Bottling Up Trouble

Tabbin Almond’s drinking career started early, and really took off when she worked in advertising. Her drinking made her miserable and affected every area of her life. Now, having overcome her own addiction, she works as a coach, blogger, podcaster and speaker to help others control alcohol and find freedom.

Introduction

What this book is about and why it is needed



Why now (problem got worse during pandemic, but there is hope - we are now prepared to talk more openly about mental health issues, and going alcohol-free is more socially acceptable than ever before)
Why alcohol is such a conundrum - explain cognitive dissonance and use (anonymised) emails to demonstrate what is currently happening in workplaces and why it is a problem.
Why I am the right person to write this - credibility through personal story, honesty, experience as a coach
Terms used - there are multiple terms used to describe the various phases or stages of dependence on alcoholism - alcohol dependence, alcohol addiction, alcoholism. Throughout this book, I will use the term Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), which covers the full spectrum

PART 1 - HOW ALCOHOL IS HOLDING YOUR BUSINESS BACK

Chapter 1 - Financial costs to organisations of the absenteeism and presenteeism associated with alcohol



Quantitative data demonstrating alcohol’s negative impact on productivity
How alcohol increases the costs of employment, by adversely impacting retention and loyalty, leading to increased costs in recruitment, training and on-boarding

Chapter 2 - The human costs of alcohol



The impact of alcohol on employees’ mental and emotional wellbeing
The impact of alcohol on employees’ physical health

Chapter 3 - The reputational costs associated with alcohol



Bad things can happen when people are drunk, and the employer is inevitably tainted, especially if they are in any way involved in the incident (eg: supplying the alcohol, condoning an alcohol-centric culture)
Where alcohol fits in developing robust DE&I policies

Chapter 4 - The Societal factors that hold businesses back from changing their culture around alcohol



The (erroneous) beliefs in alcohol’s ‘magic powers’, and how we came to believe these myths
Poor understanding of the link between alcohol and the modern-day afflictions of stress and anxiety
The Shame, Stigma and Secrecy around Alcohol Use Disorder

Chapter 5 - Why business leaders hold back from changing their organisation’s alcohol culture…seen as the fight we don’t need to have



The fear of been seen as a hypocrite (leaders are mostly drinkers, and don’t want to be guilty of ‘do-as-I-say, not-as-I-do’ management)
The fear of being seen as the ‘fun police’ (the faulty thinking around alcohol being an intrinsic part of a fun night out)
The fear of infringing the rights of the individual

PART 2 - UNDERSTANDING WHY PEOPLE BECOME DEPENDENT ON ALCOHOL

Chapter 6 - Why do some people develop AUD but not others?



Suspending preconceptions of alcoholism
The Alcoholics Anonymous / 12 Steps school of thought
The This Naked Mind school of thought

Chapter 7 - Regardless of the differing beliefs about why dependence develops, the result is the same



The brain bit…the neurology of addiction
Cognitive dissonance
The progressive nature of AUD

PART 3 - WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT ASSESS - PLAN - IMPLEMENT - SUSTAIN

Chapter 8 - Assessment of your organisation’s alcohol culture



The Bottling Up Trouble (BUT) Assessment (diagnostic tool)
Policy and contracts
Blue vs white collar
Language used
Attitudes, especially management attitudes
Work events
Rewards and incentives
Pub culture
Drinking at the desk
Networking
Entertaining
Expense accounts

Chapter 9 - Plan - Develop a business-specific No BUTs Road Map



Setting intentions - agreeing and communicating a clear vision
Importance of strong leadership
A well-communicated and meaningful amnesty that employees feel they can trust
Business-wide consultation in order to create a Charter for Change

Chapter 10 - Implementation of the No BUTs Road Map - the areas for immediate action



Leadership Team - Issue and commit to the business’ Charter for Change
HR - Revise policies and employment contracts in order to reflect the business’ commitment to developing a less alcohol-centric workplace culture
Wellbeing teams - incorporate education on alcohol within wellbeing programmes, particularly in relation to management of stress and anxiety
Review the support that is offered to those who are already suffering form any level of Alcohol Use Disorder - how effective is the current provision, and are people getting a choice of how they would like to get the help they need?
Review external partners, particularly Occupational Health and Employee Assistance Programmes, to ensure that your employees are able to source the expert, qualified and compassionate support that will enable them to overcome their problems.

Chapter 11 - Sustain the changes by truly embedding a new culture



Conduct regular, business-wide surveys and policy reviews. Ensure that employees at all levels always feel safe to talk about any problems they experience with alcohol or any other mental health issue
Top-down commitment within the organisation that being open about any level of dependence should never equate to a risk to career development - career enhancement for those who embrace the change

APPENDIX



Building Up Trouble Assessment Tool
Charter for Change

Acknowledgements