Drinking at Lunchtime Break should it be Allowed
My first response was "Why not, they are on a break, and so long as nobody gets rolling drunk, where's the harm?" Then I began to think of just what jobs these workers might be employed in doing. And slowly, but surely, I changed my mind to an emphatic "NO! workers most definitely should not be allowed to drink alcohol in their lunchtime break.
I remembered my husband, as a young mechanic, telling me it was a firing offence to drink during the day while working in a garage. Even a glass of wine or a beer can have some effect on judgement and precision. A mechanic has the lives of car-owners and their families in his or her hands. He or she has the duty to be totally alert and working to maximum capability. So, no wonder the mechanics did not drink alcohol in their lunchtime break.
Years down the line, when I worked as an employment adviser, my colleagues and I used to go for a beer on Friday lunchtimes. Again, that husband stepped up to the mic and pointed out something vital and sensible. The public with whom I worked were unemployed, had little money, maybe could not afford a beer. How did they feel when I was talking to them, breathing beer fumes? Even a small amount of alcohol, despite mints etc., leaves its telltale aroma. He was right, so I stopped having that Friday lunchtime drink.
Applying this idea of lunchtime alcohol to many other professions, I kept coming up with "No, don't drink alcohol in your lunch break." If you work in a call center, you need all your wits about you. If you are a teacher or child-carer, you owe it to the children to be as sharp and bright as possible. If you work in any area of customer service, manufacturing, IT, oh...anything....then you need to be able to deliver the goods to the highest level of your abilities.
There is something about drinking alcohol at lunchtime that dulls the senses and lowers the tolerance levels. Maybe it is the "rushed" factor, maybe it is just that drinking in the daytime seems to have a more potent effect than a quick beer or whatever, after work. All I know is, a lunchtime glass of my favorite tipple makes me want to sleep, which is no way to do a good job in any line of work.
Having said that, there is the corporate entertaining scenario, where it is acceptable to wine and dine clients at long, languorous, liquor- filled lunches. Everybody involved in these events must have comfortable couches in their respective offices - they are going to need them. Yet, in many years in an executive role in the public sector, I have enjoyed plenty of corporate lunches where no alcohol was served. Wheels were oiled and decisions made, all without the need for lunchtime alcoholic refreshment.
So, having tried to be fair and honest when considering this question, I would stick with that emphatic "No, workers should not be allowed to drink alcohol during their lunchtime break." Wait till after work, remember how Ali McBeal and company used to have so much fun when the working day was over? There is nothing wrong with a drink in comfortable surroundings, in the company of good friends and colleagues. And there is no need to rush back to work, your time is your own, the pleasure is all yours. Cheers.
