Beer and wine permitted at work, in Belgium
#1
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2003
Location: Belgium
Posts: 247
Beer and wine permitted at work, in Belgium
I was shocked to see beer and wine being served in the cafeteria of a Belgian workplace.
It's quite impressive that the Belgians (rightly) treat their employees as adults.
To contrast this with a U.S. company, in the past I've had wine shipped to my U.S. workplace address, and been ordered to cease the shipments. I had no intent of drinking at work; it was just a convenience since the UPS drivers could not leave alcohol on a doorstep. So even closed containers are not tolerated.
I'm told it's a French custom to drink wine at lunch, and that the Belgian company has a French HQ. So I'm just wondering if this is a corner case because the company has French influence, or is it typical for Belgians to be permitted to drink on their lunch hour? And what about the rest of western Europe?
It's quite impressive that the Belgians (rightly) treat their employees as adults.
To contrast this with a U.S. company, in the past I've had wine shipped to my U.S. workplace address, and been ordered to cease the shipments. I had no intent of drinking at work; it was just a convenience since the UPS drivers could not leave alcohol on a doorstep. So even closed containers are not tolerated.
I'm told it's a French custom to drink wine at lunch, and that the Belgian company has a French HQ. So I'm just wondering if this is a corner case because the company has French influence, or is it typical for Belgians to be permitted to drink on their lunch hour? And what about the rest of western Europe?
#2
Re: Beer and wine permitted at work, in Belgium
Maybe you should just be relaxed by this rule, every country has different customs. If you went out of the office then you could still easily go to a bar and have drink. So what is the difference? Most European countries do not have the same, how can we put this, fear about alcohol as the Americans or British.
#3
Re: Beer and wine permitted at work, in Belgium
I was shocked to see beer and wine being served in the cafeteria of a Belgian workplace.
It's quite impressive that the Belgians (rightly) treat their employees as adults.
To contrast this with a U.S. company, in the past I've had wine shipped to my U.S. workplace address, and been ordered to cease the shipments. I had no intent of drinking at work; it was just a convenience since the UPS drivers could not leave alcohol on a doorstep. So even closed containers are not tolerated.
I'm told it's a French custom to drink wine at lunch, and that the Belgian company has a French HQ. So I'm just wondering if this is a corner case because the company has French influence, or is it typical for Belgians to be permitted to drink on their lunch hour? And what about the rest of western Europe?
It's quite impressive that the Belgians (rightly) treat their employees as adults.
To contrast this with a U.S. company, in the past I've had wine shipped to my U.S. workplace address, and been ordered to cease the shipments. I had no intent of drinking at work; it was just a convenience since the UPS drivers could not leave alcohol on a doorstep. So even closed containers are not tolerated.
I'm told it's a French custom to drink wine at lunch, and that the Belgian company has a French HQ. So I'm just wondering if this is a corner case because the company has French influence, or is it typical for Belgians to be permitted to drink on their lunch hour? And what about the rest of western Europe?
Hi - I work in Leuven, Belgium, and yes, our staff canteen has a beer keg (stella artois of course) and a few bottles of red and white wine for people to take a drink with their lunch if they wish - although it is not often you see people drinking.
It is no problem to go out at lunchtime either and have a couple of glasses (or a bottle) of wine with lunch, but it is respected and people dont abuse it.
My own culture has changed, dining out at lunch and having the odd tipple - my waistline notices it
#4
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Joined: Jan 2008
Location: Was Naples, now Surrey.
Posts: 528
Re: Beer and wine permitted at work, in Belgium
In Italy they serve beer and wine in the work canteen too.