I love a double standard…don’t you?  In this week’s double standard file I read about women and men drinking at work.  In industries where a lot of the business takes place after 5, women who join in the drinking are frowned upon for drinking or frowned upon for not drinking.

Lovely isn’t it?

So what is a girl to do in this situation? I consulted with multiple professional sources (male and female) to come up with some tips to help women navigate these tricky waters.

1. Pre-hire – If you don’t want to work for a company where happy hour is required try to find out during your interview if the company has a party culture.  You can ask questions about team building and off-site company events.  These are culture questions and you can learn a lot.  Does every event happen at a bar? Does someone mention tequila shots? Does the office need a day to recover?
2. Don’t Drink – If you have any doubts about your ability to control yourself or you just don’t like to drink order a club soda or cranberry juice or just drink water.  It really shouldn’t be that big of a deal and if it is maybe you need to start looking for a new job.
3. Set a limit– Number of drinks and departure time.  This helps show you are fun but without the sloppy drunk part.
4. If you are a lightweight acknowledge and accept it. You only hurt yourself and your liver by trying to keep up with the heavy drinkers.
5. Remember you aren’t out for the night with your college buddies, save the dancing on the bar for your friend’s bachelorette party.
6. Realize there is a double standard – right or wrong you may be judged if you match the guys drink for drink. Is that fair? No. But be aware of it and decide how you want to act.
7.  Yes there is a double standard but don’t perpetuate it.  You know what I mean…don’t spread gossip or shun the person who drank too much last night.
8. Come to work the next morning. At your usual time. People get away with partying hard because they work hard.  Which means your butt needs to be in the office working the next morning regardless how late you were out the night before.
9.  Take responsibility for your actions – If you said something or did something wrong apologize as necessary. If you drink too much call a cab or friend to take you home. The time to worry about what people think has passed.  Better to be the butt of lightweight jokes rather than get a DUI or cause an accident.

What do you think? What are your suggestions for women (and men) that work at party companies? Did you work at a place that thought Happy Hour was required? How did you survive and/or thrive? Tell me in the comments!