To ask what you’d think of a colleague drinking 0% beverages at work?

Sounds like the drinks companies need a marketing campaign challenging the majority's ridiculous and illogical opinions on this.

They could show people drinking their products in the office, after sport (its a good rehydration option) and at the park with DC and present the drinks for what they are - refreshing drinks that are more interesting than plain water but not full of sugar, artificial sweeteners or caffeine unlike just about everything else available.

Why would you want to taste beer while you're in a professional setting, working?

I would assume they where doing it for a reaction/attention.

This depends very much on image. If being seen to be drinking on the job would be detrimental to the company image then its not ok. In a can, bottle or glass a 0% beer for example looks like any other beer. Also it leaves a smell on the breath which would be difficult to distinguish from an alcoholic beer.
If its being consumed in a customer facing environment and could be thought to be alcoholic then no.
If being consumed by someone who never gets seen by the clientel then not really an issue.

Couldn't care less

0% or not, it's unprofessional and attention seeking. No-one needs to drink fake wine or Guinness zero in the workplace FGS. Tell them to grow up and get bottled water like everyone else!

The difference is shandy is sweet, zero ‘fruit cider’ is (from the one time I tried it) incredibly sweet whereas zero beers are bitter and unlikely to appeal to a child’s palate. They’re a harmless soft drink for grownup tastes.

Tesco sells cans of 0% beer with their meal
deals so it must be surprisingly common

What age teen? I'd happily give a mid teen 0% fruit cider.

By child I meant little kid - I was imagining under 12 ish.

I'd not see a 'shandy flavour' pop as any different to coke. But it is different to 0% beer, and I'm not sure why!

You don't and you wouldn't be.

What are you talking about?

It wouldn’t be if it were alcohol free, but the containers look very similar so why leave yourself open to questioning. We also work with people who have problematic alcohol use - I can’t imagine anyone being happy with a social worker sipping alcohol free wine/beer while counselling someone about their alcohol use. Context is everything and in mine it would be highly inappropriate.

If you are intolerant/allergic to NNS which I am, there are actually very very few options left.

Many places there are none - and I speak from bitter experience here. Ask for a original Coke (safe), as often as not you'll actually get Pepsi ( all variants unsafe). All the Fantas/DrPeppers/Sprites/ Tangos sold in pubs and supermarket chains contain sweeteners. You have to be really lucky and find imports in small shops catering to the Arabic market to buy these in the UK.

I used to work with a partner in our law firm who used to drink water out of a Bombay Sapphire bottle.
Not the point of the thread but I thought it was hilarious.

I wouldn’t like it or do it

I wouldn't drink it personally but I'd mind my own business unless I was the direct supervisor of the person drinking, in which case I might check with HR just because the look-alike bottles or cans could easily be mistaken for alcohol and lead to clients or other employees thinking the company policies were being broken. I've never worked anywhere where it was forbidden to have an alcohol addiction, though, as long as the person wasn't drinking or under the influence on work premises or while discharging their work duties or representing the company. If someone has an addiction under control and finds that 0% is a useful tool for them, I'm not sure I'd want to interfere without a clear good reason.

Some people need to read up on what 0% beverages are and move on with their lives.

I love NA beer, so I think it’s ok. It’s basically a nice tasting, soft drink that’s not sweet - can’t bear sweet fizzy drinks. DH drinks it while driving and he’s v v law abiding.

I would assume they have a problematic relationship with alcohol. It certainly wouldn't be accepted in my indus, and it's dubious in most workplaces IMO.

You’re not tasting alcohol, because it hasn’t got any alcohol. It mimics the taste of the beer, not the alcohol.

They don’t taste of alcohol. Clue in the name ‘zero alcohol’.
They also don’t taste of artificial sweeteners or large amounts of sugar. That’s the reason.

O% beer is far less harmful than Red Bull/Monster etc and people are happy to drink that in all
environments, so I couldn’t bring myself to judge.

I think it depends. If it’s 9am at your desk I’d find that very weird but 4pm at your desk after you’d just closed a deal fine imo.

Same - worked for the police as a civilian. All bosses had drinks cabinets in their offices and we often went out at lunchtime and came back 'merry'!

Inappropriate for work.

Why do you need to taste alcohol while working?

There are so many drinks options out there, I'd raise my eyebrow at why it has to be something that gives the image of sort-of-drinking alcohol. It's not very professional or a good look. But it wouldn't be something I'd feel strongly about, or think is worth making any amount of fuss over.