Social drinkers don't earn more

Have you ever felt pressured to join an afterwork drinking party, even if you’re more inclined to having some tea than getting tipsy?

In East Asia, drinking with your colleagues is traditionally seen as an almost essential part of the working culture. Drinking parties are used to build trust, get closer to your boss or subordinates, and discuss topics more candidly than in the workplace. However, a joint study between researchers in Japan, Taiwan and South Korea appears to show that those who drink more don’t necessarily reap extra financial benefits at work, compared to those who drink less.

What the researchers say: “We found no justification for drinking for the purpose of improving labor market outcomes,” the lead author said. “Despite the widespread perception that drinking is important for business communication in East Asia, we did not find evidence supporting the idea. Health research has already found that there is no benefit of heavy alcohol consumption in terms of improving health outcomes, so I think this is important knowledge for when a person decides to drink or not.”

The team surveyed working men aged 25 to 59 years old with a list of 45 questions, including ones on health, drinking habits, finances and weekly working hours. Respondents also self-checked their alcohol tolerance using a simple stick-on alcohol patch test. In total, about 3,500 men from across the three regions participated. The researchers were particularly interested in Asian men not only because of the work-related drinking culture, but also because of alcohol flush, or “Asian flush,” syndrome (AFS), which causes people’s faces to turn red while they also quickly experience headaches, sickness and other symptoms due to a genetic inability to digest alcohol.

“We wanted to find out if a wage premium existed for those with a higher alcohol tolerance,” he explained. “Although our results showed that alcohol-tolerant men do drink more often and more each time than alcohol-intolerant men, there was no significant difference across the three populations in terms of working hours or earnings between them.” About 52% of the respondents in Japan and Taiwan and about 60% in South Korea were alcohol intolerant, which the researchers say is in line with figures reported in medical literature.

With a general trend in young people from high-income countries towards drinking less — which in 2022 led Japan’s National Tax Agency to even encourage the country’s youth to drink more (due to declining tax revenues) — this result will hopefully come as good news that you don’t have to get drinking to get ahead. “I enjoy social drinking despite my intolerance to alcohol,” the lead researcher confessed. “However, no one should be pressured to drink.”

So, what? It may be that alcohol per se is not a driver of advancing in one’s employment—it may be the food you have with it, because food certainly is closely tied to influence and persuasion. If all that is served is alcohol, then any influence may be short-term.

There is a causal relationship between eating with someone and influencing them. Food—through the action of the neurotransmitter glutamate—opens the brain to persuasion. Taking a client to lunch, the one you’re attracted to to dinner, or your team for a special get together (with food) is almost certain to get them to see you in a more favorable light and thus be more open to your ideas, your product or your services.

If this research is replicated, then the interesting question may be: would the after-work get-together be more productive if there was food but no alcohol? Is there something in alcohol which inhibits long-term influence?