I’ve Kept This Part Of My Life Secret From Co-Workers. Their Casual Jokes Are A Big Reason Why

“Whenever I hear talk like this... I always feel a little embarrassed for the person speaking.”

I work a corporate job in the NYC area, which is to say that I work in a very alcohol-centric industry in a very alcohol-centric city.

Some of my daily responsibilities include building and maintaining strong working relationships with brokers and clients, negotiating difficult terms in various markets and entertaining clients to show our appreciation for their business.

It’s the first role I’d ever had with a distinct schmoozing aspect to it, and in most industries in corporate America, alcohol is seen as one of the ways business is done.

This is complicated for me, since I got sober right before I started my job. While I was spending my days trying to navigate a new job in a new industry with an unfamiliar market climate, I was also trying to establish my sobriety in a way that felt authentic to me.

I’ve gained a significant amount of confidence in the last four years in both my sobriety and this role, but the alcohol culture of corporate America has not let up in the slightest.

There is an unspoken work benefit to being at corporate happy hours or nightlife events. I personally have been able to use information a broker let slip after too many drinks to improve my team’s negotiation strategy.

In an internal meeting a couple days later, someone jokingly said, “That’s why we take them drinking.” Chuckles from every end of the table.

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