Now that it’s summertime — unofficially, at least — beer-drinking season is on tap. Research published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs found that the summer months are the most popular time for alcohol consumption overall, excluding December. Beer sales spike as the weather warms.
And why not: Many people view summertime as the season for kicking back and relaxing a bit, a mindset that invites beer consumption. And now that we’re practically post-pandemic, this will also be the season for gathering — at weddings, festivals, baseball games and other beer-friendly events.
But despite the pending surge in consumption, there’s trouble brewing in the craft beer industry. A firestorm started when Brienne Allan — production manager at Notch Brewing in Salem, Mass. — queried her industry colleagues on Instagram about their experiences with sexism. Allan had her credentials questioned (by men) as she set up at a beer festival.
The responses flowed. Thousands of anonymous stories were posted from around the country by women reporting rampant sexism, misogyny, harassment, assault and even attempted rape. Several dozen San Diego-area breweries and bars were implicated. The founder and chief executive of Modern Times Beer resigned amid allegations he mishandled multiple harassment claims.
Virginia Morrison is president of the San Diego Brewers Guild and chief executive of Second Chance Beer Co. She is also an employment lawyer by training. Reading the Instagram posts, Morrison wasn’t surprised — for the most part. She’s grown accustomed to microaggressions in the craft brewing industry. But Morrison was shocked to learn about the allegations of attempted rape.
The way Morrison sees it, alcohol is an accomplice. That’s believable, when you think about working at a brewery or a beer festival. And many employees, managers and owners like to socialize together, after hours. Morrison also believes that men in power — in her industry and others — aren’t intending to hurt anyone. They’re just acting in a way that is considered acceptable within a male-prescribed system of norms. And since most breweries are small operations, they don’t typically have an HR person on staff.
Morrison says these men need to be called out for their behavior and told to stop it. At the National Conflict Resolution Center (NCRC), we refer to someone who takes this sort of action as an “upstander.” Morrison recalls that she had her own recent experience as an upstander: She watched a man with whom she was meeting ogle a group of women at an adjacent table and then joke inappropriately with their waitress. Morrison finally asked the man if he has a daughter; when he said yes, Morrison spoke frankly about the way his words and actions objectify women. He seemed surprised and visibly hurt by Morrison’s remarks.
Morrison admits that it was tough to be an upstander. That’s where NCRC’s Bystander Challenge training comes in. So much focus has been placed on knowing what to do when a line is crossed — while important, employees are better protected when that line isn’t crossed in the first place.
As Morrison observes, many remarks or actions aren’t intentionally hurtful. But over time, they can take a psychological toll.
The Bystander Challenge teaches employees how to identify and address microaggressions in the workplace, before the behavior gets worse. It helps employees overcome their fear of getting involved, due to concerns about retaliation, hurting relationships, or damaging reputations — concerns that may be magnified in a collegial atmosphere like a brewery or tasting room.
The Bystander Challenge teaches four practical techniques:
- Distract: When an uncomfortable situation is unfolding — and something needs to be done right away — distract. Interrupt the interaction between the offender and their target.
- Direct: As the bystander, make a brief, direct statement that stops the behavior. Don’t attack the person responsible, but reflect on the discomfort it caused.
- Delegate: Find someone with more power who can take appropriate steps, if you’re not in a position to act.
- Dialogue: Engage in respectful dialogue with the person responsible about what you saw or heard, after the fact. Often, a two-way exchange can make a person feel more at ease and even lead to long-term behavior change.
What’s needed in the craft brewing industry and so many others is a cultural shift that empowers employees to confront difficult situations, without fear of recrimination. Bystander training gives employees the tools to have the types of conversations that can help create more civil and respectful workplaces.
And that’s something worth toasting.
Dinkin is president of the National Conflict Resolution Center, a San Diego-based group working to create solutions to challenging issues, including intolerance and incivility. To learn about NCRC’s programming, visit ncrconline.com
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