The Signs and Effects of Drinking at Work And How to Address Them

The key to reducing alcohol misuse in the workplace is to avoid waiting until something goes wrong before acting. There are steps that can be taken at every level of your company and for every employee. One person’s behavior can change workload balance, productivity, morale, employee turnover, customer satisfaction, and so on.

Alcoholism at Work: Signs, Causes, Effects & Treatment

Escape rooms, bowling, mini-golf, or dinner shows can be great sober activities to help build connections with your coworkers. Whether you’re grabbing a beer at a bar with coworkers after a long day or having a glass of wine while attending a formal event to make connections, alcohol can be prescient. However, drinking after work can have hidden dangers, regardless of your profession.

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is characterized by an inability to control drinking, preoccupation with alcohol, and continued use despite negative drinking because of boredom repercussions. It is a pattern that may start with after-work drinks but can escalate to more frequent and higher quantities of alcohol consumption. Long-term alcohol use has been shown to decrease myocardial protein expression and synthesis while accelerating protein degradation in the heart muscle, further contributing to cardiovascular deterioration.

After-Work Drinking and Cardiovascular Health

Workplace alcohol use can result in higher turnover rates and customer dissatisfaction, as well as higher healthcare payments. Steatotic liver disease develops in about 90% of people who drink more than 1.5 to 2 ounces of alcohol per day. Heavy drinking can also lead to a host of health concerns, like brain damage, heart disease, cirrhosis of the liver and even certain kinds of cancer. For women, more than three drinks on any day or more than seven drinks a week is heavy drinking.

Strategies for Establishing Alcohol Boundaries

A critical indicator is the development of increased tolerance and withdrawal symptoms, which can signal an underlying alcohol use disorder. Professional help should be considered if you find yourself needing to drink more to achieve the same level of intoxication or if withdrawal symptoms become apparent. Establishing boundaries with alcohol, especially in a culture that often encourages after-work drinks, is crucial for maintaining a healthy lifestyle and preventing dependence. To set effective alcohol boundaries, it’s essential to understand your motivations for wanting to drink less. This self-awareness can guide you in making decisions that align with your personal and professional goals.

1. As some individuals may not partake in drinking for personal or health reasons, this can create divisions within teams and affect overall workplace cohesion, as reported by the BBC.
2. Contact us to learn more about alcohol addiction treatment programs that can work well for your needs in recovery.
3. Having a beer or a glass of wine after work can be a relaxing way to unwind, depending on your personal preferences and tolerance for alcohol.
4. Studies suggest that regular after-work drinking rituals, although socially and symbolically significant, primarily highlight the negative consequences for colleagues and the workplace environment.

Health Complications from Regular After-Work Drinking

Treatment for ALD involves a comprehensive approach that may include nutritional support, addressing coexisting alcohol use disorder, and, in severe cases, medications and possibly liver transplantation. Regular after-work drinking has been identified to have a significant negative impact on both work performance and professional relationships. Research indicates a strong correlation between higher levels of alcohol consumption and higher levels of impaired work performance. Statistically, a positive liberty cap gills association between these two factors is far more likely than a negative one, with a whopping odds ratio of 14.00, suggesting a compelling relationship between drinking habits and job efficacy (source). When people talk about the dangers of alcoholism at work, they typically refer to employees with signs of an alcohol use disorder, which is the clinical term for an alcohol addiction.

In honor of Labor Day, we’ll be exploring the dangers of drinking after work. In either instance, patients will receive services, such as medical oversight and individual and group therapy. AddictionResource aims to present the most accurate, trustworthy, and up-to-date medical content to our readers. Our team does their best for our readers to help them stay informed about vital healthcare decisions. It impairs judgment, coordination, and productivity, posing safety risks and potentially leading to disciplinary action or termination. If your employer does not already have programs in place to address substance misuse among employees, bring concerns to your HR department or boss.

If The Recovery Village is not the right fit for you or your loved one, we will help refer you to a facility that is. If you find that you can’t control your drinking, or know a loved one who is struggling with addiction, know that there is help out there. At AAC, we’re open and committed to providing critical care in a safe environment, even during the ongoing pandemic. If you’re solution focused therapy worksheets ready to quit drinking and reclaim your life from addiction, call now, or click to chat.