Booze lubricated Partygate – let’s confront that inconvenient truth

It is not just politicians who need to rethink the culture of alcohol and work. We all do

Should we call time on alcohol at work? Even before Sue Gray’s report into “Partygate” is published it is evident that alcohol played a significant role in the day-to-day business of Downing Street. Almost every gathering, meeting or whatever you want to call it involved alcohol, from cheese and wine in the garden at No 10 to the now infamous suitcase used to stock up on supplies.

The relationship between alcohol and work is a long-standing one and certainly not restricted to those working at the centre of government. There are still many jobs and professions where drinking is the norm and in some ways serves to build working relationships. Despite recent attempts to reduce reliance on alcohol, the culture of drinking in the military, often to excess, persists. Getting on in your career as a lawyer, accountant or medic, meanwhile, still involves drinks after work and, all too frequently, during working hours.

Work in itself can be a major contributor to some employees developing an unhealthy relationship with alcohol. Workplace stress is not uncommon and alcohol is the perfect drug, at least in the short term, to help alleviate the physical and psychological symptoms of stress; it soothes and relaxes, numbing the mind.

The stereotypical view of the alcoholic is just that – a stereotype – and doesn’t match the tens of thousands of functioning employees who are able to carry on working while consuming risky amounts of alcohol.

In many work places, problems with alcohol are still viewed as a disciplinary matter rather than a health issue. Of course disciplinary action is the correct course of action if an employee has behaved inappropriately while intoxicated in the workplace. But when someone has become psychologically and physically dependent on the drug, the punitive response is unlikely to improve the outcome. There is still a significant stigma towards alcohol dependence, which serves as a barrier to employees seeking support.

In many ways the pandemic has facilitated drinking at work – or excessive drinking after work, which has just as much potential to impact work performance. The World Health Organisation recognised this early in the pandemic and issued guidance on the matter, recognising for example the potential that working from home might have on alcohol consumption.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development also raised concerns in their report early in the pandemic. It revealed that one third of employers had disciplined an employee and a fifth had fired an employee for alcohol use. They also pointed to the lack of training for line managers on issues with alcohol, saying only one in 10 had been given specific guidance and training. On a more positive note, when employers referred an employee to specialist alcohol treatment, 69 per cent returned to their job.

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So, it is not just senior politicians who need to rethink the culture of alcohol and work. We all do. The time has come to decouple alcohol from the workplace in the same way we have done with tobacco. It isn’t so long ago that smoking at work was commonplace but would now be regarded as unacceptable. A culture can change, but it’s not helped when the signals from government are that work and alcohol are a necessary cocktail to get the job done.

Ian Hamilton is a senior lecturer in addiction and mental health at the University of York