Getting Drunk to Get Ahead Is the Hangover of Another Age
A full breakdown of the insights contributed to The Times.
I was recently invited to contribute my insights to a feature in The Times titled “Getting drunk to get ahead is the hangover of another age.” While only a selection of my responses was included, I felt the full set of perspectives I shared may be valuable to readers — so I’m sharing them here in full.
If you’re exploring alcohol-free living, workplace wellbeing or sober performance, you may also find these guides helpful:
Is this research out of date or even dangerous?
This study is dangerously misleading. The research claims heavy drinking aids career success, but here’s what it actually shows: in Norway, where heavy drinking is embedded in university culture, people who went to university earned more later. That’s it. It doesn’t prove alcohol helped their careers — it proves that university graduates (who happen to drink heavily) earn more than non-graduates.
But here’s the real question: how much more could those people have achieved without hangovers, brain fog, and missed opportunities?
I work with high-achievers who climbed the ladder while drinking heavily, and not one of them believes alcohol contributed to their success. If anything, they reflect on what they could have achieved without it.
The research also ignores survivorship bias — what about the people whose careers collapsed, whose health deteriorated, or who didn’t make it to the follow-up survey?
Suggesting alcohol helps careers is like saying cigarettes help networking because people talk on smoke breaks — technically correlated, functionally devastating.
Is it just Gen Z and problem drinkers reassessing alcohol, or is this broader?
It’s definitely broader than just Gen Z — but it’s still nowhere near a cultural tipping point. Yes, younger generations drink less, and there’s growing visibility around sobriety. But for the majority of UK adults, drinking remains the default assumption. Unless you’re labelled an “alcoholic,” people expect you to drink.
A reassessment is happening — but usually only after something forces the issue.
My clients don’t come to me because they’re following a wellness trend. They come after a crisis:
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A health scare
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A relationship breaking down
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Cognitive performance dropping
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Burnout
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Sleep so destroyed they can no longer function
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A partner’s ultimatum
Most people still only question alcohol once they’re face-to-face with the consequences.
Is there a ‘safe’ amount to drink?
No. The science is clear: there is no safe amount of alcohol for your health or cognitive function. Even small amounts affect sleep, memory, and long-term wellbeing.
We live in collective denial around alcohol. Articles about alcohol and cancer risk barely get noticed, yet stories about someone who “drank red wine daily and lived forever” get shared endlessly. It’s no different from the doctors who once endorsed cigarettes — people believed it because they wanted to.
The idea of “safe” drinking is wishful thinking that benefits the alcohol industry, not your body or brain.
Do people continue drinking to fit in and avoid missing promotion opportunities?
Absolutely — and pressure often increases with seniority. Client dinners, team drinks, networking events, conferences… opting out can feel like professional self-sabotage.
In some organisations, heavy drinking is still worn like a badge of honour. But using alcohol as “Dutch courage” is risky. Countless careers have been damaged — or quietly ended — because of something said or done after a few drinks that felt fine in the moment but catastrophic the next morning.
When my clients stop drinking, they realise most people barely notice — and those who do often respect their decision. Meanwhile, they’re finally operating at full capacity instead of managing hangovers, anxiety spikes, and lost opportunities.
If this resonates, you don’t need to hit rock bottom or label yourself before taking action.
This is your chance to regain control — discreetly, privately, and permanently — with a coach who understands what it’s like to succeed in every other area of life except this one.
No stigma. No judgment. No drama. Just real, practical support.
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I’ve helped hundreds of high-achieving professionals transform their relationship with alcohol since 2018.
By 2025, I’ve supported clients globally to gain long-term control over drinking and live happier, more exciting lives.