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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Non alcoholic drinks at work

107 replies

SunshineSamba · 17/07/2025 00:15

I work in a professional office for a large company.

Went downstairs for lunch today in my office canteen and new team member pulls out his packed lunch, including 0% ale.

I was stunned. I had a can of Fanta but it feels like non alcoholic beer is different. I hope this doesn’t become the norm. AIBU?

OP posts:
MidnightGloria · 17/07/2025 08:28

I don't see anything wrong with it at all. It's no more inappropriate than having a soft drink, and probably healthier. Think about it logically - there are good reasons we consider drinking alcohol at work to be unprofessional. None of those good reasons apply to non-alcoholic drinks. What we're left with are rationales several orders removed, like some people associating it with nights out or worrying someone might mistake it for the real thing. None of which are strong enough to justify being against it.

TheJinxMinx · 17/07/2025 08:30

I can see how you would be a bit taken a back. If im being 100% honest my first thought would be are they an alcoholic and trying to still function in work by tricking the brain with the same taste/appearance in bottle. Obviously this is the extreme case they may just like the taste or see it as a bit of a treat and nothing wrong as its none alcoholic. In theory absolutely nothing wrong with it I do agree though it may cause head to turn particularly in certain organisations for example when I was in the NHS im sure my manager would have passed comment if I was in the staff room with a non alcoholic beer she would worry others might not see it has no alcohol, a family member could see the bottle but not clearly and assume im drinking alcohol etc also I assume it still smells like beer? Imagine if it catches on the office smelling like a pub 😹

YawYoreYourYoure · 17/07/2025 08:39

From the cryptic clues and some googling I'm guessing Guinness Malta.

SerendipityJane · 17/07/2025 08:44

When I worked in Germany there was a a fridge with beer and wine in the office canteen.

They also had an onsite gym and a masseur come in once a week.

Generally I am a libertarian, but alcohol and work should never ever mix.

I do get a sense of the OP, but at the end of the day, if there's no alcohol, what harm ? Unless you subscribe to the "Yes there is no law against it, but we don't like it so will use the excuse that 'we don't want to norrnalise it" school of dim thinking.

Radioundermypillow · 17/07/2025 08:46

I drink 0% Guinness in the day because its delicious.

Agree with whoever said uptthread that 0% beer is less full of shite than tango or fanta etc.

ItDoesntHaveToBeASnowman · 17/07/2025 08:49

DiscoBeat · 17/07/2025 08:21

I think if I took NA beer in to work I'd be worried that people would think I couldn't get through the day without 'a beer' so I'd definitely avoid it for that reason.

Yes this is how I see it too

Justthethingsthatyoudointhisgarden · 17/07/2025 08:51

Surely the issue is that if having a glass of 0%beer in your desk becomes the norm, you won't spot the person with the real beer. Someone will take advantage of the situation.

SerendipityJane · 17/07/2025 08:53

ItDoesntHaveToBeASnowman · 17/07/2025 08:49

Yes this is how I see it too

Show quote history

Not so sure I'd change my behaviour to keep stupid people happy though.

That said, frankly I just wouldn't want something associated with "down time" in work. The cognitive dissonance would spoil it. I like to keep work and leisure very very very far apart. Being old helps 😀

Sparticle · 17/07/2025 08:56

I’m with you OP, although I can’t put my finger on why it seems different but it just is.

Sparticle · 17/07/2025 08:57

Sparticle · 17/07/2025 08:56

I’m with you OP, although I can’t put my finger on why it seems different but it just is.

I should’ve said I also work for a large professional company and perhaps it just feels different in that situation?

SerendipityJane · 17/07/2025 08:59

Would you send your kids to school with an alcohol free beer ? And if not, why not ?

Ellie1015 · 17/07/2025 08:59

Schleor is often used as alternative to alcohol so I do think by your logic it would be the same as alcohol free drink.

I wouldnt care about someone doing this, so voted yabu. But I have never seen it at my work and wouldnt be something I would do so I dont imagine it will become the norm either.

casualcrispenjoyer · 17/07/2025 09:02

…non alcoholic malt drink?

are you talking about supermalt?

kids were having this in their packed lunch when I was at school (not that long ago) so I wouldn’t think twice about seeing it in an office packed lunch

MissAvainthesun · 17/07/2025 09:07

I work in substance recovery so it’s a definite no and never to be consumed on the premises both alcohol and 0% versions. I also work in a school a few days a month. It’s a no during the school day but for any celebrations with alcohol it must be after the students have left for the day and with the written permission of the Head and Governors.

When the school got an Outstanding Ofsted they did soft drinks for everyone that afternoon but then hired somewhere to have the real ‘party’ both alcohol and 0% were an option very few chose the 0% versions.

I admit I would be a little surprised to see someone in a work situation even if I worked in different fields (which I have) drink 0% during the working day. Even at business meetings in restaurants/bars etc, at my husbands work it is in their contracts not to consume alcohol or 0% during their working day. As another poster mentioned previously the 0% versions do tend to look a lot like the real thing his company do not want the image of working day drinking/drink driving etc.

A lot of the service users I support try 0% but switch back to the alcoholic version. I have worked with quite a few who have poured the real thing into the 0% bottle to disguise they are drinking alcohol.

so OP YANBU.

Ponderingwindow · 17/07/2025 09:10

Is 0% beer a new thing there?

It’s been a product here since I was a child. no one would ever bring one out in at work. It’s not socially the same as a Fanta or an OJ.

nongnangning · 17/07/2025 09:11

I'm with you also OP. I would not do this.
But I'm wondering if it could also be an age thing. Is the 0% drinker Gen Z for example and you are Gen X??
But I also think - beyond the basic fact of drinking some liquid with your lunch or being a dimwitted male - that there are some workers who deliberately, consciously or unconsciously, prod the boundaries without doing anything wrong. It's sometimes a statement of "I'm different to you, I'm cooler than you, I don't care what you think, I'm not that interested in this job" (delete as applicable)

Alwham · 17/07/2025 09:17

Tiredofwhataboutery · 17/07/2025 07:41

I really like TRIP, I don’t think it makes you high, it’s essentially fizzy water with natural flavourings , there’s an elderflower one which is really refreshing. I’m not bothered about the cbd, I’d buy a non cbd alternative that tasted the same. Most companies who do a flavoured fizzy water make the flavour really strong or add sweeteners.

Show quote history

Try Dash, tastes of nothing really but is very refreshing. I drink it when I want something different to my soda stream water.

Radioundermypillow · 17/07/2025 09:24

MissAvainthesun · 17/07/2025 09:07

I work in substance recovery so it’s a definite no and never to be consumed on the premises both alcohol and 0% versions. I also work in a school a few days a month. It’s a no during the school day but for any celebrations with alcohol it must be after the students have left for the day and with the written permission of the Head and Governors.

When the school got an Outstanding Ofsted they did soft drinks for everyone that afternoon but then hired somewhere to have the real ‘party’ both alcohol and 0% were an option very few chose the 0% versions.

I admit I would be a little surprised to see someone in a work situation even if I worked in different fields (which I have) drink 0% during the working day. Even at business meetings in restaurants/bars etc, at my husbands work it is in their contracts not to consume alcohol or 0% during their working day. As another poster mentioned previously the 0% versions do tend to look a lot like the real thing his company do not want the image of working day drinking/drink driving etc.

A lot of the service users I support try 0% but switch back to the alcoholic version. I have worked with quite a few who have poured the real thing into the 0% bottle to disguise they are drinking alcohol.

so OP YANBU.

Working with addicts is completely different. I agree the addicts I help support would not be encouraged to drink 0% alcohol (although many do actually with no relapse).

0% lager is basically a hops flavoured soft drink with no sweeteners in (the majority anyway). Delicious!

Rewis · 17/07/2025 09:32

Ask a manager had a question about this and I think the answer is quite decent.

www.askamanager.org/2024/11/boss-is-always-scratching-his-chest-drinking-non-alcoholic-beer-at-work-and-more.html

DiscoBob · 17/07/2025 09:36

Why is it different from soda? It's just liquid in a bottle. So what if it's beer flavoured. Didn't you have shandy as a kid? That's actually got some alcohol in it.

You shouldn't make comment or judgement about what your colleague has for lunch.

Do you think people will look at him and then rush out to buy a six pack of Stella to drink at their desk? If that's the case then the people you work with must be pretty easily led.

MissAvainthesun · 17/07/2025 09:37

@RadioundermypillowI fully understand what 0% alcohol is and know that it is different working with addiction and recovery service users. I was giving my point of view and experience.

Like I said even if I didn’t work in the fields I currently do, I would still find it inappropriate but that’s just me.

SeaShellsSanctuary1 · 17/07/2025 09:38

Yet energy drinks are deemed completely acceptable . I'd be far happier seeing an employee drinking 0% alcohol than swigging energy drinks to get through their working day.

One is purely a perception, the other is actually impacting how people act

Shnuzzbucket · 17/07/2025 09:41

fizzybootlace · 17/07/2025 00:22

I understand what you mean, it feels like “drinking” in the office but it’s not. I guess it will become the norm. I put apple tango in a glass and people think it’s wine!

really? Apple tango is not the same colour as any wine I would drink ?

FrenchandSaunders · 17/07/2025 09:44

I also work in a school a few days a month. It’s a no during the school day but for any celebrations with alcohol it must be after the students have left for the day and with the written permission of the Head and Governors.

Are most schools like this now, or this a bit extreme? My kids are mid 20s now but when they were at primary school we had beer/pimms tents at the school fairs, outside in the summer and inside in winter (xmas). It was a huge fund raiser for the PTA. Same with the bottle stall ... kids would be asked to take a bottle into school in return for a mufti day.

They had various plays and music evenings where parents could take picnics and sit on the field watching ... this would invariably involve alcohol.

I don't remember anyone getting smashed but it was def a big part of socialising at the school.

AlwaysBeingMe · 17/07/2025 09:44

Looking at what contains Low alcohol vs Zero alcohol is quite surprising.

Regardless providing they are legally fit to operate machines or drive then IMO it's fine.

Cheers 😁

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