鈥淭hat鈥檚 okay, we have kombucha!鈥� is something I hear every time I turn down a beer at a professional event. I always smile and nod鈥攁nd white-knuckle my water bottle. When others raise toasts with their event drinks, I take a long drag of H2O, served neat, and swallow the discomfort of feeling like I don鈥檛 quite belong.

I鈥檝e been sober for almost five years. I was in college when I first noticed that once I had one drink, I had no way of knowing whether I would stop at two or down vodka sodas into a blackout. I eventually realized my binge drinking was an alcohol use disorder. At age 22, I quit for good.

For me, actually staying sober hasn鈥檛 been as challenging as finding my place in a professional culture centered around drinking. Two weeks after I quit, the ad agency where I worked in New York City installed a bar in the office.

And while the atmosphere at my current company is very supportive, Outdoor Retailer has proven much harder to navigate. There, I鈥檝e encountered people rolling up to booths in the morning still smelling like alcohol, and noticed events aptly named things like 鈥淗angover Breakfast.鈥� Once, at an after-show mixer, I was asked 鈥淐ocktail or beer?鈥� to determine which tumbler I鈥檇 receive as a party favor.

I spent my first few trade-show happy hours sitting alone at the booth while my teammates embarked on the daily pilgrimage for free beer. I watched show attendees stroll by with foam-topped cups while I wondered where all the other sober people were.

Inclusivity efforts are just now beginning to appear, but the world of non-alcoholic beverages is filled with its own misconceptions.

Kombucha, a commonly offered alternative, contains trace amounts of alcohol鈥攗p to 0.5 percent. Some people in recovery can drink kombucha without issue. For me and many others, though, that 0.5 percent is enough to trigger an alcohol craving. So, at kombucha-and-beer events, I usually wander around with my trusty water bottle, feeling like a 20-year-old intern at her first office party.

Of the eight OR shows I鈥檝e attended, there鈥檚 only one on-site happy hour I remember enjoying. Beer was present at the Mountain Hardwear booth, but the event鈥檚 focal point wasn鈥檛 the booze鈥攊t was the musician Nahko, who sang and played guitar while slackliners did tricks. Finally, I could join in the conversations around me.

So, as you plan trade show events, keep people like me in mind. Consider making your centerpiece not alcohol, but a performance that gets people talking. Run a networking event speed-dating style. Create a quiet social space that allows people to converse and recharge. Provide games or use corny icebreakers鈥攖hey might make people roll their eyes, but they鈥檒l spark real conversation.

Don鈥檛 forget about us at the office, either. If you have a keg on tap, consider providing an alcohol-free option to boost morale as well. And if you鈥檙e planning team-bonding events, ask yourself: Is pulling out the shot-ski really the thing that will improve employee trust and move your business forward? Or would a sufferfest hike create more camaraderie?

At the bare minimum, for those of us who can鈥檛 (or choose not to) enjoy craft beer at events, offer a (completely) alcohol-free option like Pellegrino or Spindrift鈥攂oth top-shelf seltzers. I am happy to consult on the sparkling water market. At this point, I think I鈥檝e tried them all.

The post Op-Ed: Not So Happy Hour appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.