After-work cocktails still an American icon

William M. Dowd photo

Anyone who thinks the after-work cocktail hour is merely a thing of the '40s and '50s should think again.

According to a study conducted for the online job site CareerBuilder.com, one in every five U.S. workers "regularly" has after-work drinks with co-workers.

Why? Most attend to bond with colleagues, although 15% go to hear office gossip and 13% feel obligated to go, according to the Harris Interactive survey of nearly 7,000 full-time workers conducted between Feb. 11 and March 13.

A few other findings:

• 85% said attending did not help them get closer to someone higher up
• 25% attend at least once a month
• 21% said attending happy hours are good for networking
• 16% of respondents said they bad-mouthed a colleague
• 10% shared a secret about a colleague
• 8% kissed a colleague
• 8% drank too much and acted unprofessionally
• 5% shared a secret about the company
• Workers ages 25-34 are most likely to attend
• Workers 55 and over are least likely to attend

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