Sweetheart, continue having drinks outside! We look after the workers (10)

I believe the answer is:

beekeepers

'we look after the workers' is the definition.
(as in worker bees)

'sweetheart continue having drinks outside' is the wordplay.
'sweetheart' becomes 'e' (the heart/centre of 'sweet').
'continue' becomes 'keep' (synonyms).
'having drinks' becomes 'beers' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'outside' is an insertion indicator.
'e'+'keep'='ekeep'
'ekeep' put into 'beers' is 'BEEKEEPERS'.

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.

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