What’s Actually Replacing Work Drinks in the UK?

For years it’s been the same thing.

Work hard. Go out. Drink. Repeat.

That’s been the default version of “team culture” and to be honest, it’s not really doing much. People are still stressed, still tired, still not functioning properly. It just masks it for a few hours.

Now things are starting to change.

Companies are beginning to realise that if people are constantly burnt out, you don’t fix that with a night out. You fix it by actually helping them regulate themselves properly.

That’s where things like breathwork, nervous system work, time in nature, even

just slowing things down a bit, start to come in.

Then there’s the part that isn’t really spoken about openly.. Plant medicine.

You won’t see companies advertising it, but if you’re around the right circles, you hear about it. Founders, consultants, leadership teams exploring retreats, doing deeper work, trying to reset how they think and operate.

Companies like Kraken are already open to alternative wellbeing approaches. Google and Salesforce have been pushing mindfulness and internal work for years.

That’s the visible layer.

Underneath that, things are moving further.

And if you look at where things are heading with AI, it makes even more sense.

A lot of standard roles are going to become less relevant. Systems are getting more efficient. So the value shifts.

The people who stand out are the ones who think differently, solve problems differently, see patterns others don’t.

A lot of the time, those are the people who don’t fit neatly into traditional structures. Call it neurodivergent, call it unconventional, whatever you want.

They can bring a lot of value, but they’re also the ones who burn out quickest in high pressure, overstimulating environments.

So if companies actually want to keep those people operating well, something has to change.

Less chaos. Less constant pressure. More environments where people can think clearly and actually function.

That’s why you’re seeing a move away from the typical “let’s go out and get smashed” culture, and more towards things that actually reset people properly.

Whether that’s workshops, retreats, or just giving people space to step out of the noise for a bit.

You’re also seeing conversations around cannabis and psilocybin be

coming more normal, especially in the context of wellbeing and mental health. Still early, still cautious, but definitely moving.

Not every company is going to go down that route.

But the ones that are paying attention are starting to experiment, even if it’s quietly.

And over the next few years, especially across the UK and Europe, that’s only going to become more common.

Not because it’s trendy.

Because it works better than what we’ve been doing up until now.