Drink, smoke, work, succeed?

‘We have a smoking room in the basement,’ says Louise. ‘But it isn’t very nice. They throw all the old office furniture that nobody wants anymore in there. It’s never cleaned. The ashtrays get so full that they spill onto the floor, and there are half empty coffee cups with cigarette butts in them all over the place. The only time I go in there is when I’m desperate to get away from the stress.’

Reports by the TUC and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development earlier this year, independently concluded that modern working life is too often dominated by stress, long hours and the sheer pressure of work. Fifty-six per cent of people questioned by the CIPD said that the balance between work and their personal life was weighted too heavily towards their job, and more than a third described themselves as workaholics. Smoking is one way of dealing with these pressures but alcohol is even more popular.

Fiona Simpson is an editor for a major broadsheet. ‘The stereotype of a journalist is of a hard drinking smoker,’ she says. ‘Even when I was six months pregnant, if I went out for lunch with fellow editors or execs they looked at me askance when I said I just wanted mineral water. Most of them are men and I think they’re still stuck in some kind of 1970s rut where, in order to relax or to grease the wheels of business, they think they’ve got to have a glass of whisky in one hand and a cigar in the other.’

For women in particular the pressure to drink in such work-related situations can be complex. A survey of 5,000 women by Alcohol Concern concluded that women turn to drink not just to alleviate the stress of work but also to bond with male colleagues.

Fiona recognises this scenario. ‘Despite the advances women have made in the workplace the overall culture is still very macho and can be very competitive. If they haven’t got the necessary bits hanging between their legs, a lot of women will feel the only way they can make an impact is by drinking their boss or co-workers under the table.’

But making an impression in the pub is probably going to be vastly outweighed by the impact your throbbing brain makes on your skull the next morning. Indeed, the Department of Health has become so concerned about the ramifications of alcohol-related problems in the workplace that they have banded together with Alcohol Concern to offer advice, consultancy and training to organisations and employers.