The Downing Street “partygate” scandal has shown how alcohol use can be embedded in the everyday workplace. The internal investigation being led by senior civil servant Sue Gray is expected to make clear how normalised the culture of drinking has become within the centre of government under Boris Johnson’s administration.
But this culture of drinking in the workplace is not restricted to government, of course. We know that drinking carries a heavy cost for employers in terms of work absences and reduced productivity – including when it is happening outside work.
Alcohol interferes with sleep, particularly the quality of sleep, making people tired, less able to concentrate, and less likely to do well at tasks that require motor coordination. And more generally, alcohol misuse is a leading cause of disability, ill health and death in the UK.
