“It’s the culture, stupid”

Usually, we would consider this sort of news a storm in a beer glass, that is, hardly newsworthy. The reason we report on this strike by Carlsberg’s brewery workers, which made headlines around the world, is because it points to a much deeper malaise in corporate cultures: the disregard for long-standing traditions and values by today`s cost-cutters and the presumptuous manner displayed by managers when it comes to consulting with those most affected by their decisions.

Perhaps Carlsberg’s managers had a point when they introduced stricter alcohol policies. Having beer available at all times at the workplace does not square with today’s notion of workplace safety. However, their lone decision to scrap a long-standing tradition not only shows their blatant disdain for a corporate culture with all its seemingly archaic manifestations, it also highlights their distrust of their employees’ responsible alcohol consumption.

Carlsberg has decided to now only stock soft drinks in the fridges around its Danish plants. Beer will be provided on tap during lunchtime at the canteen so workers can help themselves to a cold one.

Drivers will retain their historical rights to take away three bottles at lunchtime but have to pass a breathalyser test linked to the ignition of their trucks to make sure that they are not over the limit. The trucks will not start if a driver registers an alcohol blood level of more than the legal 0.05 percent.

A Carlsberg spokesperson was quoted as saying: "We have set up taps from which staff can drink freely at lunch, and so the employees can certainly manage to drink more than one beer during their lunchtime breaks.”

Unfortunately, when discussions started on this issue between management and the unions, the unions argued that taking away beers from brewery workers was the same as taking milk from a dairy worker. Thus management had a point when they retorted that this comparison does not stand up to scrutiny if you are driving a car.

The tradition of drinking beer during the day dates back to the founding of Carlsberg in Denmark in 1847. Water was not safe to drink at the time so the company allowed its employees to quench their thirst on its product, which at the time was lower in alcohol content than today’s 4.6 % ABV.

Incidentally, none of Carlsberg’s factories and offices in other countries permits drinking during the working day.