Could your drinking be effecting your chances of promotion?
Is alcohol stopping you from getting that promotion?
At last count a study said that there are 8-14 million working days lost a year due to our alcohol use. That equates to £7 billion due to lost productivity through unemployment and sickness.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg240.pdf Dont mix it a guide for employers.
That’s a crazy amount of money and days lost if you are an employer.
However it’s not surprising as we are a nation of drinkers. Approximately 9 million people drink over the recommended guidelines; that’s the population of London.
Some of us will remember a time (it may still be happening in some work places) when alcohol was a lubricant to business deals; a lunchtime meeting with wine, an early evening with scotch. We like a drink and there is nothing wrong with that (in moderation), as long as it’s not causing you any problems.
Some questions for you.
· Do you drink every day?
· Do you struggle to get up in the morning?
· Do you take days off the day after the night before?
· Do you feel unwell a lot of the time?
If you are a regular drinker or binge drinker (a binge is drinking more than 5 drinks in one session for a man and 4 for a woman) and you answered yes to one of these questions it might be good to take a break and see if this improves things.
Important note: if you drink daily and you drink more than 14 units per day (check out the drink aware unit calculator for help doing this Drink aware unit calculator ). Please see your doctor before embarking on any reduction. Alcohol can be physically and psychologically addictive. If you drink a significant amount (which is hard to measure as everyone is different) everyday there is a chance you have a physical addiction to alcohol. If this is the case its best to see your GP and get medical advice. Stopping suddenly can be fatal.
There are many benefits to you reducing, stopping or just gaining control of your drinking.
· You will feel happier and healthier: Give your body and brain a break from processing and dealing with a toxin.
· You will sleep better: Most people think that alcohol aids sleep, well it does initially as it relaxes you but later it alters the quality of your sleep as your body works hard to process the alcohol. If you sleep better you will be surprised at the effects, everything is improved. You feel better, your brain works better and you are better able to respond to the working days events which will improve your productivity and learning no matter what you do.
· If you feel healthier, happier and sleep better you feel more able to exercise which also improves brain function.
Basically life is easier if you don’t drink so much. Obviously it’s ok to have an occasional drink and lots of people do. I always advocate a break though, after all if you can’t take some time off from alcohol what does that tell you?
Having been manager of a number of different teams. It was so obvious to spot the workers who had had a heavy night, weekend, or just drank a bit too much regularly.
You could tell by looking at them, by their mood and if you work in a challenging environment this is even easier to see, as people who are tired and hungover don’t respond so well to the challenges of a working day. Also as we all know you can smell it on people after a heavy night. No amount of mints is going to change that.
It was also very obvious from sick days.
This effected their performance at work and also their chances of promotion.
So unless your manager has a drink problem, trust me they know.
There are so many benefits from just taking some time out from alcohol. It improves your health, sleep, work, relationships and even finances.
So if you are someone that wants to get on at work and would like some help with giving up alcohol. Learn about your drinking or contact me to see how I can support you.
If you are an employer and you want to find out more contact me. I have worked with a couple of large employers to help them with health improvement policies with some great results.
