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Drinking after work is good for your salary
Last updated at 12:07pm on 10.10.06
A drink after work could mean a 14% bigger paypacket than a teetotaller doing the same job
Good news for those who fancy a quick pint after work - they will earn much more than colleagues who duck out to go home.
The pay packet of social drinkers is up to 14 per cent bigger than it is for teetotallers who do the same job, according to a new employment study.
While no one is suggesting it pays to be permanently drunk, a couple of drinks after the office closes can be enough to see wage rises and promotion over the stayaways and abstainers.
Drinkers may already have an advantage in many workplaces because they are usually more outgoing and gregarious and see their ability to mix well to great effect at work.
But by having a drink outside the office, they are also more likely to socialise with clients, other workers and different ranks of management - building contacts and relationships as a result.
The teetotaller, while just as good at their job, fails to build up so-called "social capital" by ducking out of the occasional after work drinking session, said the study in the US Journal of Labor Research.
Women tend to benefit more from a drink than men, according to the research by the San Jose State University in the US.
The average female worker who goes for a social drink will earn 14 per cent more than her teetotal female colleague while male social drinkers can expect to earn about 10 per cent more on average.
Study co-author Edward Stringham said: "Social drinking builds social capital. Social drinkers are out networking, building relationships, and adding contacts to their BlackBerries that result in bigger paychecks."
