THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 23, 1996 TAG: 9603230426
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LON WAGNER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
In the health-conscious and hard-working 1990s, the two-martini power lunch has gone the way of ``lifetime employment'' - out the door.
But that doesn't mean business and alcohol never mix, according to a nationwide survey on the acceptability of drinking alcohol at business meals.
Seventy-three percent of those surveyed said having an alcoholic beverage during a business lunch is taboo, compared with only 25 percent who approved, according to a poll done by The Gallup Organization for accountants on call.
Come dinnertime, though, attitudes changed. More than half of those responding said alcohol at a business dinner is acceptable, while 47 percent argued that it isn't OK to drink at either lunch or dinner.
Attitudes varied widely among those with different education and income levels. College graduates with household incomes above $40,000 and people employed in professional or sales positions were most likely to say a drink or two at a business dinner is acceptable (61 percent). Still, only one-third of that group found lunchtime drinking acceptable.
Among workers involved with manual labor, the results are reversed: 80 percent say ``no'' to lunchtime drinking and 57 percent say drinking on a business dinner is not acceptable.
Apparently, the right people read those warnings about alcohol impairing a person's ability to operate heavy machinery.
Accountants on call, a placement firm specializing in temporary and permanent accountants and finance personnel, issued the survey results as part of its ``Profiles of the American Worker'' series. The survey has a margin of error of 4 percentage points. ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC
AT LUNCH
OK 25 PERCENT
NAH 73 PERCENT
AT DINNER
SURE 51 PERCENT
NO THANKS 47 PERCENT
[Color photo of drink]
by CNB