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The Financial Perks of Social Drinking: How Networking Over Drinks Can Boost Your Career
Every workplace has that group of colleagues who regularly head to the local pub for a drink or two after work. They unwind by sharing frustrations, gossiping about the boss, and occasionally plotting their next career moves. If you usually decline these invitations, you might want to reconsider—avoiding post-work drinks could be detrimental to your financial prospects.
According to recent findings published in The Journal of Labor Research, individuals who drink socially earn 10 to 14 percent more than those who abstain completely. Why is this the case? The study attributes this income boost to something known as social capital. Essentially, by engaging in social drinking, you’re likely meeting more people and expanding your professional network. In business circles, success often hinges not just on what you know but also on whom you know.
Specifically, the research highlights that those frequenting bars reap greater financial benefits compared to those enjoying drinks at home alone. This is all tied back to social capital—a concept defined in the study as “an individual’s set of social skills and connections which facilitate economic gains from interactions with others.” Bar-goers tend to have substantial social capital; solitary drinkers less so; non-drinkers even less.
The research suggests that non-drinkers might shy away from events where alcohol is involved or associate mainly with other non-drinkers or introverted individuals. They may even be perceived as uninteresting by their drinking peers and thus miss out on invites altogether. Those who engage in social drinking can find it easier not only securing higher-paying jobs but also strengthening relationships with colleagues who can directly influence their salaries. While specific reasons for nondrinkers’ lower levels of social capital weren’t extensively covered in the study, one fact stands out—social drinkers generally earn significantly more than abstainers.
For instance, women who partake in drinking activities earn approximately 14 percent more than their teetotaling counterparts. Men following similar habits see a 10 percent increase over those sticking strictly to non-alcoholic beverages.
Interestingly enough for men visiting bars at least monthly receive an additional 7 percent income advantage beyond the initial 10 percent gain—a trend not observed among female bar patrons where frequent visits didn’t yield extra benefits over occasional ones.
Although independent from any interest groups within the alcohol industry itself—the research was conducted partly due its authors’ concerns regarding recent campus anti-alcohol campaigns advertising bans plus increased taxes impacting alcoholic beverages—they argue attempts discouraging societal consumption could negatively affect earning potential given shown correlation between moderate sociable imbibing higher incomes among participants studied
< br/> So next time someone asks if you’d like join them post-shift remember these findings consider saying “I’ll buy first round!”< br/>< br/>
