Is Your Company Happy Hour Contributing to Alcohol Misuse?

A lot of companies hold regular happy hour get-togethers that can build team connections, but it can also encourage alcohol misuse that hurts people’s careers.

What You'll Learn:

• How company happy hours became a regular thing.

• The reason people join in that’s not for drinking.

• Why attending company happy hours encourages alcohol misuse.

• How to take part in company happy hours without alcohol becoming a problem.

At one point in time, happy hours after work were a very regular thing. Even universities would have happy hours almost daily as a way for professors and staff to unwind at the end of the day. It was essentially a normal part of work culture across the U.S. that’s still common today.

The concept of happy hours actually began more than 100 years ago, and they originally didn’t involve alcohol. It originated in the Navy on ships that were deployed. There was no alcohol allowed onboard, so these happy hours featured movies, boxing, music and games to keep the sailors entertained.

In the 1920s things took a turn. Ironically, during the Prohibition Era people began visiting speakeasies for “cocktail hour” after work before going home or to a restaurant for dinner where there wouldn’t be alcohol. Soon people were calling it happy hours.

Prohibition ended and the happy hour drinking continued. Only now, with alcohol once again legal, happy hour drinks became normalized. Bars and restaurants used the concept as a marketing strategy and began offering happy hour specials. By 1959 there were references of coworkers getting together for happy hour after work in major publications.

In the 1970s corporations and companies were fully embracing the happy hour concept. It became an acceptable extension of the work day. A decade or so later, the issues with work-related happy hours were already starting to gain attention. Despite concerns over employee overconsumption and driving under the influence, work happy hours continued to be as popular as ever.

The mindset about alcohol consumption is shifting, but work happy hours remain popular at many companies - and that can be bad for a person’s career.

Why People Feel Pressure to Join Company Happy Hours

There’s a true fear of missing out effect with company happy hours. These types of events are known for:

• Deal making

• Getting facetime with supervisors

• Bonding with coworkers

• Talking shop in a more relaxed environment

• Networking and making new connections

All of these aspects of work happy hours seem like career enhancers. In fact, many people join in with the thought that it will be harder to get ahead at work if they don’t attend. The motivation really is about getting ahead at the office.

The Ways Work Happy Hours Can Contribute to Unhealthy Alcohol Use

A number of people have stated that their problematic drinking started with work happy hours. It’s a trap that’s easy to fall into since it can seem like you’re doing something to further your career. But too often it can cause problems that hinder your work.

It Can Hurt Productivity the Next Day

In the short-term your productivity could suffer the next day if the happy hour is in the middle of the work week and you’re nursing a hangover the next day.

It Normalizes Chronic Drinking

One thing that happy hours of all kinds have done is normalized chronic drinking. Many people have the misconception about chronic drinking thinking that it means a person drinks a lot. In actuality, chronic drinking means that you consume alcohol regularly. So if you attend a work happy hour every Friday, that’s a form of chronic drinking since you do it regularly each week.

When it’s a work happy hour, drinking is normalized as an acceptable part of the company culture. Employees could feel like an outsider if they don’t take part. In addition to feeling pressure to drink, even low to moderate chronic drinking can cause negative health effects.

It Encourages Binge Drinking

One issue that health experts and addiction specialists have had with happy hours for 40+ years is that the special deals encourage people to drink more than they normally would. Simply lowering the price of drinks can prompt people to indulge more since there’s less of a cost barrier. For others, there’s a psychological response of wanting to take advantage of the lower price while they can in the limited happy hour window.

Binge drinking is such a concern, some states and local municipalities have regulated and limited happy hour promotions. For example, a two-for-one drink special. This promotion can encourage people to buy twice the amount of drinks they might normally would to take advantage of the deal.

It Can Lead to Negative Changes in the Brain

When drinking is connected with an event, place or person it creates an unhealthy anticipatory connection in the brain. It can trigger the urge to drink just thinking about the upcoming happy hour. That can lead to other issues like less willpower when you start drinking.

Taking Part in Company Happy Hours Without Alcohol Becoming a Problem

The upside is that you don’t have to skip the work happy hours or put yourself in a precarious position that can negatively impact your health.

Limit drinking during the event.
Just because you’re at a happy hour, that doesn’t mean you have to drink alcohol steadily. Make every other drink a glass of water, mocktail or non-alcoholic beverage.

Limit the time you spend at happy hour.
Most happy hours actually last 2-4 hours between the hours of 4pm-8pm. There’s no requirement to stay the entire time. If you truly feel like not attending could limit your opportunities in the office, plan to go for the first hour only. You’ll drink less and be more focused on using your time effectively to network and get one-on-one time with the most important people.

Don’t go to every work happy hour.
It may seem like you’re missing out, but there’s no requirement to go to every happy hour get together after work. The better way of going about it is to attend every once in a while. For example, instead of attending a weekly happy hour every week, you can go once a month or every other week.

Suggest happy hours that are about more than drinking.
The earliest happy hours didn’t involve drinking at all, and your work happy hour doesn’t have to either. You can suggest that the company host happy hours at the office that promote mingling with non-alcoholic refreshments and games. Or co-workers can plan an event like bowling or watching a local sports team. That way drinking alcohol is an option, but it isn’t the focus of the event.

Many companies are actually doing away with work happy hours all together because they understand it can encourage unhealthy behaviors that are detrimental to the health of their employees. It’s actually just as common for businesses to host team-building events that are physically active, test problem solving in a fun way or get people collaborating. There are even companies that offer a gym onsite to get people interacting in a healthy way.

If you regularly attend company happy hour events that have led to more drinking than you’d like, you may want to consider a naltrexone prescription. Naltrexone is proven to help people curb alcohol cravings and drink less by eliminating the buzzed feeling.

Many people report having just one or two drinks when they’re taking naltrexone because they simply aren’t interested in drinking more. You’ll have less of an urge to keep drinking and will be able to stay focused on using work happy hours to enhance rather than inhibit your career.

The first step to getting a naltrexone prescription online is taking our Alcohol Use Assessment. It only takes a few minutes, but it will help you get a better idea of how you can avoid unhealthy drinking habits and keep your career on track.