Matt Heath: There is such a thing as an honourable hangover

Productivity and safety grow in workplaces where people care about each other, writes Matt Heath. Photo / 123RF

OPINION

Is there a positive side to hangovers at work? Australian workplace and social affairs expert Professor Gary Martin doesn’t think so.

In a column in the Herald last week, he claimed, “When one team member struggles due to a hangover, it often falls upon others to pick up the slack, leading to resentment, increased stress and a potential decline in morale.”

This isn’t a hugely controversial take. I am sure this does happen. But I think in the New Zealand workplace, hangovers can, on occasion, lead to team bonding, humour and an opportunity to show your resilience.

There is quiet heroism in turning up a bit dusty and then powering through a full day’s hard yakka. In this post-Covid world in which pulling a sickie is easier than ever, when the threshold for not turning up is so low that we don’t even ask questions, the worker who turns up with a hangover demonstrates a level of honesty and commitment you could choose to admire. They had a way out, and they didn’t take it.

In this country, the sayings “if you go out with the boys, you better get up and work like an adult” and “you can piss up, but you’ve got to show up” still hold a lot of weight.

Unsurprisingly, Martin disagrees with this badge-of-honour approach to surviving work while hungover. He thinks a “shift is crucial for fostering a healthier, safer and more productive work environment, where wellbeing and responsibility take precedence over outdated notions of endurance”.

I believe this is an overly simplified view. We aren’t robots. Most New Zealand employers want the best for their employees, not just at work.

Our relationships are often personal. They understand they don’t own us all the time. If a worker jumps in the van and says, “Sorry boss, I’m a bit dusty today; I had a few for my girlfriend’s birthday”, they will empathise.

There are very few who haven’t done the same thing in their time. Obviously, if it happens a lot and it affects the employee’s work, then a word would need to be had. But the odd nauseous day surely isn’t the end of the world. Productivity and safety grow in workplaces where people care about each other, including on the odd occasion they are hungover.

Some of the best bonding experiences I have had in workplaces have occurred the day after the whole team, including the boss, have been out. You feel like you have been into battle together. You share each other’s self-inflicted pain. These dusty days offer opportunities for beautiful acts of kindness, such as the purchase of piles of greasy food. They may even lead to career advancements.

Many years ago, I arrived at work to find my boss lying under her desk with her head in her hands. I am pretty sure the cold face-cloth, blue sports drink and painkillers I went out and got her that day were instrumental in me receiving the promotion I got a week later.

There are, of course, levels of hangover. Some are worse than others. You may wake up a bit tired, or you may experience an existential crisis while wrapped around a toilet bowl. As bad as the latter state is, there are still some positives there. Other workers might experience feelings of comparative wellbeing and enjoy laughing at and setting amusingly difficult tasks for the hungover individual.

My dad knew what he was up to on the morning of the first hangover I ever had. There was a strange little smile on his face all day as he worked me like a dog on the farm. I believe it brought him great joy, seeing me struggle through a day of brutal fencing in the hot sun. It appeared to make his day easier.

The issue of hangovers in the workplace is a nuanced one. A knee-jerk “hangovers are bad” response doesn’t account for the love, respect and empathy many of us feel for the people we spend our days with. As long as you are pulling your weight over the weeks and months, a down day here and there is only human. If you turn up, hydrate and do your best, there is such a thing as the honourable hangover.

Note: This does not apply to heart surgeons, people who operate machines that can remove hands and the pilots of planes I am flying in.