Tabbin is on a mission to shake up booze-soaked workplace culture -but her own journey with alcohol was anything but smooth. After going alcohol-free for years, a cancer diagnosis sent her back to the bottle, even though drinking may have played a role in her illness.
Like so many, her drinking started at work – where long lunches and late nights weren’t just accepted but expected. Now, she’s challenging the norms that make alcohol a workplace staple, so others don’t fall into the same trap.
Welcome to The Next Round, where we dive into why we started drinking, how that history shapes our future, and what an alcohol-free life can really look like. From personal challenges to changing the world (or at least your office happy hour), there’s more on the other side than you ever imagined.
Meet Tabbin Almond -an ex-advertising pro who knows firsthand how the industry’s macho, drink-fuelled culture can spiral out of control. She yo-yoed between sobriety and drinking for years, but now she’s free and fighting to create healthier, more inclusive workplaces. Let’s get stuck in!
She believes that drinking should not be an expectation in corporate environments, nor should it be a measure of professional success or sociability.
“It starts out as a perk of the job, but it becomes a requirement of the job.”
For years, she worked in industries where drinking was not only normalised but encouraged. Client entertainment meant keeping up with drinking expectations, and refusing a drink could be seen as a lack of team spirit.
“Do you check with somebody before you send a gift, whether or not they drink alcohol? The most common reply is, no, who doesn’t love a bottle of bubbly?”
She challenges workplaces to rethink corporate gifting, expense policies, and the psychological safety of employees who may struggle with alcohol. She argues that alcohol should not be the default, nor should abstaining from it come with stigma.
“If leaders don’t lead on this, there’s no psychological safety for people saying, ‘Do you think I could have a bit of help?'”
You can buy Tabbin’s Book: Bottling Up Trouble: How alcohol is harming your business… and what to do about it
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