Drinking on The Job

I mean some groups will have beers together friday evening, perhaps in the office depending on firm policy. There are senior guys who keep nice bottles of liquor at their desk. But I've never seen anyone pour themselves a double after getting bad news, if that's what you mean.

Americans are such pussies about drinking on the job. When I was in the UK, my boss bought me a round my first day at work during lunch. And it was cool to drink on the job as long as there wasn't a client around.

Now that I'm back in the states, I see people freaking about this and other stupid shit. On one of my interviews after coming back, the interviewer took me to a British pub for lunch, i guess they assumed I'd feel at home even though I'm local. When I asked them if it was cool we get a pint they looked at me like I just shat all over the table and rolled in my fecies.

I had to explain that everyone drinks in Europe and apologized for the faux pas. In the end I didn't get that job. So I'd be careful about talking about drinking at work.

HF's are less structured and the people there generally don't give 2 fuks about what you do as long as you're making it rain. I'd could definitely see Carl leaning back in his seat at 4pm on a Friday with a scotch in hand, looking into the horizon, whispering, "Fk you Bill, Fk you..."

I usually drink in the mornings to get over my hangover from the previous day.

I drink everyday work or not.

When I used to work in finance we had an office rule that any time one of the sales guys closed a 1mm+ sale everyone in the office had to take a shot.

I used to drink a bottle of wine before going in during my first internship. It was audit and it was so, so boring.

Seems pretty culture-dependent (and I mean actual culture, not the word you Yankees use to describe work style). Here in London every single pub is rammed every lunchtime and from around 5:30 onwards every day. On a lazy Friday my team will often have a couple of pints over lunch.

Its one thing to have an occasional beer during lunch at a restuarant, or even pop open a bottle a champagne in the office during some special occasion, but to keep a bottle of vodka in your cabinet so you can swig away during a mundane day just seems a little ridiculous.

And regarding BBs, I've heard stories of prop trading desks opening champagne, in the office, after a really good day/month.

Worked in MO profile with a small HF...and on those chance fridays with top brass all gone and only we left to man the tower! we smoked weed, got high and still did the job!! but that goes without saying, in ops, life is easy and it takes 1/10th of your brain to get through the day smoothly...

At our BB floor we kept beer in fridge and consumed in evenings. Friday it started by 6PM.

Nobody watches Mad Men?

A number of NYC BB offices have beer fridays. I know Citi and at least some (if not all) of MS groups. Very possibly more.

Do you think a nation's drinking culture has anything to do with its development and progress? Level of corruption? I'm from Ukraine and when I go back, people drink all the time. Like, vodka with every meal. It's just a normal thing. It's also one of like the top 10 most corrupt countries in the world.

I drink whenever I feel like, as long as I don't go back all shit faced. As for keeping liquor at my desk, yes, I have a bottle of Auchentoshan.

CS NY has beer Fridays. One guy was drinking a beer on my superday while he interviewed me.

I always pack a fat lip of grizz and pound budweisers after 9pm

Over in PE land, every time we close a deal, the entire deal team smokes Cubans and drinks scotch to celebrate.

I have a bottle of scotch in my office...it's definitely good to have handy to celebrate the successes. We have drinks whenever we want (lunches, dinners, etc) as long as you get done want needs to be done.

I just had two beers in the office, but that's because I am alone on my floor and pissed. However, some senior bankers do keep a bottle or two of expensive scotch or whisky in their office.

We keep beers stocked in our fridges at my MBB firm. Pretty standard to grab a beer or two if you're working past 6PM.

No one drinks here, would definitely get fired on the spot.

Our office in Zurich has a bar with a draught beer dispenser...

I'll grab a few beers at lunch with the other analysts if things are slow. No one notices.

Occasionally on a Friday the partners here will send us out to pick up some beer and liquor and we will drink at the office, usually starting around 4 pm. Again, only when things are really slow.

Brokerage I interned at last summer got a keg for the office, and then booze cruised. That was retarded

usually save the drinking at work for later at night when I'm pissed off. that being said after a few scotchs I end up saying fuck it and leaving.

This thread really grew from what I had initially expected it to be. Glad to see many drink in moderation on the job. Airplane size alcohol bottles it is!

Add me to the couple pints over lunch/beer o'clock friday list. Most people I know have it similar as well, granted I don't know anybody working at a BB.

So this guy at my bank where I interned would order a normal dinner over seamless, and then change it to all beer over the phone. Worked pretty well, got a 6 pack out of it.

My cousin works in High Finance... he definitely "Rails" a few down during lunch. But then again, he's up there.

Drinking during your work hours is completely illegal and may get you fired.

When I worked at a UK BB in IBD I'd drink copiously on the job. Beers at lunch were routine, and sometimes on slow summer days I'd get wasted at lunch and say "fuck it" and go home.

I also kept several bottles of whiskey in my desk and would pour myself and coworkers some once it got late. When we were working weekends lots of people would have beers at their desk.

taking a shot can sometimes take the edge off

Personally, I never really understood this. Boozing in the office usually doesn't happen in the bigger shops from my experience. Personally, I'd rather down some coffee, put my head down and bang out the work...so I can actually enjoy myself at the bar OUTSIDE the office.

I'm with a CRE firm based in Orange County (interning). Never seen so many people drink booze at work in my life. This is all during special occasions or in-office events of course.

The Pre-MBAs in my office have a fridge stocke with beer and various bottles of liquor at all times. On Fridays we have an office beer/champagne cart that goes around and most of us are toasted by 4-5PM. This is consulting in a southern office though, so it may be a bit different culturally.

Tech company I was at last summer (extremely well-known company, ~1000 employees) always had some beers in the fridge. Was pretty drunk at work during an internal hackathon and during our summer carnival. Moreover, beers on Friday afternoon were very common.

Just about every company I did an on-site with for next summer either had a great beer collection in their fridges or openly advertised their Friday boozing during interviews.

How do you learn to not look drunk? I can go about my business and act normal drunk, but people who know me can tell.

It depends on the companies' policy. If you showed up drunk at work or was drinking during your work hours you might get fired. And you won't even be able to sue them because it in the companies' policy. I didn't mean to say illegal in general, but it is forbidden by the company and can result in discharge.