Why alcohol and work may not mix any more

For decades, drinking and work have gone hand in hand. This culture persists in many workplaces today. In a powerful recent blog, Hannah Powell reflects on her time in the world of public relations: “Monday to Thursday we could drink after 6pm and didn’t often leave the office before 7 or 8pm. On Fridays, the fridge was available at 4pm... The drinking would carry on all evening, either in the office or by decamping to local pubs and bars. Team bonding was done over boozy lunches.”

But this whole culture is under serious scrutiny – for a number of reasons – and we may soon be calling time on ‘Wine-o-clock’. As Sue Gray stated in her report into ‘Partygate’ at 10 Downing Street: “The excessive consumption of alcohol is not appropriate in a professional workplace at any time.”