Musgrove and Ball Educating Employers on Hidden Addiction in the Workplace
NOTTINGHAM’S MUSGROVE AND BALL ARE THE FIRST BUSINESS IN THE UK TO EDUCATE EMPLOYERS ON HIDDEN ADDICTION IN THE WORKPLACE
Musgrove and Ball were founded in 2022 by Patrick Ball and Sophie Musgrove after overcoming addiction issues stemming back over 15 years. Patrick went into Rehab at the Priory Woodbourne in Birmingham for six weeks and is over three and a half years sober and clean, whilst Sophie has just gone over 1,000 days alcohol-free after wanting to get out of the Mummy wine-drinking culture.
The company was born after noticing a huge problem in the business world; organisations struggle to cope with the stigma around alcohol problems and addiction. They want to work with businesses that are wellbeing-focused and want to make positive changes to company culture and make social events more inclusive for all.
Seventeen million working days are lost in the UK due to alcohol misuse each year, and struggling employees are scared to speak out because of the fear of getting sacked. There’s also the middle-of-the-road drinkers and mummy wine-drinking culture. Although Musgrove and Ball aren’t anti-alcohol, they want to educate employees on how to have a healthy relationship with alcohol and, if it’s becoming a problem, how to knock it on the head.
Musgrove and Ball go into businesses all over the UK and share their inspiring real-life story - "Hiding addiction in the workplace”. The presentation is tailored for the client and shows staff that their employer is approachable and support will be in place for any employee with a problem who wants help.
Patrick and Sophie’s clients include the likes of Virgin Active, IOSH and US marketing giant VMLY&R. They deliver training sessions to HR and people teams, mental health first aiders and senior leadership teams on how to spot addiction in the workplace, how to make events less alcohol centric and how to approach employees they think are struggling.
The benefits to the businesses are lowering absence rates, improving punctuality, improving productivity, and improving performance across the business, as well as having a happier and healthier workforce.
