ABSTRACT
An examination of the Drink Question at the workplace can illuminate in several ways the nature of industrial work discipline and the process by which it was created and maintained. Its study sheds light both on the experience of work as Germany industrialized and on the conflicts between workers and employers to control the industrial labour process. The urban and rural craft traditions allowed for frequent drinking. In the pre-industrial economy, the pace of work could be varied according to life’s other demands and the working day punctuated with discussion, song and drink. Employers were concerned about the weekend drinking of their labour force and the disruptions caused by traditional holidays and festivals. Although both the social and physiological uses of alcohol on the job ultimately declined, the persistence of this kind of drinking is an important indication of the limits of the power of employers to discipline their workforce.
