BOOZING ON THE JOB, THE GOOD,THE BAD AND THE UGLY....

The speaker gives an overdue update on their podcast and mentions their previous guest, Niall Fowler. They talk about their work at a pawn shop and their personal life, including their father's illness. They mention plans to give their shed a makeover and have a surprise guest on the podcast. They discuss the topic of alcohol in the workplace, discussing the good, bad, and ugly aspects. They mention the importance of personal responsibility and accountability when it comes to drinking on the job. The speaker also talks about their experiences with staff drinking and the effects on their work. They emphasize the need for managers to be aware of their employees' well-being and provide support when needed. The speaker concludes by mentioning the challenges of working in the industry and the importance of finding a balance with alcohol consumption. Welcome to a very overdue Jilly Beans. How are you getting on? It has been yonkies since I've been on this last and I think the last time I posted a podcast was around St. Patrick's Day so that was Niall Fowler which was brilliant it was such a ball to be a part of I'm so grateful for it and it was brilliant just meeting and greeting, talking, doing tastings, small Irish producers, distillers, people in the industry and it was just such a general buzz I suppose like DJs, food, designers, music there was just so much going on it was really really wonderful and to have it live in the fruit markets was super special as well like we've been up in those markets for years just sitting there doing nothing although I did find out it doesn't count as council apparently I'm not saying this is true but we're housing a lot of equipment for the hotels that are being built up in that area and we're being paid for it and that's why there wasn't a much use going on there after I think it was 2019 anyway moving swiftly on Niall Fowler was great I'm doing a few other bits and bobs around the city and pawn shop is going really well so nice I absolutely adore working there so much crack so much amazing music truly blessed to be a part of that and that whole thing was just great and personal life when I suppose one of the reasons why things have just been so choppy and changey with the podcast as well my dad was really sick for a while and he's now been diagnosed with that dewy body syndrome my dad has been brain damaged for a long time now anyway and but then yeah just the last month in particular has been pretty outrageous but it's so cool to be able just to come home from a day's work and have a glass of wine in hand and just have the chatters I was going to have guests on this week but I decided I'm gonna give the shed a little makeover before it's anybody else in and the next person I have talking with me is one of my best friends in the entire world and you all know her she's an incredible woman but I'm not gonna let it out yet who it is we can all just hang on and anticipate well hopefully I'll just put my arse in gear and actually get the shed clean as well I decided to take down some of the paper and then just left it there not great what are we gonna talk about this evening well Loki's here with me he's having a munch can you say hi to the people Loki yeah we got a waggy tail and Frankie's in bed just opening a new bar and putting in systems and you know camaraderie all that stuff it's always really rough for the opening team when you open something so quick and with pawn shop I mean we all know that per Dale was waiting on his license for 18 months because the system is not great and for other reasons as well but then when we opened it was like you know shotgun wedding early it was like oh crap okay we're getting a license open up and open and it's been amazing that we've just kind of been like riffing through the weekend there's been so much happening so I can only work the weekend and you know other people as well time can be just a little bit limited you know that kind of planning aspects of the operations part has just been kind of like let's just get stuck in and get it open and and now we have a team which isn't and we have a gorgeous great team I love them all so much and everybody works so so hard and for me when it comes to bars and teams you have to question your guidance on alcohol I think I think you have to question what kind of bar are you right so wherever I've worked anywhere everyone does have a drink on the job they can say they don't or they haven't or they'll have you know some people have like a beer after work or some places allow some places strictly don't allow some places allow too much I think today we're going to talk about you know alcohol in the workplace the good the bad and the ugly for me I think I don't I just think booze booze is so important okay so we're around it all the time it's great but it also has it's massive faults which we're totally aware of we know you know what do we know about alcohol alcohol affects everybody differently it depends if you are upset tired eaten haven't eaten sugars are low you're just not in good form a drink might tip you over the edge or it might bring your mood up depends on how averse you are to alcohol all these things for me when it comes to the good of alcohol in the workplace I feel that depending on obviously the type of job that it is you know if you're working in a five-star hotel which I've done for a long time you're not particularly going to be doing nine o'clock shots but I mean there is definitely and you do get rewards in different ways I suppose it's kind of leading into not just alcohol like the reward system hang on bear with me one sec I have to let that out and yes I've worked in places plenty of places where you know you can't have drink and that's fine and because of the size of the place I've also worked in places where you have been given like say a case of booze so a case of bourbon for instance and then a slab of cans and for stock control for all those things and the nature of the bar that it was was an industry pub and industry pub what an industry bar you were able to you know be in a shot for your friends all this kind of thing and so it just meant shots that you were given out was not stocks that belonged to the bar menu or the back bar like it was something kind of more random like it was four roses yellow label so from a stock perspective you know the people are probably you know nine times out of ten somebody in the bar will give a free drink to someone or somebody in the bar will want to give their industry friend a shot or a discount or whatever and this way it's controlled obviously with those kind of bars what does happen is do you want a shot and you go yeah you have one yeah and you have a shot so you can just be open the doors bam shot of bourbon great beautiful that's brilliant except you haven't really ten hours of your shift to go or 11 hours whatever it is and I've worked in places where it's a really intense dinner service and then we have to go into like a drink service afterwards so 9 o'clock shots were a thing so everyone gets a 9 o'clock shot and then we used to have like an 11 o'clock drink and again we get drinks that was from outside, it was wine, it was a can of beer and people down were they have a drink at 11 and that will kind of ride you through to 3 like I think you'd be serving until what maybe half 1, 2 music till half 2 or whatever I'm through the breakdown there's many reasons why I think alcohol in those circumstances is good I think it gives you know it's respect to the staff I just think it's a nice nod for management or the owners to be like you know what thank you so much your hard work have a shot and you have a little team shot I think it's and you know it makes you feel respected like how nice about you thanks so much that's great it's camaraderie as well you know nobody does a shot on their own everyone well you shouldn't do a shot on your own it's a team shot but um everyone does it together it's a little cheers you know it's really sweet and it's really nice I think I mean if staff go on their break am I gonna roast them for having a pint absolutely not will I have a glass on my break I absolutely will and this is kind of where the lines get blurred I suppose isn't it because yes I'll have a wine and work yes I'll have a shot or whatever I'll have a couple of shots straight the night but then what if someone is like how do you know this what if someone's on you know being out tonight forward they're still a bit they're just topping up people can do what they want in their own time I couldn't give a shite as long as it doesn't affect their work when they come in to work and we're all guilty of it that we've all had a few times in life for coming in a bit like everybody gets a couple of goes on that you know everyone's allowed to be a bit hungover I think then when you dive into the territory of you know that was the good the bad I think when people or staff or managers managers are dickheads for as well I'm one it's all happened in the past let's all have a shot let's all have a shot and I will definitely give more than the recommended allowance that I should be giving to people because it's a really tough night whatever but you know don't get wrong they're not getting people faster but you know we'll have two shots instead of one you know in that short time between what nine and then one or whatever but like people's tolerance are different some people don't drink alcohol as much as others so you are battling with tolerance you know when you're doing that you're kind of not considering maybe some people are just in bits they're hungry or they didn't eat in their break they did something else you know and you can't be people's parents if people don't eat their breaks out of their lives that's their own fault people who don't take breaks are dumb people like I just yeah I don't take breaks I get why and I understand why but you need to eat and in order to give the service that you really want to give if that's the reason why they're not taking a break you have to eat to like power through the shift don't get wrong when you're in your 20s when you're young and fresh you can do that when you get to my age like old and leathery you need to eat you need your water you need to kind of switch off as well you know and depending on the shift and then it can get to the point if you're a person who doesn't take breaks and you take them people like oh why did I take the break it's this whole weird thing if you don't want to take a break that's fine if I am the manager in duty and you're saying I'm not going to take a break I'm not going to giving you 20 minutes or a half an hour off the bar or 45 minutes or an hour depending on your shift do it do what you want just don't sit the bar here and don't be on the bar so be in the back of the house do whatever you like but whatever you do you know you choose if you choose not to go for a food break but then take 25 smoke breaks I'm gonna actually just punch you in the face I just can't deal with that like so you know sorry I'm distracting from the whole thing now when it comes to breaks and drink and people come back they've had a pint sometimes people come back they've had three points you know it is noticeable and we are working on these especially in kind of environments that I was working in the past it's kind of like highly charged environments where it's like a music it's cocktails it's sound it's noise it's people everyone's buzzy and there has to be personal responsibility and accountability then so if you have again if you're topping up if you're like I had a margarita beer and I shot my break and you come back and tell me I'm like mmm not ideal purely because you are coming back to work every day to do a job so in 45 minutes you've had a point a shot and a beer and it's not really responsible and it's not very respectful of your co-workers and when I was in Tulu I think I mentioned this on one of these talks before myself Nathan and Liam used to be hammering away drinking all the time you know I think we were great and then one day I think was I sick I can't remember anyway and I wasn't drinking it was like holy fiddlers the absolute state of you to like and then I was like you know what we all think we're so great when we're tipsy or whatever I was like we're fucking not sorry I'm dropping the f-bomb I'm trying not to drop it I can't help it I just get so passionate about stuff so basically the following nights ahead then like so one night then I drank Liam drank Nathan didn't and then myself and Nathan drank him and whatever it worked we all took a go of not drinking and we all came to the same conclusion our absolute saps when we were drinking like that and how good that we thought we were as opposed to what other people were saying and you know we weren't given the best service in the world so by all means have a drink on your break but if you come back and you're wrecked you're sloppy you're annoying you're in the way you're not moving as fast as blind of our basically you're just a bit of a hot mess and actually we've all been there I've done it both we've all had too many shots and we're like oh then I'm like on my break have a glass of wine something like 20 shot like go on ahead I know I shouldn't have done that and I come back and I'm like oh I know like I'm just not 100% and and then that falls into like a little mini hangover later on and then breakdown is just a pit so I mean is there a perfect recipe to how many drinks you can give staff and work you know we're trying to work out at the moment since like shot at nine or whatever or shot of ten another shot like a Jaeger you know that's the shots we do they're kind of Jaegers and maybe one at like one o'clock and then you can have a little breakdown beer as well and I think that's that's like a nice kind of trifecta of drinks and when you're in working those heavy or nights you know work until the music only cuts off at 3 a.m. you still have to get through that big cleanup the biggest B I have in my bonus it's people who come in on the road over okay we all got one we all get one and then we can all get two because people have breakups and you know especially if you're working late and you go out after and you're not in a good mindset like these things can happen but people who have a form of coming in on the road over have not slept smell like shit look like death it really grinds my gears and then get huffy about it you know if you mention it be like oh well it's a drink no I'm sorry like that's disgusting and not only are like you know you're gonna feel muck you're letting your team down and you're letting your colleagues down I think people come into venues to see staff hungover is one thing absolutely dying you know put your hands open to be like I am in a hoodie but you're here and you're sober and you know you're relatively alive when you come into work on the road over and this is the ugly part of drinking in bars it drives me absolutely bananas I cannot stand it I think it's so disrespectful that you did not go to bed or you literally had a half an hour sleep half an hour sleep like is an impossibility it doesn't even count you can just sit in the loo for half an hour and close your eyes that is not a sleep and I really find it super annoying and the thing is with me if you're on the road over and you come in just beware I'm not gonna send you home I'm gonna make you sit somewhere for a couple of hours until you sober up and you're gonna work the end of your shift and you're gonna feel like death because it's not fair people come in they're like I'm on the road over be sent home anyway actually no you won't you'll be sent off for a couple of hours and if you want to keep your job because you came in intoxicated let's have a conversation and coming in like that being you know completely intoxicated on shift it's not okay or you're not a control and you're visibly like unable to work due to intoxication like it's it's not okay sorry and my voice is awfully croaky today and it's not from drinking I've just been working loads and have not the old energy levels back up yet so that's okay I think you know I'd be hypocritical to say people shouldn't you know do ABC and D on your days off do whatever you want come in tell me about it do I want to smell it off you no do I want to know that you've had half an hour sleep absolutely not do I want to know that you're okay 100% drinking can be indicative to someone not being okay you know a personality change or a habit change and I think as a manager and especially in our industry you have to be so conscious and aware and you know this sounds like I'm majority building enough I've always found it anyone who kind of identifies as male with me I haven't worked with many non-binary people I haven't many I've worked with many trans people I've worked with a lot of young males who identify as men in the industry and the girls who identify as women I've always found that you know you can kind of gauge when they're upset and stuff like that if there's something going on you know whether they're a bit more emotional than normal or they're kind of you know you can see by their eyes and by their their face expressions they'll be a bit more expressive like whether that's in their emotions or how they speak how they dress sometimes like me I will get quite moody and quiet I get quite withdrawn some girls get withdrawn everybody's different I find you know I have found in my experience that like you know not to go into examples but I could tell you about five or six young males who I've worked with and their drinking and their behaviors and being late for work will be indicative to something that's going on in their brain whether it's mental health whether it's you know a breakup or there's something going on and so if someone is starting to do that I think as a manager you have to kind of be like okay you're being annoying I've given you so many warnings you're fired or if you know that person you're like okay you're still being annoying you're coming in a bit you're getting a warning but what's happening no one has to tell you what's going on in their personal life sometimes in work if you're a solid manager ask the question and that might be all somebody was waiting on and they might just say oh yeah I'm okay yeah or they might be like actually no I'm not okay and just for them to say I'm not okay is no reason for you to be like okay how can I help you because as a manager okay no you're not everyone's best friends that's not your role but their well-being is a part of your duty of care and you know even if it's a personal life thing it still falls under the umbrella of your care because what's happening to them is affecting their job and to help them you know get back on a level they used to be or to help them progress in their job it is kind of sweet just to be like what's going on how can I help you and sometimes people just need to open up to someone in Ireland there is a pandemic of people and men not opening up and I would have been very like that that would have been me all over until I met Eamon and I learned how to talk about having a feeling of any kind and this is the thing with drink and work obviously if you work in a bank you're not going to understand or if you work in an office oh there's Mary off her rock again Jesus what's wrong with her she's not doing very well like it's more noticeable in those situations but I'm sure with those scenarios those are the things that might be indicative to people's behaviors and in our jobs and especially these high volume high energy smashing out drinks high fives like DJs techno it's just on all the time it can be hard to spot when the cracks are forming in someone but drinking can be indicative of that too on the other hand like when I was in 1661 covering the guys when they were in New York you know Brandon unbelievable the lads not drinking you know no I'm gonna smash out this shift because he was on you know the big station like he was you know doing his thing and he's like no no I'm not gonna have a drink I know Dave Taylor does that just you know wants all eyes on the prize and I really really respect that I however can't do that so if I'm having a wild shift I'm like I need a shot but that's just me though I'm also an instigator I know I am I'm an absolute devil for the shots and then but like that Jaeger sitting soft and I think it's nice I think the middle ground has to be you know curated I think all of us include managers can run away with ourselves sometimes and maybe not lead by example but we have to I have to other people have to and it's not to mistake our kindness for stupidity either I literally rolled in rolled up and drank my whole way through my 20s and into my early 30s I know every trick in the book I know every eyedrop in the world I know every snail every cover-up all of us so like it's really hard to pull the wool over someone's eyes who's been in the industry so long as well you see so many hangover heads you're like ooh like also if you're based coming to work not a good look that's not a good look either so like I do struggle with this one a bit when it comes to weed in the workplace because you know I've had people give a kiss smoke weed every day it's like that's great like but please don't be high coming into work you're gonna get the same treatment as someone who's come in drunk and work because you're high like it's obvious that you're high and any form of coming into rocking into work with highness is obvious you know and again you're not accusing anyone of anything but like again I just think if you're respecting if you're banging a weed regardless of your stance on it the same way if you're buying a drink and gargle and you come in people are gonna find it offensive because it's stinky sometimes I know it's not stinky to even smoke it I know wine isn't stinky to even drink it but if I've had a glass of wine here Ayman was like don't and that would be only even having a glass of wine because he can smell it so bad so I suppose everyone's different and in the workplace fun all about giving the staff shots not about the rollover also you know if you don't want to drink absolutely cool no one's gonna force you to drink if people if staff don't want to drink don't be like no more power to them you don't have a shot that's grand you do whatever you want to love as long as you're happy and but as long as it's something that the rest of the team is partaking in you know don't go and like damn three glasses of wine because you didn't have a shot and I think it's just all of the transparency isn't it sometimes at income venues if you withheld alcohol from people sometimes it doesn't turn out to be great because they're just gonna either doing their break it's just gonna go nuts and do stinky shots or whatever and it's a tricky one though the one thing that I do find really tricky about this whole situation is if people are like oh let me buy a shot and some people are like oh that's cool but they take the tip and put it in the tips and then some people take the shot for me it's one of those things but it's like you can allow the shot but you have to limit the amount of shots one person can have and definitely if someone is chronically being bought shots that has to be a negative because you know they can't be hammered but then you don't want to take that kind of joy away from someone being like oh yeah cool you can have that shot or whatever as long as they ask but I think again it's limiting expectations. But yeah I don't know it's a funny one some people can completely disagree with me some people will say that weed is actually not as bad as alcohol for me if I have even smell it I'm like wow it's really strong if I smell cigarettes I'm not the same I used to smoke or the people that don't drink and they smoke weed they're like alcohol is disgusting I can smell it off you you know it's it's all this kind of thing. All I know is that in the bars that I work I definitely give out staff shots I definitely give them break down beers and depending on the length of the shift you will have other shots because I think it just gives staff morale a boost it makes us all kind of click in as a team it'll cheer these. There used to be a certain place that I won't mention and of Christmas morning we used to have that Christmas cheer coffees so we'd all be having double macchiatos with a shot of babies and it was a beautiful thing and it took us through the day and that was in my early 20s and I'm not saying it was right but I've done it I think a lot of us have done it through the years I definitely think as you get older you kind of are like but I'm not gonna sit here and lie and say that I haven't done those things in the past or that like I haven't been a devil I'm not going to roll over myself I have I absolutely have I know how gack you feel the next day you feel rotten but I think the worst thing anybody can do is leave their teammates in their shits because again they chose coming the road over for me that's the kicker it's like whatever everybody gets one and then if you're upset somebody else might you know you kind of make allowances on the situation but I just feel the worst thing and the ugly part of alcohol and drinking in the worst case is when you let your team down when your attitude changes you turn into a shithead your scorpio you don't turn up maybe for a really important shift and you know these things happen and but that's kind of yeah that's my tolerance I don't know you feel like you're a hypocrite but I'm also totally honest and yeah I think give your staff a shot give them a staff drink at the weekend and the night it's not saying everyone's gonna get bombed if you you know feel it necessary get alcohol from outside you know they're your weekend beers everyone can just chill have a can and but I suppose it's how you run your business in the end of the day and have a staff price button come on cheese Louise 40 euro button for a pint a bottle or glass of wine you're still getting money in this hill they're just able to have a little drink but I'm gonna stop rambling on now and I'm gonna cheers could have a glass of red here thank you so much for listening to me I apologize for being so long since I was on last and yeah sit tight we're gonna have our guest on next week I'm so excited better get my hold into gear get that shed cleaned out get it nice and tired now a bit of wallpaper maybe and thank you everybody for the continued support my dad as well and it's been really really touching shout out to anybody else who is suffering at the moment regardless what it is you're actually not on your own do you know that go to a friend's bar goes to there go have a pint talks to the bartender have a chat go anywhere if it's the park if it's nature you're gonna find something that piques your interest and that's gonna keep you kind of keep the brain going and focus on something else for a while thank you very much all and yeah cool keep well keep safe it's keep keep warm and I will talk to everybody soon good night