No One Goes to Happy Hour After Work Anymore. The Reason Why Is Grim.
RIP to the one thing that made work even semi-enjoyable.
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Do you still participate in after-work Happy Hour with co-workers?
- Thread starter AmericanDragon
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Well I work from home and the majority of my coworkers live in other states. So no
Another factor that figured into my situation was living in cities and the daily long commute. Hanging around after work to have a drink or two and then fight the traffic to get back home was not enticing. When we all still worked in the office every day, I was >>> likely to go have lunch with colleagues than stay around after work to have a drink. On top of that, by the time I was maybe 35 or so, I just didn't drink much so hanging out in a bar after work to, in essence, do nothing but chat with co-workers seemed a waste of time.
I’ve worked in almost every industry and region in the US and quite a few in Europe. I’d argue that over the last 20 years, the only place where I’ve seen a heavy “Happy Hour” culture was Chicago - and that was 20 years ago. My more rural clients still do weekly golf during the summer - and we go out drinking too - but I wouldn’t call it a happy hour (more like a long evening including dinner).
I worked with a crew in LA who also did Happy Hours occasionally, but that was due to the fact they were younger and one guy in particular took the effort to organize them.
Other clients of mine have just gotten older - so they don’t go out. Once you have kids it’s pretty much a non-starter.
NYC - people have gotten really healthy - so they all like to go to the gym after work.
I worked with a crew in LA who also did Happy Hours occasionally, but that was due to the fact they were younger and one guy in particular took the effort to organize them.
Other clients of mine have just gotten older - so they don’t go out. Once you have kids it’s pretty much a non-starter.
NYC - people have gotten really healthy - so they all like to go to the gym after work.
I don't want to be around any of these people unless I'm being paid to do so.
Also, the modern family just can't afford the money, nor the time, for a parent to go out for drinks after work on a regular basis. Even if it WERE a group I want to get out for drinks with (say, my actual friends).. good luck making that happen more than a few times a year. "We got sports" seems to be the mostly widely used phrase in the 2020s.
Same. Only time I ever wanted to spend with any of my co-workers outside of work was when I worked in college athletics. We’d spend long ass hours before n the job together and we shared a lot in common outside of sports, so real friendships that could exist outside of the workplace emerged.
But my current and previous two jobs were in the medical field with almost entirely middle aged to older women that I have near zero in common with, so I really have no desire to have anything to do with them outside of work.
Bad enough I have to hear them babble on about their kids all the time and whatever other nonsense I don’t care about when I’m at work. I can’t even begin to imagine the bullshit I’d have to listen to them talk about when they can bring the barrier of work down.
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I disagree. The modern family can absolutely afford to have one person go grab drinks at a happy hour once a week. You go for an hour, beers are like $3.50. Two brewskis and some tip and you're at $10. That's why they called it "Happy Hour"/
It was fun when I was single back in the 80s and didn't have to be anywhere afterwards.
Beers ain't $3.50 where I am, even for Happy Hour.
I do think some out there can pull it off. But I think youre seeing that number dwindle every passing decade. Raising kids is more involved than its ever been, households require two incomes instead of one, etc. Etc.
89-92- worked in NY state- happy hour Thursday, with co-workers, bar dominated by people from company, company softball league in summer, on Thursdays, co-ed, everyone went to bar after words. Good times, great stories.
Fridays all the time after work with friends.
92 on, work for large company, first few years nextdoor to a large mall with bars attached and everyone went to. Now, bar gone, no one goes. COVID and hybrid schedules means you never see everyone at once. I know more people in the 50-60 range who go to happy hours than under 40's. Talked to a manager of young people, if you don't organize it from 3-5pm, they're not coming or staying.
To add further, golf league is like happy hour. Play in two completely different groups on Wednesday and Thursdays. One work league. Lot of hanging around, talking, drinking.
Fridays all the time after work with friends.
92 on, work for large company, first few years nextdoor to a large mall with bars attached and everyone went to. Now, bar gone, no one goes. COVID and hybrid schedules means you never see everyone at once. I know more people in the 50-60 range who go to happy hours than under 40's. Talked to a manager of young people, if you don't organize it from 3-5pm, they're not coming or staying.
To add further, golf league is like happy hour. Play in two completely different groups on Wednesday and Thursdays. One work league. Lot of hanging around, talking, drinking.
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I work remote so no. I didn't when I worked i office either.
We would do the rare work lunch out and do potlucks n office. The free food is the only thing I miss about being n office.
I live near Nashville so even I was open to hybrid to get out of the house I'm not driving through that hell even one day a week. All the good paying finance jobs are downtown or south n Franklin and I'm east of Nashville so either way that's a crappy commute.
Unless I get laid off and can't find a single remote job to hire me within 1 to 3 months, I don't see myself working n office again. If I have to ill do it but onlu as a last resort.
We would do the rare work lunch out and do potlucks n office. The free food is the only thing I miss about being n office.
I live near Nashville so even I was open to hybrid to get out of the house I'm not driving through that hell even one day a week. All the good paying finance jobs are downtown or south n Franklin and I'm east of Nashville so either way that's a crappy commute.
Unless I get laid off and can't find a single remote job to hire me within 1 to 3 months, I don't see myself working n office again. If I have to ill do it but onlu as a last resort.
This brings up a debate I have with my wife. She believes I am the worst person on the planet because I organize a virtual happy hour for people who report to me once a month on a Friday afternoon. She tells me no one wants to be there. Everyone tells me they like it. Am I the asshole?
I legit miss real happy hour though. I'd rather work in an office.
I legit miss real happy hour though. I'd rather work in an office.
I miss after work happy hours so much. When I worked at Penn (2002 - 2008) and Oregon (2008 - 2016) we had some of the best happy hours. Even spouses and significant others would join sometimes. But, we also really enjoyed working with one another and had a great office and family culture, so it came natural that people wanted to go. I've mentioned it a couple times at my current gig, but I'm the boss, so don't want it to feel forced.
I'm a day drinker at heart. Love a couple garage beers on the weekend after mowing the lawn or watching a game and people popping in and out. Really miss going out for drinks and being home by 8:00pm.
I'm a day drinker at heart. Love a couple garage beers on the weekend after mowing the lawn or watching a game and people popping in and out. Really miss going out for drinks and being home by 8:00pm.
So like a zoom meeting with the boss on a Friday afternoon? You are a sadist, if that is the case.
Never did for a variety of reasons:
1. Introverted weed smoker who hates being around loud ass drunk people. Bars weren’t my thing even at 21. Overpriced and too loud. Would rather smoke a bowl at home by myself than pay $8 for a beer to essentially extend the work day to hang out with people I mostly pretend to like.
I keep my personal and professional lives very separate. I don’t interact with coworkers outside of work and refuse to be “friends” with coworkers on social media. You ain’t snitching on me for something I posted while baked like a cake.
2. Drinking with colleagues just seems like an HR case waiting to happen in 2025. Steer clear there.
3. Work remote, colleagues spread out nationwide. Closest “office” is 120 miles from me and I don’t like any of those people enough to drive 240 miles roundtrip to socialize.
1. Introverted weed smoker who hates being around loud ass drunk people. Bars weren’t my thing even at 21. Overpriced and too loud. Would rather smoke a bowl at home by myself than pay $8 for a beer to essentially extend the work day to hang out with people I mostly pretend to like.
I keep my personal and professional lives very separate. I don’t interact with coworkers outside of work and refuse to be “friends” with coworkers on social media. You ain’t snitching on me for something I posted while baked like a cake.
2. Drinking with colleagues just seems like an HR case waiting to happen in 2025. Steer clear there.
3. Work remote, colleagues spread out nationwide. Closest “office” is 120 miles from me and I don’t like any of those people enough to drive 240 miles roundtrip to socialize.
One problem with working remotely is that teams have less of a chance to just talk like humans and socialize. It is a real problem, but to be fair, I schedule like 2 hours before actual official end of day and pretty clearly people can cut out an hour early after.
Yeah, your wife is right. You're the asshole, lol.
If its during work hours, youre probably OK. But id also throw in a round or two.
No one wants to hang out with their boss even at 3pm on a Friday, unless its really worth their time. And you can never trust them to tell you the truth.
No one wants to hang out with their boss even at 3pm on a Friday, unless its really worth their time. And you can never trust them to tell you the truth.
Your employees hate the stupid zoom "happy" hour. No one wants to go and you're an asshole for even contemplating it. Your wife is right.
I haven't had a boss for about fifteen years. Idiotic nonsense like this makes me relish every day of not having some nitwit think he or she knows better how to organize my day than I do.
I had a boss once (and he wasn't even that bad) try and tell us that because we didn't have to commute into the office because of COVID, we should sign-in early to get more work done. All because we were getting "time back" by not having to commute for an hour or so a day. I had to explain to him in front of everyone that this is 100% against labor law, and that "commute" times aren't the company's time, its the workers.
Middle managers and execs in general are just the worst. I really cant wait to be done with the corporate rat race, and all the BS that comes with it. Too bad that once youre retired, then you're old and cant enjoy it.
I am an exec. My team loves me and loves it when I organize events for us to get together and drink. In fact, they're always waiting for me to organize these things as I've never received an invite from one of theirs... so clearly they want me to set it up.
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It's been a while, but when I carpooled for a couple of years, on Fridays we'd pack six in a cooler for the drive home.
I would assume some, if not most (perhaps even all), of those employees are lying to you and only doing it to try to get or stay in the good graces of their manager.
Well, if they are good employees, they should act like they enjoy it.
Im actually kidding -- at least partially. Literally have a team that likes each other and they usually do them themselves. Sometimes I drop in. In truth, I believe very strongly in employees having autonomy to make correct decisions.
But you and your crew don’t get together and drink. You zoom and have uncomfortable forced conversation, I’d wager.
I’m the boss and the only male - so I only invite the hot 20 somethings.
Never participated in this except at multi- day overnight trainings. And the Chicago comments were accurate then. Those people lived for happy hour.
Used to have to go on business trips with a gaggle of coworkers. When the day was done, and that evolved into drinks afterwards, I quickly learned to nurse the drinks and keep my mouth shut, other than the most innocuous small talk I could think up.
Intel is gathered at those things, and it rarely has/had a good outcome. Just my two cents. Not mention the inevitable and toxic/career threatening office hookup.
Intel is gathered at those things, and it rarely has/had a good outcome. Just my two cents. Not mention the inevitable and toxic/career threatening office hookup.
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The time is the bigger issue than the money. Who wants to leave their wife to haul kids to sports while they’re out drinking?
It’s an interesting topic for sure.
Do people still meet up for midweek drinks in general? That seems to have died off post-COVID. I can't remember the last time I met up with a group of friends at a bar on a weeknight.
The answer is probably that people in their 20s and early 30s go out like they always have and I'm just older and crustier than P. Diddly's nipples.
The answer is probably that people in their 20s and early 30s go out like they always have and I'm just older and crustier than P. Diddly's nipples.
I also think we're all 5 years older since covid. I was on the natural progression to start dialing it back. Plus the younger generations are really not taking to Alcohol and bars like we did. Its too costly to be a functioning alcoholic and they have much more accessibility to weed than we did.
I'm a mostly retired Civil Engineer, and worked for a couple of larger firms where we would have good Happy Hours. You could mingle with the women in Accounting, and make contacts with coworkers you didn't ordinarily interact with. Back then, it was somewhat traffic related too. You could have a couple of drinks and traffic would die down around 7. It was mostly for people without kids to get home to.
Each generation seems to be drinking a little less too, which is a good thing. I know the generation before me went at it pretty hard. Some even had bottles at their desk for after 5 late working nights, and we worked a lot of late nights and weekends. I remember the owner being pissed when the City passed an ordinance where he could no longer smoke in the office at the company he owned. But that's another subject.
Each generation seems to be drinking a little less too, which is a good thing. I know the generation before me went at it pretty hard. Some even had bottles at their desk for after 5 late working nights, and we worked a lot of late nights and weekends. I remember the owner being pissed when the City passed an ordinance where he could no longer smoke in the office at the company he owned. But that's another subject.
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