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Re:A note to our employees by Spooky23 on Thursday November 08, 2018 @04:21PM (#18410154)
The positive aspect of banning alcohol consumption is that it's an objective measure. If somebody is a drunken lout pawing his employees, save the victim more exposure by drumming him out for the alcohol.

With the possible exception of salespeople entertaining clients, there's no need to drink on duty, and if you do, there is a consequence.

Re:A note to our employees by eridius on Thursday November 08, 2018 @04:46PM (#18410344)
You don't need to ban alcohol in order to punish someone for being visibly drunken or pawing at employees.
Re:A note to our employees by Spooky23 on Thursday November 08, 2018 @05:35PM (#18410689)
If you allow drinking at work, what BAC is ok?

What exactly is the justification for endorsing drinking at work?

Re:A note to our employees by SeanAppleby on Thursday November 08, 2018 @07:59PM (#18411560)
Not endorsing, but allowing is aimed at letting people feel like they aren't being handled like children by their employer, and, as alcohol is a very common component of social interaction in western culture, is meant to make it easier for workers to socialize and make friends with their colleagues. I'd imagine the reason for wanting that is something like that employees who are more connected with each other are more likely:

a) to want to stay at the company with their friends, less turnover

b) to be happier at work which is good for performance, recruiting, and makes them less likely to feel the need to rush out of the office whenever they can.

c) to efficiently organize themselves and find the right people to get things done if they know each other well

d) to be transparent to each other and reduce friction in communications

You might not ever have some beer or wine when you socialize with people, but for a huge number of people that's viewed as an integral part of socializing.

Re:A note to our employees by piptastic on Thursday November 08, 2018 @05:57PM (#18410834)
The amount of alcohol you consume doesn't really matter.

It's the behavior that is punishable regardless of whether you were drinking or not.

Re:A note to our employees by Spooky23 on Thursday November 08, 2018 @08:45PM (#18411783)
So when your high functioning alcoholic blows a .22 after taking out a telephone pole and hurting another driver, what do you do then?

What portion of responsibility will the victims attorney pin on you?

Re:A note to our employees by kjeetgill on Thursday November 08, 2018 @10:00PM (#18412051)
Zero. Don't drink and drive; It's the drinkers responsibility. Do you blame the liquor store? The state liquor laws?
Re:A note to our employees by Spooky23 on Thursday November 08, 2018 @11:24PM (#18412313)
Nope. Serving alcohol or providing a place to drink can make you liable.

That’s why you’re usually advised to get a liability policy for weddings and large parties.

Re:A note to our employees by afandian on Thursday November 08, 2018 @06:37PM (#18411036)
Sleep deprivation affects cognitive ability. It affects everyone differently. It is sometimes involuntary, sometimes voluntary.

That said, how many hours' sleep the night before a day's work is acceptable?

Re:A note to our employees by dragonwriter on Thursday November 08, 2018 @06:55PM (#18411157)
> If you allow drinking at work, what BAC is ok?

Rules don't have to be written around BAC, they can be written around behavior or impairment.

(In fact, while they tend to also have a BAC cutoff for ease of proof, criminal drunk driving laws also are written around impairment, and corporate policy doesn't even have to worry about proof issues in at-will jurisdictions, because there is no proof requirement.)

Re:A note to our employees by sjg007 on Thursday November 08, 2018 @07:26PM (#18411377)
Marijuana is now legal in California too. What standards apply there?
Re:A note to our employees by thenanyu on Thursday November 08, 2018 @08:19PM (#18411662)
Don't be stoned out of your mind
Re:A note to our employees by DoofusOfDeath on Thursday November 08, 2018 @09:45PM (#18412009)
> Marijuana is now legal in California too.

No, it's still against federal law, which covers California.

Re:A note to our employees by Benjammer on Thursday November 08, 2018 @04:43PM (#18410317)
I don't think the parent comment is at all disagreeing with the existence of any utility in "banning alcohol" here.

The gist of what the parent comment is saying, is that, if you have a policy in place to "compensate" for a certain "negative trait," what you are actually doing is inviting _more_ of that trait, because you are signaling that your company will put effort in to help deal with that, which means that someone who needs help monitoring their alcohol consumption would be _more likely_ to work for you, thus accomplishing essentially the opposite of what you wanted.

Mature adults who do _not_ need someone else to monitor their alcohol consumption are far more likely to inherently present with the responsible, adult behaviors that you desire. But, a mature adult who can already sufficiently moderate their own alcohol consumption is going to be _less likely_ to want to work at a place where said consumption is heavily, outwardly regulated/enforced, because why would they want to be constantly told something that they have already fully incorporated into their mature, adult habits and personality?

Re:A note to our employees by Spooky23 on Thursday November 08, 2018 @08:36PM (#18411737)
Mature adults also don’t sexually harass their colleagues.

My priority is to have swift, clear consequences for harassment. If you are drinking at work and in your buzz behave inappropriately, I want you walked out of the building for the alcohol and spare the victim from the more harm.

You don’t need to infantalize folks. It’s really simple: if you want to go get drinks, there’s a bar down the road.

Re:A note to our employees by mcguire on Thursday November 08, 2018 @06:43PM (#18411075)
"Mature adults who do _not_ need someone else to monitor their alcohol consumption are far more likely to inherently present with the responsible, adult behaviors that you desire."

That doesn't seem to describe Google's employees. (Or anyone under the age of 30, for that matter, says the little tiny cynic who lives on my shoulder.)

Re:A note to our employees by briandear on Thursday November 08, 2018 @08:32PM (#18411716)
Can we ban nerf guns and adult slides? Good grief, much of Silicon Valley feels like a kindergarten.
Re:A note to our employees by leetcrew on Thursday November 08, 2018 @08:54PM (#18411818)
why does it have to be a ban? isn't it satisfying enough just to look down at your inferiors and bask in how mature you are?