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The Only Black Guy in the Office
The Workplace Happy Hour Is Dead
There must be a better way to facilitate fun in corporate America than getting employees wasted. Right?
When I was promoted and given a team to manage, one of my priorities was cultivating a healthy team culture for my direct reports. Few of my colleagues may realize it, but I’m a fun guy, word to Kawhi. And while I may have sometimes despised the way colleagues of my past would host mandatory fun after-work functions at the office’s local pub, I must admit they were an efficient (albeit unoriginal) means of getting folks to loosen the hell up for once.
These days, my team — Black Karen, Mitch, and Young Marcus the Intern — is working remotely, which takes IRL happy hours off the table (ditto for Marcus’ 20 years of age). But let’s be real: Even before the pandemic, these cliché bar outings had become HR minefields. They were where in-office reputations were solidified, and legends were made for the wrong reasons. (Shout out to the Snow Patrol.)
Once the drinks start flowing, professional facades and filters vanish. Amy from accounting lets her hair down, Richard from recruiting unfastens the top two buttons of his shirt, and you and the attractive person who works in another department…
