How to help employees manage alcohol abuse and get the help they need

It’s time to change the workplace conversation around drinking, to help people with alcohol addiction and problem habits feel safe to seek support.

“We need to challenge the idea that everyone should or does drink alcohol,” said Alexandria Walker, co-founder of Bee Sober, a U.K.-based nonprofit dedicated to destigmatizing alcohol abuse, at the Society of Human Resources 2021 annual conference.

During COVID, 60% of people said they increased their alcohol use as a way to alleviate their stress and combat pandemic boredom. And while drinking might happen outside of office hours, its impact is felt during the 9-to-5, too: 56% of employees have come to work hungover or still drunk, and alcohol use accounts for 500 million lost work days per year in the U.S., according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Read more: For employees struggling with addiction, digital tools can be the first step toward treatment

Both Walker and her cofounder, Lisa Elsworth, struggled with problem drinking. Elsworth says she used drinking to drown out deeper issues and felt uncomfortable and afraid to talk to anyone at work about her problems.

“I didn’t like who I was and drinking was a way for me to shut down,” Elsworth said at the SHRM panel discussion. “I wasn’t present. I was just sick and tired of being sick and tired every morning.”

Typical warning signs of alcohol abuse include strained relationships with coworkers, increased and unexplained work absences, changes to physical appearance and extreme fatigue, among others. If a colleague or manager spots these signs, Walker encourages them to reach out and offer a non-judgemental opportunity for support.

Read more: Drunk and high at work? Employers confront a new addiction crisis

“If someone says, I can’t wait to go home and sit on the couch with a bottle of wine,’ or, ‘I can’t remember what happened last night,’ that might be the time to have a conversation,” Walker said. “It's personal, but it can make someone feel valued. This might be the only connection they're getting so we need to make sure we're making that a positive experience.”

Yet the stigma around addiction and alcohol misuse also prevents employees from reaching out for help: 63% of employees say they are too afraid of getting fired or punished by HR to ask for support, data from Bee Sober found. Walker says it’s time for HR managers to tap into their empathy and learn how to lead conversations if they suspect an employee is struggling.

“Be a human and scrap the policy bits," Walker said. "We know you have a job to do, but you can't do it properly if someone is too afraid to ask you for help."

The co-founders also recommended looking at your workplace culture and how it promotes socializing. Frequent happy hours or calls to bring your favorite drink encourage drinking as the only way to let loose, they said. Instead, look for alternative team building events that promote self-care, like meditation or physical activities.

Walker and Elsworth’s platform, Bee Sober, works with organizations to provide education and training around alcohol abuse awareness and encourage healthier habits and sobriety through sober coaching partnerships. Both women live sober lives today and use their own experiences to help others reach their health and well-being goals.

“We were the first to say that we had a problem,” Elsworth said. “There is so much more to my identity than drinking alcohol.”