How has a report on multi-generational workplaces published earlier this week by the Work Foundation led to press headlines (some tongue in cheek and some more serious) bemoaning the demise of after work drinks? The answer is a short section in the report about “inclusive socialising at work” which invites employers to consider “the appropriateness of centring workplace social activities outside of working hours or around the consumption of alcohol”.
Drilling down through the footnotes, much of the material in this section of the report derives from guidance from the Law Society Junior Lawyers Division: Creating a Healthy Alcohol Culture in the Legal Profession, published to coincide with dry January 2020. The authors summarise the aim of the guidance as follows:
It should be stressed that the intention is not to stop individuals drinking alcohol altogether – that is a choice for individuals. Instead, it is promoting insight and the opportunity to create a healthier, more inclusive approach to work-related activities.
Changing drinking habits and the responsibility for not getting drunk is left to the individual. However, as a profession there is a collective responsibility to make positive change and choice easier for our members, clients and intermediaries. By adopting some or all of the recommendations in this guidance, we can all contribute to a healthier culture.
What links this earlier guidance to the Work Foundation’s latest report is an understanding that the place of alcohol in the workplace is not only a health and safety issue, but also an inclusivity issue. Responsible drinking at work-related social events has long been a concern of HR departments across the country, but it is only relatively recently that it has been appreciated that events centred around the consumption of alcohol (particularly after work) can effectively exclude a large section of the workforce. That’s not confined to parents of young children or people who can’t drink for religious regions, but also includes younger workers who are significantly more likely to avoid alcohol than their older colleagues.
The challenge both for individuals who are struggling with their relationship with alcohol and for employers who wish to promote inclusive workplaces is what to put in its place. Some of the ideas originally floated by the Junior Lawyers Division have received a degree of mockery in the press, but these criticisms are delivered from the perspective of a society where the ubiquitous presence of alcohol is rarely challenged. Each employer should consider which of the many alternative ideas floating around will work best for them: simply banning alcohol at work-related events is unlikely to be the best option.
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