SoberlyCo Newsletter #11: The Career Cost Nobody Talks About

I woke up that Sunday morning with the familiar dread.

Not just the physical hangover—the mental one. That creeping anxiety before I even opened my eyes, knowing something bad happened but not quite remembering what.

My mate James appeared in the doorway with coffee. "Morning, champ. How you feeling?"

"What happened?"

"Mate, we had to put you to bed around 2 AM. You were... saying some things."

My stomach dropped. "What kind of things?"

"Just... really personal stuff. About work. About your boss. About colleagues. Nothing terrible, but..." He trailed off. "It was getting pretty cringe, honestly. You weren't making sense."

This was at a party with work-adjacent people. People who knew people at my company.

That conversation happened three years ago. I still cringe thinking about it.

The Hidden Career Cost

We talk about alcohol affecting health, relationships, and mental wellbeing. But nobody really talks about how it quietly sabotages your professional life.

Not in dramatic ways, usually. Most of us aren't showing up drunk to meetings or drinking at our desks.

But in subtle, cumulative ways that add up over time:

The Productivity Tax

• Monday mornings recovering instead of hitting the ground running

• Friday afternoons distracted by thoughts of after-work drinks

• Weekend "recharge time" spent hungover instead of actually recharging

• Mental fog that makes complex thinking harder than it should be

I lost count of how many Monday mornings I sat at my desk, staring at emails, brain moving like treacle.

Everyone assumes you're "not a morning person." You know the real reason.

The Reputation Risk

Here's what nobody tells you: people remember drunk you more than you do.

That work party where you thought you were being "fun and sociable"? Someone remembers the slightly too-personal comment you made. The joke that landed wrong. The moment you got a bit too loud.

You can't unring those bells.

That party where James had to put me to bed? Nothing catastrophic happened. But I'll never know for certain what I said, who heard it, or how it affected people's perception of me.

Uncertainty is its own kind of torture.

The Opportunity Cost

Think about the mornings you were too rough to go to the gym before work. The networking events you skipped because you were recovering from the night before. The courses or learning opportunities that felt like "too much effort" when you were chronically a bit tired and foggy.

How many opportunities did I pass up because I was managing hangovers instead of building skills?

The Decision-Making Deficit

Alcohol affects your judgment—not just when you're drinking, but in the days after. Studies show impaired decision-making can last 48+ hours after heavy drinking.

That "quick decision" you made on Tuesday morning? Your brain was still recovering from Saturday night.

How many suboptimal choices did I make while technically sober but chemically impaired?

The Sober Difference

Since I stopped drinking, the career changes have been subtle but significant:

Energy: I actually have it. Monday mornings feel like starting blocks, not recovery periods.

Clarity: Complex problems don't feel impossible. My brain works faster, clearer, sharper.

Reputation: No more Sunday morning anxiety about what drunk me might have said. No more cringe memories of "was I too much last night?"

Opportunities: I'm saying yes to things I would have previously skipped. Morning meetings? No problem. Early gym sessions? Actually happen now.

Confidence: Not the fake confidence alcohol gives you. Real confidence that comes from being consistently reliable and sharp.

The Math Nobody Does

Let's do some rough calculations:

With drinking (my old pattern):

• 2-3 hangovers per week = 100-150 days per year at 50-70% capacity

• Missing morning workouts/learning = 100+ hours of development time lost

• Networking events skipped due to recovery = 20-30 missed connections

• Brain fog during critical thinking tasks = unmeasurable impact on quality of work

Without drinking:

• 365 days at full capacity (or as close as possible)

• Consistent morning routines and development time

• Showing up to every opportunity

• Clear thinking when it matters most

The compound effect over a career is staggering.

The Question Nobody Asks

Here's what I wish someone had asked me three years ago, nursing that hangover after embarrassing myself:

"Is your relationship with alcohol helping or hindering your professional goals?"

Not "are you an alcoholic?" Not "do you have a problem?"

Just: is this serving your ambitions, or quietly working against them?

For me, the answer was obvious once I actually looked at it honestly.

This Week's Challenge

If you're reading this and wondering about your own career impact, try this:

Track one week honestly:

• How many mornings do you wake up less than 100%?

• How many opportunities do you skip because you're tired or recovering?

• How many conversations do you have Sunday morning anxiety about?

• How much mental energy goes to managing hangovers vs. building your career?

Just notice. Don't judge. Just observe the real cost.

Then ask yourself: is this the exchange rate you want?

Hit reply and tell me:

• Has alcohol affected your career in ways you didn't notice at the time?

• What professional goals would be easier without managing hangovers?

• Do you have your own "cringe morning after" story?

Here's to clear Mondays and opportunities taken,

Paddy

P.S. That party three years ago? It was a turning point. Not immediately—I kept drinking for another two years. But the seed of "this is costing me more than I realize" was planted that morning.