A nonentity named Eileen Zimmerman has a “Career Couch” column in yesterday's New
York Times advising people new to the corporate world how to behave at
“after-hour gatherings where alcohol is served.”
Zimmerman talks to "career experts," and so gets expertly careerist advice.
“Don’t be fooled,” warns one such person, whose paranoia and teetotaling ways have rocketed her to the head of "cooperative education and career services" at a place called Pace University. “You are always
being scrutinized by colleagues, so professionalism at all times is a must.”
bearing her name in Sioux City, Iowa, says that when it comes to drinking with
colleagues, ‘the risk is very high that something negative will come out of
it.’”
ripped at a company Christmas party that he grabbed a steak knife and cut the
CO2 tube on a beer keg and started sucking on it.
name, let me advise: Don’t do that.
not you. (And actually, Hitler isn't the only teetotaler who ever got a head. Here's a long list.)
silverware drawer, here’s a counterpoint: When it comes to some colleagues (and even
some bosses), drinking offers the only chance
of having something positive happen. Many times, alcohol has helped me and my
colleagues get real about a tense problem, share
personal feelings that made us more sympathetic to one another, communicate in
eureka moments: “I’m so glad you said that. I thought I was the only one who
felt that way.”
institution Manhattan Business Coaching told the Times’ writer, “If you can relax at professional events only by
having a drink, that could indicate a problem.”
your colleagues are always scrutinizing you, looking for any careless glimpse
you give of your soft underbelly so they can slice it open at the first opportunity.
to affect your career,” Zimmerman writes. “A colleague today may be your
manager six months from now and will likely recall any indecorous behavior.”
sober?
you possibly can without making an asshole out of yourself. Err on the side of “without
making an asshole out of yourself,” yes. But don’t forget to drink.
Boots backers, do you drink at company parties? If so, how much? If not, for the love of God, why not?