When working out of town, as happens frequently in my profession, workers often unwind by going for drinks after the shift ends. Especially construction workers.
I have also joined in the socializing this way. After all, what do you do in the evenings when you’re far away from home and not working.
I have witnessed more than one tradesperson, slurring his words and staggering, trying to find his way back to his room. I have even helped a few so they wouldn't get lost.
There can be hazards to too much social drinking, especially with people you work with. More so when you’re a woman. You don’t want to give the guys too many reasons to talk about you the next day. There's no need to stay alone in your room every evening either, though.
These are my common-sense guidelines for going to the bar with co-workers:
1 – have your own transportation. This is a must in my book.
2 – go with people you know quite well and trust. This is especially true if the drinks are to be in someone’s room. In a public bar, especially a nice one in a good part of town, you can be more relaxed.
3 – limit your alcohol, and always be in control. This is a good idea at all outings, work related or not.
4 – if things get rowdy, or you feel uncomfortable for any reason, leave. This is also applicable to all occasions.
5 – don’t go somewhere you’re uncomfortable going. The men seem to like going to strip clubs when out of town, something I always avoid.
6 – make sure to eat dinner. I’ve known co-workers who start drinking right after work, and don’t stop to eat. Not a pretty sight.
When I first started in construction, this kind of imbibing was very common. Lately I have been to jobs where very few of the guys drink much, if at all. I remember one memorable dinner in a restaurant where every member of a fairly large crew of mechanics drank nothing stronger than tea. It was unusual.
What good rules of thumb. I usualy avoided the after work beers although I must admit that I did partake on occasion. One time I took the whole crew for beers after work. I took them to a bar called The Cambie, in Vancouver, where they had a beer and burger special for four dollars. A number of the crew members opted for that. We had a great time and it was a good bonding experience. We also had a homeowner buy pizza and beer for the whole crew. I did however discourage things like 'ripper bars or loading up the van with beers for the trip home. Ray, my partner, would always buy a couple of twofours on pay day for the drive home. I remember his driver downing four beers before even turning the ignition. Scary stuff. Here in Greece having a beer during lunchbreak is the rule on many jobsites and I found it impossible to discourage this behaviour. I did draw the line however at one beer makng such a fuss about it that people just fell in line to avoid my bitching. In Canada I had a big problem with pot. It was suddenly solved, along with many other problems, when I fired a couple of laborourers for it. On another jobsite the labourers, who were extremely aggresseive, turned out to be crackheads. I never backed away from those two till the boss finaly seperated us and then I found another place to work. Generaly I think tea is a much better idea.
ReplyDeleteThe big industrial jobs in Canada now have urine testing for employees. Drugs are a big problem. I have heard some workers use those detoxing kits you can get at health food stores to clean their systems before the tests. I don't know if this actually works, though.
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