A Third of Millennial workers in the West Midlands believe that not drinking alcohol can dent their career prospects as they are no longer able to socialise with their bosses after work.
Thirty-three per cent of workers aged 25-34 surveyed in the region said that abstaining from booze would be detrimental to their career, compared to 27% of those aged 35-44 and 20% of those aged 18-25.
The booze culture at work is more prevalent among men, with 18% feeling that being a non-drinker would hold them back compared to 14% of women, according to a survey carried out to mark Alcohol Awareness Week for non-alcoholic drinks firm Mocktails.
Two-fifths (40%) of adults in the West Midlands say they feel pressurised to drink by their friends and a fifth (21%) say they have had to change their friends because they do not drink as much.
A third (33%) say they are not invited to social gatherings because they are a non-drinker, according to the survey.
And 40% of young people aged 18-24 in the West Midlands said they do not drink any alcohol, reflecting a recent survey that showed younger people in Britain are shunning booze.
Bill Gamelli, CEO of Mocktails, said: “It is a shame that, in this day and age, people feel that not drinking alcohol will damage their career prospects.
“Even though the survey shows that not drinking alcohol is gaining in popularity among younger people, it shows that attitudes towards abstaining from booze are outdated.
“We still have a long way to go before people who choose not to drink no longer feel they are outcasts.”
Those surveyed said they drank an average of 8.08 units of alcohol per week; the UK’s chief medical officer recommends people drink no more than 14 units a week.
One unit is approximately the same as half a medium glass of wine or half a pint of beer, depending on its strength.
Men said they drank twice as much in a week (11.19 units) as women (5.62 units).
The country’s biggest drinkers are in London (14.79 units / week) and the most abstemious in the east (6.94 units).
Seventeen per cent of Brits in the West Midlands say they are concerned about their alcohol consumption.
Mr Gamelli said: “Anyone who is concerned about their drinking should be confident that they can walk into a social situation and spend as pleasant an evening not drinking as they would with a drink in their hand.
“It has now become socially acceptable to state that you are a non-meat eater or a vegan, so I would like to see a world where it is equally acceptable to state that you are a non-drinker.”
