staff safety
Prediction of Addiction in the Workplace
Success and Excess—Living and Hiding Dependencies on the Job
High octane, high performing, high pressure, and high energy are just some of the positive adjectives used to describe both testosterone-driven individuals and professions that thrive under pressure and a “work hard, play hard” culture where success is measured in excess.
These occupations, often linked to risk-taking city jobs, are far from sustainable—more crash and churn than thrive and learn—with more than a nod to compulsive or addictive personalities at play, some requiring more than a “little pick me up” to get them through long, demanding hours.
There is however ample evidence of higher levels of dependency and addiction at play in other sectors where the stakes are ostensibly not as high but the personal safety risks are when it comes to the likelihood of accidents or impacts on mental health.
Retail would be one such sector where store colleagues come into daily contact with violence and aggression from customers and store thieves while distribution staff and logistics drivers operate heavy machinery such as forklift trucks and HGVs in dervish-like choreography, often at speed and height, to meet ever-pressing deadlines of store and online orders.
Charity Alcohol Change UK, the new offspring of the recent merger between Alcohol Concern and Alcohol Research UK estimates that lost productivity due to alcohol costs the UK economy more than £7 billion each year, with seventeen million sick days taken every year as a result of productivity hangovers.
And, worryingly, approximately 200,000 employees a day are attending work hungover, according to the British Safety Council.
People may attend work hungover or still be under the influence from the night before, consume alcohol before work or during the day; or their work may be affected by health problems resulting from drinking, according to sobering research figures which reveal:
40 per cent of employers identify alcohol as a significant cause of low productivity
Between 3 and 5 per cent of all work absence is caused by alcohol consumption
35 per cent of people say they’ve noticed colleagues under the influence of drugs and alcohol at work
25 per cent say that drugs or alcohol have affected them at work, with 23 per cent saying they had experienced decreased productivity as a result.
And, the charity adds, “businesses don’t just suffer from the effects of alcohol—they can exacerbate the problem, with 27 per cent of people saying that workplace stress and culture makes or encourages them to drink more through informal socialising or post-work events where consuming alcohol is considered the norm.”
The business response to alcohol addiction has been more focused upon identifying alcohol and drug use, with many retailers’ drug testing staff and third parties and even utilising sniffer dogs in environments such as distribution centres. E-learning modules have also been used to raise safety awareness and compliance, but tick-box training may have little impact on the industrial level of addiction in our workplaces, particularly if the approach is predominantly punitive.
Indeed, little has been done in terms of empathetic employers encouraging colleagues to come forward to get support for the addiction and its causes, such as a deeply buried trauma that cannot speak its name.
Getting the Message Across
Getting the message across about the risks of hidden addictions is often dressed up in the kind of statistics listed above which can often be a little meaningless to many individuals, especially those going through the crisis. They too may be in denial and fail to recognise themselves in the analysis and may believe in their own alcohol addled and emboldened thought processes that they are not only managing their addiction but also excelling at their jobs.
Alcohol may be one poisonous chalice, but the same can be said for other addictions or coping and masking behaviours—from gambling to grief management, drugs to neurodiversity, and even eating disorders that dominate a colleagues’ waking hours in plain sight of those they are keeping their secret from.
Making it real to every worker is therefore critical if the UK hopes to wean staff off their coping strategy addictions. The lightbulb road to Damascus moment does not necessarily result from poster campaigns, whistleblowing or online training modules. Instead, it comes from the relatability of story-telling and listening to the lived experience of someone who has walked in the same uncomfortable shoes on the same journey as the listener.
The famous writer Leon Tolstoy, author of “War and Peace” is credited with saying “All great literature is one of two stories; a man goes on a journey, or a stranger comes to town.”
By this definition, Patrick Ball, one of the most respected addiction motivational speakers in the UK, is both sides of that equation. He is both the stranger who has come to town with the message and the person who has been on the journey in the first place.
The co-founder of Musgrove and Ball with his partner Sophie Musgrove, Patrick has shared his signature presentation—”Hiding Addiction in the Workplace”—around his personal journey with alcohol problems and substance abuse with thousands of UK employees over the last few years.
Founded in 2022, the meteoric success of the business is down to Patrick and Sophie’s lived experiences— his of addiction to alcohol and drugs and her long-term hidden eating disorder—which they use as the catalyst to be able to talk to businesses and their employees across the UK as part of their strategy to “change the British workplace” for the better.
“Doctors Told Me I’d Be Dead by Christmas”
Patrick, a recovering alcoholic who “surrendered” to alcohol and drugs on 29 July 2019, says: “something broke inside him” at 8am on that day after realising the impact that his drinking and drug abuse was having on his family and career.
“What we do is completely related to the workplace—we help businesses and individuals to identify and spot signs of addiction, whether it’s alcohol and drugs or eating disorders so they can recognise behaviours such as drinking culture or “mummy wine” habits,” he said.
Sheffield-born Patrick, who worked in a sales capacity for some of the biggest name companies in the UK including Vodafone, WorldPay and GoDaddy checked himself into the Priory after his addiction got out of hand during a “toxic time” where he ended up homeless and sofa surfing at friends’ houses.
“Doctors told me I’d be dead by Christmas”,” he said.
His addiction began in embryonic behaviours typical of many people. As a season ticket holder at Sheffield United and a huge darts fan he was drawn into a world of socialising fuelled by a culture of heavy drinking and a vision of the world skewed through the prism of the bottom of a rapidly emptying glass.
“My life revolved around going to the pub with my mates to the point where it was not unusual to be drinking 200 units of alcohol and sniffing coke four-to-five times per week. My life simply became all about drinking and sniffing.”
When he started working in sales roles, early success took him to London where his modus operandi was to leave work at five in the evening and bar surf all night, often still drinking into the small hours before returning to work the next day and starting the process all over again.
The alcohol emboldened him into the false sense of youthful invincibility where success had a clear link to the drink—the more he did, it seemed the more he succeeded in what was becoming a cycle of wake, work, drink, repeat.
“I was a top performer in my job, and I didn’t think it was affecting me, but it does in terms of the levels of anxiety and paranoia. There were also days that I was so out of it that I was reminded of deals I’d signed and received commission for that I could not remember.”
“At night I would keep drinking until last orders. But it was something I could not open up about at work. Many people that we now present to are in the same boat—they feel that by opening up they will lose their jobs,” he continued.
“We often only hear about the stories where workers have lost their jobs, but we want to bring home the importance of coming forward if you are struggling, and the support your company will give if you do open up.”
Successful Sobriety
“The presentations work. The amount of people who contact me afterwards to say they had a hidden addiction. One guy at a brewery we presented at said it was his lightbulb moment—“you were describing my story” is what he said to me.”
“The point is that it is so common—everyone knows someone going through it.”
The presentations, which are not only focused upon alcohol but also on other addictions such as gambling, embrace the whole business and how to identify PAP traits—personality, appearance, and performance.
But they have a strong resonance with the risk and people teams such as health and safety and HR, working together to identify patterns of behaviour and absence in order to offer help and intervention.
Musgrove and Ball presents to businesses and at conferences for a fee, but all the aftercare and confidential support provided by those who come forward is free of charge to the individuals.
Now based in Nottingham, Patrick not only shares his experiences of how people cover up their problem and hide it from their families and peers, but most importantly the health and safety risks associated with addiction.
He shows the health and safety risks of coming into work under the influence, as well as the danger that those going through this crisis could be putting themselves and fellow colleagues under and even the consequences of covering up for someone who they know could have a problem.
During his presentations Patrick provides tips on how to spot signs of alcohol problems and substance abuse in the workplace and how to approach someone who may be struggling.
But this is not an evangelical crusade, and Patrick is at pains to point out the purpose and philosophy and that Musgrove and Ball are not anti-alcohol or judgemental.
“Most people can have a healthy relationship with alcohol, but addiction doesn’t discriminate—anyone can develop a problem at any time.”
“At Musgrove and Ball, we empower UK businesses to create thriving workplaces. We achieve this by tackling critical areas like employee addiction, drug and alcohol awareness, health and safety, employee engagement, and fostering a culture of trust. This holistic approach leads to a stronger, more successful organisation where employees feel valued and supported.”
“There are three million people who go into work under the influence of alcohol each year, and it is our role to help businesses identify the signs.”
Now accredited by IOSH—the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health—Musgrove and Ball has become the first business in the UK to talk about hidden addiction and substance abuse in the workplace by raising awareness of what alcohol and drug addiction looks like and who are the most likely to be affected.
For example, workplace drinkers with a problem are more likely to be men than women. In addition, it is managers rather than their team members most at risk, and younger, single employees rather than those that are older and married.
These however are generalisms, because the reality is that anyone in the workplace can develop an addiction or dependence issue at any time—it is a condition that doesn’t discriminate and could be more down to circumstances and life changes than any genetic pre-disposition.
Life changing events such as break-ups, custody battles, losing a family member, financial worries and stress have all been cited as reasons why someone is drawn into addiction at some point in their lives.
And, Patrick argues, they become masters and mistresses of deception.
“Only one in five workers get help with their addictions which means that the other four could easily be working undetected in your business.”
“The truth is that most will be very good at hiding their problem from you. They will experience emotions such as shame and embarrassment, especially if they hold a position of seniority in the organisation,” said Patrick.
“Having worked with businesses and organisations across the UK, we understand that every workplace is unique. That’s why we tailor our training to specific business needs, culture, industry, and workforce, ensuring the best possible outcomes for their people.”
“Seventeen million working days were lost in the UK due to alcohol misuse alone—that’s 5 per cent of all absences. Companies have started to put employees through mental health first aid courses, but for many it is merely a tick box exercise.”
“We want businesses to understand how they can educate employees about alcohol and drug dependence and teach their staff that if they find they have a problem, that they are approachable and show that they want to support the employee.”
“We offer tailored ongoing support packages designed to meet the often-unique needs of employees. These packages include comprehensive training for line managers, interactive group sessions, and personalised one-on-one meetings. Additionally, we analyse your current processes and provide actionable recommendations for improvements,” he continued.
But it’s not just alcohol misuse that the business talks about—it’s a wide range of compulsive behaviours that, for those who suffer them, do so in silence.
Sophie’s Story
Sophie Musgrove, who is now one of the best-known motivational speakers in the UK on eating disorders, spends her working life today sharing her powerful story and helping businesses to understand what feeds this addictive behaviour, including the ever-present “mummy wine” culture. Her story does not start and end there, because she also shares the experience of living with an alcoholic in the form of her life and work partner Patrick.
In July 2017 Sophie had bariatric surgery, a weight loss procedure that works by modifying the digestive system, typically by reducing stomach size or bypassing parts of the small intestine, to limit food intake and calorie absorption. She underwent the surgery after her weight increased to twenty-four stone and seven pounds after battling an eating disorder that went back to her childhood.
She went on to lose thirteen stone as a result of the life-saving surgery after the momentous decision that she didn’t want to leave her children without a mum.
Following her successful surgery, she was warned about cross-addiction and the risks of alcohol on post-bariatric patients.
Sophie was battling her own problems whilst living with an alcoholic, and after helping Patrick turn his life round in 2019, decided to stop drinking alcohol after realising she was part of the “mummy wine” culture and had a bad relationship with drink.
With 1.25 million people estimated to have an eating disorder in the UK, Sophie, now 35, was not alone, and her concern about her own health was well-founded.
Eating disorders have the highest mortality rates of any mental health condition. Anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder are amongst the most common and well-documented.
Bulimia and binge eating involve feeling unable to stop after overeating, but in the case of bulimia, people compensate by fasting, forcing themselves to vomit, or exercise too much.
Anorexia is an extreme fear of gaining weight that results in restricting food intake and/or excessive exercise regimes.
Eating disorders can be very difficult to detect and a very sensitive topic to approach a family member, friend, or colleague about.
This is why Sophie’s story is so potent and chimes with so many workers as she shares her experiences of hiding an eating disorder in the workplace, exploring judgement by fellow colleagues, cake culture, diet culture, and the damage influencers can have on young people who are looking to be like their role models.
Patrick added: “After her surgery she also had to undergo skin surgery because of rapid weight loss. Eating disorders are very different to alcohol addiction.”
“You don’t need alcohol to live and with help you can stop drinking, but you can’t stop eating—it’s something you have to do to live so, in that respect you can never get rid of an eating disorder.”
Expansion of the Service
The success of Sophie and Patrick’s approach of real-life storytelling has been so successful that Musgrove and Ball have taken the next steps of launching a speaker bureau of experts in their field, each of whom have their own relatable lived experience that could be coming to a business near you.
The new speakers include specialists in grief management, with coping mechanisms on how businesses can help colleagues cope, as well as with managing neurodiversity, mental health and gambling addiction.
All are relatable human conditions, feelings, and emotions that cannot be switched off when colleagues clock on. They are present throughout the working day and need recognition and support rather than stigma and shunning. The issues live and breathe with staff members, it is part of their journey, and they may need help taking the next steps to recovery by sharing their stories.
