Hosting A Holiday Party At A Brewery

[Goodient]

My company has about 55 people in the local office where I work, and 10-15 of them are Mormon. Our leadership team was having a discussion yesterday about where to host our holiday party, and at that point we had a reservation at a party room in a local brewery that makes beer and root beer.

 

A few days ago our boss talked to one LDS employee who said it would be fine to host the holiday party at a brewery, but that a few other LDS employees *might* feel uncomfortable, he decided to cancel the reservation. Would this be a relevant concern for the LDS employees at our company, or are we overreacting by changing our plans like this? If it is an issue, I was also curious what the exact issue is (giving money to rent a space from a comapny that produces alcohol, being around too much alcohol at one time, being around other people who might be drinking alcohol, etc.). 

 

Also, if this kind of thing is an issue, can we expect LDS employees to come forward and say something, or do we always need to be careful about how and where we host events?

 

Thanks for your help!

Dave

[Storm Rider]

Hello Dave,

 

I am certain that some LDS people would feel uncomfortable in a desire to avoid even the appearance of evil.  Others would not have a problem.  I personally tend to be rather lenient about such things and would not be bothered by it.  

 

Whether someone else drinks alcohol, coffee, or tea is irrelevant to me.  My aunt drinks tea and always has.  We keep a good quality Earl Grey tea on hand for her when she visits so that he feels welcome and at home.  Extended family drinks wine and when we know they are coming we always buy a bottle or two of wine for them.  I expect that most LDS would not support such actions, but this is how we have chosen to treat our extended family members.  

 

Our personal commitment to the Word of Wisdom is personal; it is not righteous and has nothing to do with righteousness and everything to do with obedience.  Our extended family is not LDS and have no need to obey.  

 

I understand both sides, but if it was me and some of our company would prefer to drink socially, I am serving alcohol for them and an excellent punch/drink for everyone else.  

[thesometimesaint]

My company has about 55 people in the local office where I work, and 10-15 of them are Mormon. Our leadership team was having a discussion yesterday about where to host our holiday party, and at that point we had a reservation at a party room in a local brewery that makes beer and root beer.

 

A few days ago our boss talked to one LDS employee who said it would be fine to host the holiday party at a brewery, but that a few other LDS employees *might* feel uncomfortable, he decided to cancel the reservation. Would this be a relevant concern for the LDS employees at our company, or are we overreacting by changing our plans like this? If it is an issue, I was also curious what the exact issue is (giving money to rent a space from a comapny that produces alcohol, being around too much alcohol at one time, being around other people who might be drinking alcohol, etc.). 

 

Also, if this kind of thing is an issue, can we expect LDS employees to come forward and say something, or do we always need to be careful about how and where we host events?

 

Thanks for your help!

Dave

 

Welcome to the Glass Menagerie.

 

Some would, some wouldn't take offense. Where I live there are plenty of microbreweries that also have quality restaurants attached, and most quality restaurants serve beers/wines, and few even serve hard alcohol. I have no objections to beers/wines being available as long as soft drinks are also available. I personally draw the line at hard alcohol bars.

[Generational]

Taking religion out of it, it's just good business practice to ease away from the obvious presence of alcohol. Imagine the court fiasco if even one employee committed dui manslaughter driving home from the party! What manager in his/her right mind would openly sanction alcohol consumption to employees. Employment is an investment in a sound mind and strong body. Alcohol destroys both. Its like harnessing your racehorse to a plow over the weekends...duh

[MorningStar]

If it serves food, I don't see how it's different from many restaurants that have bars.

[Guest]

Company parties should never be in places that serve alcohol. If someone drinks too much and drives, gets into an accident...the company could be at risk. This is not a Mormon thing, just common sense.

[Calm]

Surely if the employers made it clear that they expected everyone to drink responsibly and they would be held responsible if they allowed themselves to get drunk, it wouldn't be a problem.

 

I haven't gone to too many parties that served alcohol and those were usually just a glass of wine with dinner.

 

Would it be a problem to simply send out a survey of employees and ask if they would feel comfortable or not?

 

You could even make it a blind one by just handing out a sheet with the question and a yes or no box to check so handwriting couldn't be tracked and then a box for them to submit them in.

 

I think most discomfort, if there is any, would come from just not being sure how to act or feeling out of place in a party where most others are drinking.

 

Most LDS I know realize that drinking alcohol isn't a sin for those who haven't covenanted to not drink it and who do so responsibly (not being responsible and getting drunk might be seen as sinful because of the potential harm to oneself and others) and while some may see companies who make money off of people drinking as potentially immoral because of the high presence of alcohol in violent acts or accidents, if the party is one where the group drinks responsibly, I think most would not see it as a moral issue.

 

Now if members of the party are prone to get drunk and act well, like idiots or aggressively, this would make many LDS very uncomfortable, but just light social drinking where at most people just become more talkative…I think most adult LDS are able to adapt and enjoy it as a social event.

 

Smoking would be different because they couldn't avoid the smoke itself and it might even make them ill if they aren't used to it (it does me).  I am clueless as to how many states allow smoking still in restaurants.

Edited October 8, 2014 by calmoriah

[saemo]

My company has about 55 people in the local office where I work, and 10-15 of them are Mormon. Our leadership team was having a discussion yesterday about where to host our holiday party, and at that point we had a reservation at a party room in a local brewery that makes beer and root beer.

 

A few days ago our boss talked to one LDS employee who said it would be fine to host the holiday party at a brewery, but that a few other LDS employees *might* feel uncomfortable, he decided to cancel the reservation. Would this be a relevant concern for the LDS employees at our company, or are we overreacting by changing our plans like this? If it is an issue, I was also curious what the exact issue is (giving money to rent a space from a comapny that produces alcohol, being around too much alcohol at one time, being around other people who might be drinking alcohol, etc.). 

 

Also, if this kind of thing is an issue, can we expect LDS employees to come forward and say something, or do we always need to be careful about how and where we host events?

 

Thanks for your help!

Dave

Depends on the brewery. I went to one once where the entire upper floor of the brewery was reserved for a company party. There wasn't a mingling with the other patrons. The food was good, and it was a nice time. There were LDS and non LDS there, and nothing seemed out of whack for anyone.

But, FWIW...I've seen alcohol handled three ways at company/sponsored events:

1) Open bar. Everything free for a certain amount of time, and like an all you can eat buffet, some or most people don't control how much they consume. ID-ing is done once a wristband given to cover all follow-up visits to the bar. This is the most expensive for the company/sponsor.

2) A company/event sponsor pays for two or three drinks, and that may be limited to beer and wine (no cocktails). Any additional alcoholic beverages are paid for by the person consuming them. This removes liability from the company for those who don't control how much they drink, as the company only provided two or three drinks. The common thing is to give people wristbands with drink tabs that tear off, and are given to the bartender. The wristband is given to a person after ID-ing, so no alcohol is served to underage. No wristband, no alcohol. People will play the system, and ask non-drinkers to get a wristband, and give their drink tabs away to the drinkers. Budgeting for how many drinks per person invited is useful for the company, and alcohol costs can be controlled by number of free drinks provided and what will be covered. ie, a limited selection of beer and wine (cheaper) and no cocktails for the free drinks.

3 All alcoholic beverages are purchased by the person consuming them. (No freebies.) The bartender does the ID-ing. The company doesn't budget for alcoholic drinks, and the non-drinkers don't feel like they're owed something of equal monetary value, because they don't drink.

Soft drinks are always free…come with dinner.

[The Nehor]

Taking religion out of it, it's just good business practice to ease away from the obvious presence of alcohol. Imagine the court fiasco if even one employee committed dui manslaughter driving home from the party! What manager in his/her right mind would openly sanction alcohol consumption to employees. Employment is an investment in a sound mind and strong body. Alcohol destroys both. Its like harnessing your racehorse to a plow over the weekends...duh

 

My company solved this. We have alcohol at our parties but have a breathalyzer test before you leave. If you fail we call you a cab. Admittedly we make breathalyzers so this option may not be available to everyone.

[Yirgacheffe]

Company parties should never be in places that serve alcohol. If someone drinks too much and drives, gets into an accident...the company could be at risk. This is not a Mormon thing, just common sense.

Pretty much limits the venue to fancy fast food places or catered at work.

[Buzzard]

A ROOT BEER brewery? Count me in!

[Rain]

I'm another one that says it depends on the atmosphere. DH as well.

His small company used to have lunches at a brewery. He found the place was just a restaurant that served their own beer.

He knows of other places though where the object was just to go drink. That party wouldn't be high on our list.

One other thing. It might be wise to find out if the rootbeer is hard or not. Some lds may not be aware that some rootbeer has alcohol.

Edited October 10, 2014 by Rain

[Generational]

To clarify: The psychological impact of having a party at an establishment named for the alcohol (ie; brewery, winery, pub, bar etc.) gives the individuals' brain a fair amount of permission to allow for more acceptance of the alcohol without a noticeable change in personal moral code. In other words it is a form of subliminal messaging that allows the conscious mind to reject the alcohol, while forcing the mind to accept the idea of alcohol.

While it can be argued that a truly devoted religious follower would never allow that to overcome their faith, I am not talking about religion as I have before stated. Which is why I made the blanket statement that no company should ever hold a party in a brewery. It can and should be argued in court that the company gave subliminal acceptance to each participant to partake generously.

Nehor, you stated rightly whan you said that your company solved the liability issue at least, by testing their employees out the door. They effectively stated (quite consciously) that overindulgence was frowned upon. However, the mere presence of "brewery" in the name still worked subconsciously on each employee.

Great article on subliminal advertising here: http://www.redicecreations.com/specialreports/brainwash.html

[Yirgacheffe]

To clarify: The psychological impact of having a party at an establishment named for the alcohol (ie; brewery, winery, pub, bar etc.) gives the individuals' brain a fair amount of permission to allow for more acceptance of the alcohol without a noticeable change in personal moral code. In other words it is a form of subliminal messaging that allows the conscious mind to reject the alcohol, while forcing the mind to accept the idea of alcohol.

While it can be argued that a truly devoted religious follower would never allow that to overcome their faith, I am not talking about religion as I have before stated. Which is why I made the blanket statement that no company should ever hold a party in a brewery. It can and should be argued in court that the company gave subliminal acceptance to each participant to partake generously.

Nehor, you stated rightly whan you said that your company solved the liability issue at least, by testing their employees out the door. They effectively stated (quite consciously) that overindulgence was frowned upon. However, the mere presence of "brewery" in the name still worked subconsciously on each employee.

Great article on subliminal advertising here: http://www.redicecreations.com/specialreports/brainwash.html

The same could be said of any signage that advertises alcohol or menu's specific to alcoholic beverages like a wine list or table tents.

[Generational]

Yirgacheffe,

No, it really couldn't. There is a distinctive difference.

[Yirgacheffe]

Yirgacheffe,

No, it really couldn't. There is a distinctive difference.

Both are forms of up front advertising, there is no difference and neither is subliminal.

[Jeanne]

If you are a grownup, you can handle a little brew with the root.  For heavens sakes..nobody is going to have you learn the recipe of the beer and pour it down your throat.  I feel this is a good season to support your local businesses. 

[rpn]

If I were a company I would absolutely NOT choose a brewery.   The liability if any participant had an accident afterward given the companies apparent endorsement of drinking would be more than I would want to chew.

 

I think most LDS members would a attend a company party, wherever it was held, since that is expected.   It might well be the first time some or all of them have ever been in a brewery.   Most would probably feel uncomfortable and not stay long.   But your LDS employees are not the only employees you have.  Don't make your decision on their feelings alone.

[Yirgacheffe]

If I were a company I would absolutely NOT choose a brewery.   The liability if any participant had an accident afterward given the companies apparent endorsement of drinking would be more than I would want to chew.

 

I think most LDS members would a attend a company party, wherever it was held, since that is expected.   It might well be the first time some or all of them have ever been in a brewery.   Most would probably feel uncomfortable and not stay long.   But your LDS employees are not the only employees you have.  Don't make your decision on their feelings alone.

So what do you do hold the company Christmas party a a fast food place where no alcohol is served.  Big Macs all round, so festive.

[strappinglad]

Here's a thought. How about the company provide some nice food baskets to the staff before the holidays and announce that it will donate ,say, $50 for each employee to the local food bank or soup kitchen so that folks who actually need a good meal can get one. Nah, that puts too much of the Christ back in Christmas and would deplete employee moral.

[Garden Girl]

During my inactive years, I did not keep the WoW and both drank and smoked... those were also the years that I attended many a business meeting with my husband... the first night's activity was always a cocktail party followed by dinner which included the serving of wine with dinner at the tables.  There were numerous LDS attending these meetings and activities...  none of the LDS ever freaked out or acted put off by the presence of alcohol or smoking... at the cocktail hour they simply ordered a glass of 7-Up, etc., and then circulated and enjoyed meeting and talking with their business associates from the various states and companies.  (Our meetings were held in various states, and had reps from nine western states and two Western providences of Canada).  Meetings/activities were held in the hotel so no one had to drive anywhere.   During dinner we all sat at tables of eight, with the LDS mixed in with everyone else.  If they didn't want wine or coffee they simply turned their glass and cup over so the servers knew not to serve them.  They didn't make a big deal out of it, and were close friends with many who were not LDS...

 

GG