It’s easy to imagine how fed up you would be if your colleague regularly came to work hungover and unable to work to the level required.
What’s not so easy is to think about how to tackle it. Low level under performing can undermine a workplace and ultimately increase levels of turnover amongst staff. Chances are, it’ll be the reliable one that’ll move on to another job, rather than the person coasting along.
Whatever the reason behind the behaviour, the impact on staff colleagues can be enormous.
With over 10 million adults in the UK regularly drinking over the guideline amounts its no surprising that alcohol has an impact on our working lives.
Alcohol is directly linked to a range of health issues like liver disease, but what is less well known is its role within many cancers, including breast cancer and mouth cancers and its contribution to feelings of anxiety and mental ill-health.
Drinking too much can affect many aspects of life, it even has a role on our sleep patterns. Too much alcohol interrupts sleep by preventing the deep REM sleep needed to truly rest and recover. No wonder a hangover can also cause colleagues to be grumpy as well as non-productive!
As an employer its important to strike the right balance. Whilst no one wants to work for a kill-joy, it is important that staff are aware of the standards expected in the workplace. You may have noticed fractures within a team, a reduction in productivity or increase in mistakes. Sometimes its hard to put your finger on what the cause might be. But a straight forward approach can reveal a good deal about how to improve working atmosphere and workplace success.
Of course one way to improve staff morale is to put in place policies and procedures that mean they can feel confident about asking for help as well as supported by an understanding employer.
