24-hr Drinking will be Bad for Business, Say UK Workers

More than half of all workers (51 per cent) feel that the introduction of 24-hour pub licences will cut productivity for UK organisations, according to new research by recruitment website reed.co.uk published today.

One year before the Government’s 2003 Licensing Act comes into effect - legalising 24-hour drinking in pubs - 8,440 people were surveyed by reed.co.uk to examine the relationship between drinking and work.

Younger people - aged 18 to 25 - are most likely to believe 24-hour licences will adversely affect productivity at work, with 55 per cent saying it will be bad for the workplace. This is particularly significant as this is the age-group most likely to binge drink, according to Government research. While fewer Directors (46 per cent) are concerned about the effects of 24-hour pub licenses on the workplace, they may beunderestimating its impact on younger staff members.

While workers across all sectors feel 24-hour drinking will adversely affect the workplace, those in Retail and Distribution fear the worst impact, with 56 per cent of employees in these areas predicting decreased productivity with the introduction of 24-hour drinking.

Ten million working days are lost annually through alcohol excess ? costing British business an estimated 960 million - when staff take sick days off through being too hung over to face work, according to the reed.co.uk research.

In addition hung over employees who turn up for work blight a further 72 million working days a year (on average workers turn up to work two and a half days a year when hungover). Employees estimate this causes a 27 percent loss in productivity, according to the survey, this equates to a total loss of 19 million working days annually - an extra cost to UK business of 1.8 billion lost working hours.

This makes the total estimated cost to UK Business - combining alcohol-induced sick days with lost productivity through hangovers - a total of 29 million lost days losing business an estimated 2.8 billion annually in lost working hours, before the start of 24-hour pub licenses.

What’s more problems with hangovers could be set to increase. Almost a third (31 per cent) of workers feel it is now more acceptable to turn up to work with a hangover than it was three years ago. Surprisingly it is women who cite the biggest change in attitudes to alcohol, with 35 per cent of women feeling it is more acceptable to turn up for work with a hangover compared to 26 per cent of men.

Turning up for work with a hangover often means a lot more than not working at full steam. Additional workplace problems caused by alcohol include:

Not caring - One employee found it all too much when A customer was having a go at me and I got up and told them that I had a headache and didn’t have to deal with this before walking away.

Crushing things - One employee admitted to crushing a Ford Escort by reversing over it in a JCB.

Mouthing off - One lady reported saying to my supervisor ’I sh*gged your bloke last night, and he was crap’, I was sacked that same day. Another shot his career in the toe when he told a senior partner he was talking sh*t.

Passing out - One found a hangover too much and passed out whilst on supermarket checkout, another collapsed at work and had to be taken home by a colleague.

Throwing up - One respondent remembered being sick all over my boss. I was sacked. Another was equally unlucky when they threw up on a customer.

Slurring words - A respondent found the next morning that my speech was slurred to the point where I couldn’t use the phone.

Blowing up - One employee lost it completely, saying I spilt hot tea on my executive manager’s suit and punched my secretary, as well as smashing the vending machine. Another said they simply started a fist fight with my boss.

Martin Warnes, Manager of reed.co.uk, comments:

This research appears to question Government hope that 24-hour licences in pubs will lead to a more relaxed, Continental-style attitude towards,drinking outside working hours. Young people, the age group most likely to take advantage of any relaxation, are the most concerned that it would affect productivity.

It is interesting to recall that the licensing laws were first introduced because munitions workers in the First World War couldn’t perform tasks properly. Perhaps the Government should bear this in mind before trying to introduce a European drinking culture through legal changes.