Lets talk about happy hour.
What is happy hour really for? It is supposed to relax us after work. For some this is true. We can relax and enjoy a nice cold one. But then we have to worry how much of a good thing we have. Driving laws make things very tough for a good reason.
But what I want to talk about is doing happy hour with co-workers. I do a happy hour with a really great friend. Our though processes are very close, which to some people can be scary. We agree on a lot of things. Men, sex, beer, toys, and life in general.
But lets talk about the happy hour that the office puts on to "create a more positive team atmosphere"
I came across an article from MSNBC.com. It was a survey that shows 20% go for after work drinks and lists the fall out.
FALL OUT???? yes fall out. Come on.. One drink leads to another. Most workers attend a happy hour to "bond" with a colleague. Bond???? ok.. I would not want to bond with the people I work with. Most of the people I work with are superficial snobs. They are nice to your face and when your not around you are not worth the dirt they walk on.
15% go to hear the latest gossip, ok this I believe. I have been known to do this. The more drinks you have the more you hear. It is a known fact.
13% go because they feel obligated. Never. Never in a million years would I feel obligated to go. Now I would feel obligated to drink beer however. So if you want me there you would have to approach it like this. Melina, I hear there is this beer over at the pub that has been asking about you. You need to go check it out. Boom. I am there.
Then after a few drinks have been around the crew, 16% reported that they bad mouthed a co-worker.... NO, not that,, no one has ever done anything like that. Not even if they had never ever had a drink. Get real, how many people in this world have bad mouthed a co-worker when they are sober????
10% shared a secret about a co-worker. Ok, if you have a secret, you should not be sharing it with ANYONE. It does not matter who it is. If you don't want anyone to know, don't tell. If you need to tell. Find a priest.
8% kissed a colleague.. oh god, can we say sexual harrassment???? hello??? and 8% said they drank too much and acted unprofessionally. Ok if you kissed a co-worker, is that not unprofessional????? I am confused here. If it happened in a bar is it sexual harrassment? If I was drunk and gave a blow job to my co-worker would he call it sexual harrassment and insist that he did not want it and I forced it on him??? OH wait the only guy in our department is gay so Yes I guess he would. Shit.
5% said they had a secret about the company and 4% confessed to singing Karaoke? It is the end of the world. We are now singing and telling the secrets of the company.
This was interesting. 21% said happy hours were good for networking and 85% said attending did not help them advance in the company. Ok networking, "if you dont copy this contracts for me I will tell everyone what you said about Ned". And as far as advancing???? After you fondled Jane at the bar the other night, I can not advance to you sales and marketing in fear of what you will do to our clients. Sorry.
So I guess what they are saying is " Don't do happy hour with co-workers unless you want to be in debted to them the rest of your career."