Sales environments have come a long way since boozy lunches and 3 a.m. after-work drink sessions, but there are some companies where after-work Friday drinks are still part of the job description. Alcohol has long been used as a networking tool to bond, relieve stress and cement relationships, with people claiming that real business deals are done at the bar and not in the boardroom; however, this culture can lead to a long list of negative issues.

This work hard, play hard culture encourages burnout and requires people to live and breathe work.

Drinking is a lifestyle choice, and not everyone has chosen to be a drinker – in fact, not drinking shouldn’t be frowned upon – ABC’s Australia Talks National Survey of over 54,000 Australians found that younger generations are drinking substantially less than their predecessors. Just 14% of 18-25-year-olds drink several times a week compared with 35% of people over 70. Similarly, when La Trobe University analysed data from the National Drug Strategy Household Survey, they found that those aged between 24 and 29 were the most likely to have reduced their alcohol in the past year, choosing to do so for work, education and family.

You may think your drinking culture gets everyone together and is contributing to your inclusivity; however, you are singling out those who want to lead a healthier lifestyle.

Wellbeing

Research from Aviva. Shows a third of employees admitted to having been to work with a hangover, 10 per cent reported hangovers at work once a month, and five per cent once a week. Participants reported that, when hungover, they would suffer from poor concentration, feeling tired to the point of being very sleepy, doing the minimum work possible before going home and making mistakes which they later needed to rectify.

The Institute of Alcohol Studies estimates that 40 per cent of workplace accidents are alcohol-related and cites alcohol as a leading cause of grievances and disciplinary procedures, with around half of all sexual harassment claims being alcohol-related.

Appeal to new talent

If you want to attract this new talent, they’re not going to be impressed by how drunk your team gets on a Friday night.   In fact, 86 per cent of millennials would take a pay cut to work for an organisation whose values and mission align with their own, and a Fidelity report discovered that millennials would, on average, take a $7,600 reduction in salary for an “improved quality of work life.” 

In order to attract this group of talent into your organisation, you need to focus on creating a more inclusive workplace.

There are simpler ways to encourage an inclusive workplace that don’t involve a session at the nearest bar.  In a recent study, they found that fun at work was positively and directly related to organisational citizenship behaviour, and positively and indirectly to both task performance and creative performance. In addition, individuals having fun at work were also more likely to be more engaged in their work, and, consequently, exhibit greater creative performance (https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/MRR-11-2012-0252/full/html).

If you’re looking to create a more inclusive and productive workplace, ditch the drinking culture and focus on non-drinking ‘fun’ in the workplace!