[llevrok]

I worked in mid town Manhattan 1974 - 82. We used to “drink” our lunch on pay day and had a nice lunch. It was the tail end of the "Mad Men" era

Then the young tight asses put the screws to coming back to the office hammered (about 1985). And the new feminists said we were being exclusionary (hell, we'd invite the ladies along)

The difference? We made money in the 2 martini days.

As the Japanese “salary men” say - you don't know somebody until you've been drunk together (in other words, team building)

[dfwgator]

As the Japanese “salary men” say - you don't know somebody until you've been drunk together (in other words, team building)

Almost every KDrama I've watched features scenes of employees going out, getting drunk and singing Karaoke.

[SamAdams76]

The last time I had alcohol at a business lunch was in 1986 so your timetable seems pretty accurate. Yes, it was right around then that all the corporate memos went out prohibiting alcohol during business hours for any reason whatsoever. The "Mad Men" era came to an abrupt end.

Here's some trivia for you. As we got into the 1990s, corporate America started prohibiting any expense reimbursement for alcoholic beverages even if you took a client for dinner - after business hours.

That's about when restaurants started giving you two receipts if you paid by credit card. One receipt listed out all the menu items you ordered (including drinks) and the other receipt only listed the total amount charged - without any itemization. The latter was the receipt you turned in with your expenses and corporate would be none the wiser as they processed the expense. So long as alcohol was not listed on the receipt, you would get reimbursed.

[fruser1]

“Mad Men”

Yup. Now it’s MADD men.

[Bonemaker]

“As the Japanese “salary men” say - you don’t know somebody until you’ve been drunk together (in other words, team building)”

Yeah, it’s kind of a lost art....quality drinkng and the accompanying camaraderie. My working years were the 60’s thru the 90’s. Used to be the whole damn office would head to ye olde watering hole. The downfall of these fine traditions parallels the rest of societal decay.