Killjoys want us to stop enjoying traditional pints after work and have breakfast socials instead.
Drinks with workmates are in danger of dying out because sober Gen Z don’t fancy the pub after grafting all day. Now bosses have been ordered to host early morning gatherings over muesli and orange juice instead of heading to their local.
Experts say employers should avoid describing socials as “drinks”, and call them “networking” or “gatherings”. The sobering recommendations, from bores at think tank the Work Foundation and the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking, aim to create “inclusive and healthy workplace cultures”.
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They say it will make staff who do not drink or those who work from home feel more comfortable when socialising with colleagues.
Its report says there “has been a shift in attitudes towards the appropriateness of centring workplace social activities around the consumption of alcohol.”
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Julian Braithwaite, boss of the International Alliance of Responsible Drinking, said: “You can’t just assume everyone’s coming into work every day, 9am-5pm, and possibly going to the pub on the way home.
“Employers need to encourage a different type of socialising.
“There shouldn’t be an implicit assumption that a work event means drinks.
(Image: Getty Images)
“Older managers need to understand that younger generations, Generation Z, may have a different attitude to what it means to socialise.”
Experts even say firms should draw up a rulebook for drinking with workmates.
Ben Harrison, director of the Work Foundation, said: “All employers should have guidelines around the consumption of alcohol.
“Organisations are starting to think about how they create that social space to make sure that they’re not reinforcing inequalities in the workplace.”
Multiple studies show after-work drinks help create stronger relationships among colleagues.
But one person posted on X: “ Probably a good thing. It’s caused some people murder ‘just going for one after work’ rolling in rat-arsed to your house to get trashed by the Mrs.”
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