The August issue of Marie Claire magazine (U.S. edition) features the following career advice:
Q: Colleagues order wine at a business lunch. Should you?
A: Absolutely not. You're putting yourself in a weak position if you drink at any work function. -Linda Bell Blue, executive producer Entertainment Tonight and The Insider
Obviously, Linda Bell Blue has never enjoyed a Friday pub lunch or been to an office Christmas party in London. That aside, her advice reflects a cultural difference between the UK and the U.S. In the UK, people assume that you can decide for yourself whether or not you can handle a drink at lunch time without "putting yourself in a weak position". You're allowed to take responsibility for yourself without the company fearing that you'll drive home drunk and sue them. You don't need an encyclopedic HR manual to figure out what's okay and what's not okay.
I'm not saying that one should drink every day at lunch. I'm not saying that one should drink at all at lunch. I'm just saying that a small glass of Shiraz goes well with a steak sandwich.
