Over recent years, many employers have increased awareness and support for employee wellbeing. Topics such as mental health, nutrition and exercise are now widely promoted. Recommendations, including ‘go for a walk while you’re on Zoom’ and ‘plan your day around home schooling,’ were encouraged by employers to help alleviate the additional stress from the pandemic.
February 2022 |
8 minutes
Faye was motivated to improve alcohol awareness among her colleagues at work having seen her own drinking creeping up to harmful levels. Here she shares her story.
Surveys before the pandemic identified that 30% of employees drank alcohol to deal with workplace stress.
I believe employers should also be adding alcohol to their wellbeing plans to increase awareness of the impact it can have on mental and physical health. Our managers should be provided with training to help them more easily spot the signs of problem drinking, with the aim of guiding colleagues to the right support. Surveys before the pandemic identified that 30% of employees drank alcohol to deal with workplace stress. Couple that with the rise in adults drinking at high levels over 2020 and 2021 and you have the potential for a highly stressed workforce with increased risk of sickness and loss of productivity.
I was one of those individuals who drank way too much in lockdown. In fact, I started drinking at the age of 15 with my intake gradually creeping up over the years. My drinking increased in 2020, to around 90-120 units a week – significantly high-risk levels. This had an impact on my mental and physical health. I was tired, depressed and hated myself, but I didn’t know where to go for help or who to talk to.
The first step of being accountable for my bad relationship with alcohol was when I told my line manager. I felt this was either going to be a bold and brave move or a reckless, damaging career one. As it turned out, I was extremely lucky that my manager was easy to talk to and a good friend. He listened, empathised and was supportive. It took another five months, a lot of talking, reading about alcohol, listening to podcasts, and signing up to a 60-day alcohol free challenge for me to finally stop.
In May last year, when I was only a few weeks alcohol-free, I reached out to the wellbeing team at the financial company I work for. I presented government statistics, short-term and long-term effects of alcohol misuse, and asked for their support to arrange two webinars as part of Alcohol Awareness Week. The response I received was mixed: “We understand this is an important topic but don’t see this as a topic on our well-being agenda” and added “try doing this locally in your own region”.
The aim of the events was to breakdown the stigma that surrounds alcohol and encourage colleagues to think and hopefully talk about their own relationship with booze.
So, I did just that. I obtained local sponsorship and funding and arranged it myself. The aim of the events was to breakdown the stigma that surrounds alcohol and encourage colleagues to think and hopefully talk about their own relationship with booze. For this to be powerful, it was important for me to tell my story as part of the discussions. Again, it seemed to me that it might be another brave or reckless decision, but it felt right.
The anonymous questions and comments from over 220 colleagues came flooding in. My story resonated with them…
David Wilson aka Sober Dave, sobriety coach and Ambassador for Alcohol Change UK, joined me on one of the sessions. The anonymous questions and comments from over 220 colleagues came flooding in. My story resonated with them, they told me their story, they thanked me and asked for more information and events.
With the ongoing help from the team at Alcohol Change UK, I have since shared my story in a mindful drinking / Dry January webinar with Susan Laurie which received even more viewers and feedback. Lauren Booker is also set to train our wellbeing champions on how to spot the signs of alcohol misuse at work and guide colleagues to any support and information they may need.
I am still pushing to add alcohol as a lead topic on the global wellbeing agenda at work and in other companies, using LinkedIn and social media. Armed with the feedback and stats as evidence, I’ve reached out to senior executives with a request to discuss my global plans. They have agreed to meet and I am hopeful for a good outcome soon.
You can do it too!
Why not speak to your employer to find out what they are doing to raise alcohol awareness amongst colleagues? Be brave and bold and encourage people to talk about alcohol in team meetings. You’ll be surprised once you start the conversion at how many colleagues want to tell their story too. By talking more openly, we can continue to breakdown the stigma surrounding alcohol and help more people.
Alcohol Change UK can support you in developing an alcohol policy and in running an alcohol awareness event to enhance your organisation’s health and wellbeing.
