Good for people who enjoy it but I do not.

Alcohol is a drug which has very bad effects on my system and I try to avoid it when possible.

If this is the condition for serious business for someone they will have to do business somewhere else.

You will have to do business elsewhere.

I don't mean that entirely, but understand the position from which you negotiate. I'm sure someone who abstains can do well, but I will say that many business relationships are formed from having some drinks and feeling friendly/chatting/etc.

1. I managed to do business without taking drugs as long as I can think.

2. I am used to people coming to me for advice and my services. I never needed to advertise etc. so THEY will have to do business else where just as I said.

3. Just because in your opinion (data please) "many business relationships are formed from having some drinks" does not lead to "ALL business relationships are formed from having some drinks". This is a flaw in your logic.

4. If "feeling friendly/chatting/etc." is the reason for you to take drugs then I advice you to do therapy or something else to learn to be friendly, chatty etc. without the need to take drugs. If you need drugs to achieve this all the time this is a clear indicator that you have serious issues.

I don't doubt 1 and 2, 3 is putting words in my mouth, and 4 may be valid but misses the point. The very idea that "drinking lowers inhibitions" is the point of the article: That the inherent social guards and barriers begin to lower when people feel others in the room are willing to drink and bond with them.

I didn't say it was a requirement, but you have an air of hubris about you regarding your abstinence, and it's worth pointing out that many people drink with respect to their health and well being, and that it is indeed a part of many business relationships. It is also NOT a part of many.

It depends on your role entirely. Management level or engineer you don't need to be a drinker only on certain social company events. If you are on the Sales team you likely need to be in order to close deals and be part of the team. However I am curious if that is changing within the new Covid ERA. Hopefully this is vestiges of the past and we will move past an alcohol based era. It can be a catalyst for problems in the workplace. To be fair it does have some positive attributes as well. edit: typos

There are markets where a B2B sales representative who does not drink would be utterly ineffective as many potential customers won't even listen to their pitches without an alcohol-filled setting, and would not take them seriously if they would organize such a setting but don't participate themselves. The same applies for existing customers, they would refuse meetings/pitches/deals if they don't "have contact" with the assigned representative, so being a non-drinker makes someone unemployable in such roles.

If people need to be on drugs to consider your product, maybe it's time to take a long hard look at what it is you're selling?

It's not about markets for some niche products, it's about geographical markets where you can't negotiate a wholesale distribution deal for a line of shampoo or a refrigerator brand if you're not willing to drink with your partners.

> it's about geographical markets

In most states in the US business transactions negotiated in the presence of alcohol (any alcohol) renders a contract void due to legally provable diminished capacity. It sounds like you are taking unnecessary risks without approval from your corporate legal advisors.

I do not need a sales department because my services and products speak for themselves and people want to have them. They come because of reputation and part of this is being sober, punctual, efficient and professional.

I am sad for you when you need to do this and I am happy for myself not to be in this position where one would force me to take drugs to do my job.

Caffeine and sugar are drugs with similar strength to alcohol in different mental state directions. You come off as judgmental and full of yourself with that kind of rhetoric. If this is how you talk to partners and customers, you must have really amazing products and services.

While its true that sugar is more addictive than cocaine neither sugar nor caffeine induce people to commit sexual assault or impair the ability to operate machines. Could you produce a single instance where somebody was arrested for DUI where the intoxicant was sugar or caffeine?

Perhaps I am judgemental too, but your argument is hilariously absurd and decidedly without evidence.

That is a geopolitical subcultural anomoly. Where I live, over the course of my corporate career, virtually nobody has communal drinks after work. There is a combination of driving commute and family obligations that eliminates that possiblity.

It's called the Netherlands

Nice to hear that - I was about to rep Germany as well ;).

Though it's surprising how badly this can go even in close countries such as Switzerland.

I once left feedback such as "this 3h on how to use Powerpoint should only be 30min. It doesn't have a lot of content, and the teacher clearly isn't interested" on a company course (where it was explicitly requested).

I was summarily called into an HR meeting to explain that such direct language was not appropriate.

I did not make it much longer at that company.

As a Belgian I can confirm. The Dutch are considered very blunt. We Flemisch people are more subtle and diplomatic. But in a working environment, it's actually pretty good to just be brutally honest about stuff, even when you step on other peoples toes.

If an important aspect of real work happens outside of work, this is bad, no? (for employees)