one of our offices in the afternoon unable to do their job. Perhaps they are just more secure in their relationship with alcohol.

barry181091

Your Superior wrote: »

At lunchtime I'm not working, nor are my members of staff. It's their own time. As long as people are responsible adults, there is no problem. In the UK, Singapore and Panama there has never been a single case of someone coming in to work in the afternoon unable to do their job. Perhaps they are just more secure in their relationship with alcohol.

Where in gods name did you get that blanket statement from!? CSO!? :pac:

Your Superior

barry181091 wrote: »

Where in gods name did you get that blanket statement from!? CSO!? :pac:

Apologies, just edited it to include "at one of our offices"


and I've not even had a drink yet!

ThinkProgress

If I was working saturdays, I used to have one pint.

But could always keep it at just the one... makes you feel less angry about working on the weekend.

Of course it wasn't really acceptable behavior, but sometimes you gotta just say f*ck the man and his arbitrary rules trying to govern every aspect of my existence! (usually just the shorter expletive though - f*ck it i'm havin' wan!) haha

The Backwards Man

Being able to do your job and doing your job to the best of your ability are two different things.