Thank you Mr. Jimmy Carter, I am blaming you for the demise of Business Sociability thanks to you condemning the practice of the three-martini lunches during your 1976 presidential campaign. Why is this your fault? Well, prior to the late 1970′s, it was socially acceptable to do many thing at work that fostered sociability such as drinking, long business lunches, and early happy hours.  By today’s standards all of these practices are unhealthy, and quite taboo in most organizations in the US. But what happened when we stopped drinking at lunch? We all stopped going to lunch!

The working society went digital, we ‘streamlined’ our workplaces, created ‘efficiencies’, and continued to show ‘ROI’ on digital investments by cutting employees. We became so efficient, that instead of reducing the hours we work, we have increased them in order to produce more! Some people don’t stop to get to know people at work, they use them just as they would a copy machine. Let’s take for example an excerpt that Emily Lawton wrote about Drinking at work:

Consider this:

Professional A has an ongoing feud with Professional B, but they have to work in close concert with one another. For one year, Professional A and Professional B nurse a slowly-increasing

hatred of one another. They are snappish, and uncordial. Ultimately morale in Department X goes down. Others tiptoe around Professional A and Professional B, fearing an outburst. Employees call in sick, or linger at the coffeepot. Productivity suffers. Then one day Mr. W, the department supervisor, announces the birth of his first child and everyone in Department X celebrates with a case of champagne. Professional A and Professional B realize the folly of their ways. They giggle and slap one another on the back. Perhaps they even continue their bender through the rest of the night and wake up in an old shed somewhere, but that’s a bit much to hope for. Let’s just say they make up and become, if not pals, then at least amiable co-workers. As you can plainly see, much time and effort was wasted, when a small dose of alcohol could’ve smoothed things over.

And so you see, the value in drinking is not just for chatting up cute girls in bars. That same social lubricant is useful (I daresay necessary?) in the workplace. Do not look down upon those of us who can be both drunk and productive. It is not a talent of the many. Those of us who understand its power can harness it for good, not evil. Recognize and celebrate—employers of the world, the next round is yours.

Have you ever talked with an older person (over the age of 60), and have them try to relate to putting in 10 hours in the office a day, then another 3-4 hours a night, and doing this 5-6 days a week?  It just doesn’t make sense to many of them. Now, ask yourself how many of you know your neighbors, or still are friends with people you went to highschool or college with?  Welcome to social media! Since we have forgotten how to be social people in real life, our digital life has evolved to allow for us cultivate our relationships in small, digital quips! It is only a matter of time before all businesses begin forcing the technology and security departments to allow for more secure vehicles of social networking to broaden the digital reach of their product.

We do have a few things to learn from the martini lunches of the past though. Much like the business lunches that starts with the best of intentions, social media initiatives always start out the same as well. As social media is being cultivated without restraints, it has potential to allow employees to overindulge. Once people are comfortable, they begin letting out pieces of information, little-by-little the organization can end up with information leakage.

Create a sound Social Media policy by setting reasonable objectives, allow for growth and cultivate creativity, but set boundaries. After the policy is set, monitor, monitor, monitor. Make sure there is a set person or group with the job responsibility to know what is being said by employees in social media that can impact the organization.