I’m Sober, And This Is What I Need You To Know About Alcohol Culture At Work

HuffPost · Sydney Allen · 2026-11-04 12:54 UTC

“I always feel a little embarrassed for the person speaking. I see it as such a missed opportunity.”

I work a corporate job in the NYC area, which is to say that I work in a very alcohol-centric industry in a very alcohol-centric city. Some of my daily responsibilities include building and maintaining strong working relationships with brokers and clients, negotiating difficult terms in various markets and entertaining clients to show our appreciation for their business.

It’s the first role I’d ever had with a distinct schmoozing aspect to it, and in most industries in corporate America, alcohol is seen as one of the ways business is done.

This is complicated for me, since I got sober right before I started my job. While I was spending my days trying to navigate a new job in a new industry with an unfamiliar market climate, I was also trying to establish my sobriety in a way that felt authentic to me.

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