When I got my career start, it wasn’t exactly the Mad Men era, but there was plenty of alcohol being consumed in professional settings, including business lunches, dinners, and in the office.
Going out to lunch more often than not included wine and sometimes even martinis. Beer, scotch, and even cigars were common Friday afternoon accompaniments in many individual offices.
In the past three decades a lot has changed, however. Smoking, of course, isn’t permitted in the office. If you have alcohol at lunch with any regularity, you’ll likely have colleagues wondering if something is wrong.
But alcohol hasn’t disappeared completely. It remains common for agency employees to attend happy hours together, or even have in-office happy hours on occasion.
Business travel remains a staple of many agency businesses, and that often means dinners with clients or prospects where alcohol may be consumed.
Complicating matters is that with remote and hybrid workplaces common and flexible working hours becoming the norm, employees may be mixing work and alcohol in ways that weren’t even a matter of consideration when I entered the workforce.
So how should your agency handle policies around alcohol?
That’s a question that I have gotten a couple of times from agency owner clients in recent months.
The questions have focused on two aspects of alcohol usage: expensing policies and consumption guidelines.
Expensing alcoholic beverages
Let’s deal with the simpler question first: what should your agency’s policy be around expensing the cost of alcoholic beverages?
In my own businesses, my general (though unwritten rule) was that alcohol was treated the same as other food and beverage expenses.
That means that alcohol could be expensed, but care should be taken to keep costs reasonable.
Just as I would expect that (most of the time) an employee wouldn’t expense white truffles for dinner, I also would expect that I didn’t see an expense report with Louis XIII or Cristal on it.
I still think that principle holds up, but I turned to Patrick Rogan of Ignition HR to get his perspective as someone who advises agencies on their employment policies.
Patrick explained that “the trend now is for companies to place reasonable guardrails around alcohol consumption and expensing for business travel.”
He elaborated by saying that “typically in-room minibar and excessive bar tabs are not expensable. 1-2 drinks per person at dinner may be expensable as long as a detailed receipt is submitted.”
This feels like sensible guidance for agency owners.
The key with all expense reimbursement policies is to seek to be fair and consistent. In small agencies in particular, this means it is important for the owner to set the example and to clearly communicate the standards – not just for alcohol but all expenses.
When it comes to travel, keep in mind that employees today tend to see business travel as a greater burden than most of us did when we were coming up through the ranks. They tend to expect to have comp time (or even additional pay) for their troubles, so clamping down too tightly on expense policies related to travel may further exacerbate their unhappiness with being asked to hit the road.
Consuming alcoholic beverages
Now on to the trickier of the two questions. What should your rules be around the use of alcohol by employees (as it relates to their work)?
Most agencies don’t completely ban the use of alcohol at company events or meals, but the days of stumbling home drunk (as they did in Mad Men) have long since passed us by.
But how do you set appropriate limits? It might seem logical to use the 1-2 drink limit that Patrick suggested for expensing, but that alcohol impacts people differently. And some restaurants (including one of my local favorites) make what I call “bathtub martinis” that have the alcoholic equivalent of 2-3 drinks each.
Once again, Patrick came to my rescue. He suggests requiring moderation and prohibiting intoxication.
He was kind enough to share a sample policy he has used with clients:
The use of alcohol, except for responsible social drinking in appropriate circumstances, is prohibited. Employees who attend trade shows or other functions on <<COMPANY>> business where alcohol is customarily served may consume a moderate amount of alcohol without violating this policy. In no event may an employee consume alcoholic beverages to the point of intoxication. All other rules and regulations regarding employee conduct will continue to apply in the event the employee attends any trade show or other function on <<COMPANY>> business.
While there is certainly subjectivity, it sends the message that you trust your team members but still have an expectation that they will behave to a shared standard.
Since many employees are working more flexible hours and are at least partially remote, I might also suggest that you apply that “no intoxication” standard to not just events and travel, but to all work.
For example, you might prohibit employees from communicating with clients while intoxicated. While that seems obvious, it can be easy for an employee who gets a late night email from a client to feel compelled to respond, even if they have been out with friends and family.
Again, as the agency owner, it is important to lead by example here. You can’t expect employees to abide by a “no intoxication” rule if you don’t do the same.
Putting it all in writing
Once you decide what you want the standards for your own agency to be, you need to put your guidance in writing so that employees understand your expectations.
I have seen too many incidents of employees being scolded for expensing things that upset their bosses even though no rules had been communicated in advance.
You never want to leave team members guessing, especially if it is an issue you feel strongly about – which is often the case with expenses and alcohol.
Of course, your policy should be reviewed by an HR expert or an employment attorney (along with your other written policies) to ensure that they are in compliance with all of the rules and regulations that apply to your business.
With clearly understood policies in place, your employees will be happier and you will be better protected.
