The dark side of work hard, play hard attitudes

By Neil Patrick

There’s an enduring notion that a “work hard, play hard” culture is a good thing. I’ve lost count of how many times I have heard that description bandied around by employers. It’s presented almost as a badge of honour.

But somewhere along the way, a basically positive notion has become corrupted. The idea that we should enjoy work is fine. The idea that we should have great and enjoyable relationships with our colleagues is fine. If we can work and play together, we all benefit.

But there’s a dark side to this because in realty, drinking is the default substitute for play. The dominant forms of social interaction in the west almost universally involve alcohol consumption. Don’t get me wrong. I like a drink. I regularly enjoy a beer and chat with my friends and business contacts.

But as more and more professionals find themselves working harder, the natural compensatory reaction is to play harder. And that often means drinking harder.

When I looked at the available data, a troubling picture emerged. The people that we often place our greatest trust in also have some of the highest rates of alcoholism. I’m talking about doctors, dentists, lawyers, senior executives.

In the UK, doctors are three times more likely to develop cirrhosis of the liver than the general population. Experts are calling for urgent action to tackle the "significant challenge" of rising levels of alcoholism and substance abuse among professionals.

Health professionals have issued calls for the UK government to help the burgeoning mass of professionals who are functioning alcoholics.

Research suggests 15-24% of lawyers will suffer from alcoholism during their careers, while the British Medical Association estimates that one in 15 healthcare professionals will develop an addiction problem.

If you ask the man in the street what an alcoholic is, they'll generally say a down and out, but 96% of people with addictions are employed and working most of the time.

Within my own circles, I have professional friends who have developed liver cirrhosis from alcohol abuse. And it’s not funny. They have become like ghosts of the people they used to be. Frankly they have become not just unemployable, but more or less incapable of doing any sort of work.

Had this health damage been caused by hazardous physical working environments, their employers would have been sued. I'd argue that these people are victims of culturally hazardous working environments. Critically, I know that their excessive drinking wasn’t caused by their joie de vivre; it was mostly a reaction to stress at work and drinking as a routine part of their work.

It’s high time employers think long and hard about what they really mean when they brag about their work hard, play hard culture.