How Alcohol Affects the Workplace

​​How Alcohol Affects the Workplace

For anyone who is struggling to maintain their sobriety or is recently sober, it’s important to understand the impact of alcohol on the workplace. Both for you and your colleagues, drinking can make a huge difference to your productivity and quality of work each day. You don’t want to risk losing a career you’ve worked so hard for due to alcohol, so keep reading to discover the key ways in which alcohol affects the workplace. You’ll soon see how important it is to avoid working under the influence and keep your focus throughout your working day.

Increased Risk of an Accident

If you work within an industry where there’s a level of risk in the tasks you perform, it’s incredibly dangerous to be working under the influence. The chance of an accident occurring increases exponentially, putting yourself and those around you at risk. When working with heavy machinery or vehicles, you need to maintain your sobriety to avoid putting everyone in a dangerous situation. Almost all heavy-duty equipment comes with a warning not to use it after drinking, and this is something that needs to be obeyed at all times. An accident or injury could have a huge impact on your quality of life in the future, so keep this in mind at all times when working under the influence.

Poor Decision-Making Skills

No matter what type of job you currently have, you’ll find that decision-making is a huge part of your daily tasks. Even if you just have to make a few simple decisions each day, you need to ensure you are always choosing the right option to avoid issues further down the line. As you maintain your sobriety, you’ll notice that your concentration starts to improve. You’ll find that it’s much easier to think clearer and make decisions that will positively impact both yourself and those around you. You’ll be able to concentrate on the work at hand throughout the day, increasing your productivity and effectiveness as an employee.

Failure to Meet Business Goals

Particularly for individuals who are working in high-pressure environments, it’s critical to maintain your sobriety in order to meet your business objectives and goals. You might be supervising a large team with a sales goal each month. When you fail to meet these goals, it can impact your job security and your pay. Even just one or two days of working under the influence of alcohol can have a huge impact on your performance for the month. Many jobs require us to perform at the highest levels every single day, so you need to ensure you are turning up to work looking and feeling your best.

Lowers Team Morale

If you or a team member is working after drinking, this can impact the morale and results for everyone in the team. As a manager or business owner, we always recommend offering assistance to anyone in your team who is struggling with alcohol addiction. Most companies have their own policies in regards to alcohol, and you’ll need to ensure you are following these at all times. You’ll soon find your team becomes divided if one person is working under the influence. The sooner these issues are discussed, the more your team will enjoy working together in the future.

Laziness in the Workplace

No one likes having to take on extra work in order to make up for someone else’s poor behavior. Alcohol often results in individuals sleeping or daydreaming in the middle of the working day. They lack the focus that’s needed to complete even the most basic tasks. In the long run, this results in other people picking up the slack, which causes frustration for the whole team. There’s nothing worse than a lazy co-worker, and alcohol is a huge factor for sloppiness and laziness. You’ll find that when you maintain your sobriety, your relationships and focus improve, making your workplace a better place to be for everyone.

Lateness

Many jobs have very little tolerance for lateness. When you drink heavily at night, you are much more likely to oversleep or struggle to get up in time for work in the morning. Being tardy day after day can result in you missing important meetings and making a poor impression on your team. When you start taking days off as well to nurse a hangover, you’ll soon fall behind in your work. Lateness is one of the most common complaints within teams about their colleagues, so don’t annoy everyone you are working with due to your addiction. Do your best to show up on time or early every day, and you’ll soon notice your work environment is much improved.

Confrontations with Supervisors and Co-workers

For many people, alcohol brings out the worst in them. Even if you are quite a mild-mannered person before drinking, we each react differently after a drink or two. When you focus on maintaining your sobriety, you’ll notice that you have fewer confrontations with your co-workers and supervisors. You’ll be much more likely to enjoy good relationships with these key figures in your working life. When you argue back all the time with those around you, you’ll soon notice the tension increases in your workplace. As you work to keep sober, you’ll find that you gain more respect from your supervisors and co-workers, helping you to progress in your career as you have always desired.

There are so many ways in which alcohol affects the workplace, which is why it’s so important to keep working on your sobriety. If you are struggling to stay sober or have noticed any of these issues listed above, we encourage you to download our app today. We offer many different resources to help you focus on your sobriety and keep you on track when going to work each day. When you’ve worked so hard for many years to progress in your career, you don’t want to throw this away due to the struggles in your personal life. As you maintain your sobriety, you’ll soon notice that your work life is much improved, and you make more of an impact each day within your organization.