The Next Round: Tabbin decided to take on boozy workplace culture

02/20/25 • 27 min

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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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.”

“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?”

“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

USA

Canada

Australia

Find Club Soda:
The Club Soda Tasting Room is at 39 Drury Lane, London, WC2B 5RR
Find us on Instagram

Previous Episode

The Next Round: Hattie Immersed herself in Cold Water

Hattie may be a clear-headed, cold-water queen these days, but getting here was harder than mastering butterfly stroke! Even pregnancy didn’t create the clean break from alcohol she had hoped for.

And despite a few trials with moderation along the way, she now knows—this time, sobriety is for good.

Welcome to The Next Round —the podcast about the bold, brilliant, and sometimes downright bonkers things people do after quitting booze. But remember, folks, you don’t have to freeze your bits off to get sober!

Unlike this week’s guest, Hattie, who prefers being neck-deep in icy water rather than in booze. She kicked off her journey with the Dry January Challenge, and alongside a whole lot of learning and reflection, she’s now alcohol-free and bouyant.

Finding Peace in the Water

For Hattie Underwood, cold water swimming is more than just a pastime – it’s a sanctuary. The icy plunge slows everything down, giving her a rare sense of hyper-focus and clarity.

“I just feel really hyper-focused. And, you know, afterwards, I just feel so energised by them.”

Her love for swimming started young, training competitively for Southampton. But it was her mother, an avid swimmer in Hampshire’s rivers and along the South Coast, who instilled a love for wild swimming. As she embarked on her sobriety journey, this practice took on new meaning.

“It quietens my mind in a way that nothing else does. I just feel so in the moment.”

Living in London, Hattie became a member of an ice bath club, pushing her limits and embracing the mental resilience required to withstand freezing temperatures.

“It’s a bit of mind over matter going into it. But I just love it.”

A Relationship with Alcohol That Had to Change

Despite a successful life on paper, Hattie’s relationship with alcohol had always been problematic. From sneaking drinks in school to drinking alone before socialising, she felt an intense need for alcohol to function socially. The dependency escalated over time, leading to morning drinking and a fear of being ‘found out.’

“I would drink before seeing anybody, even if they were a really close friend.”

When she became pregnant, she assumed nine months of abstinence would change her relationship with alcohol. However, once her child was born, she quickly fell back into old patterns.

“Even with nine months of not drinking, nothing had changed, and in fact, it had picked right back up where it had left off. And it just got so much worse.”

Find Club Soda:
The Club Soda Tasting Room is at 39 Drury Lane, London, WC2B 5RR
Find us on Instagram

Next Episode

The Next Round: Cecilia is living the lifestyle she encourages others to follow

For years, Cecilia lived a life dedicated to health and fitness and encouraged others to prioritise their well-being. But one thing didn’t align with her values: alcohol.

Cecilia didn’t drink often, but when she did, she didn’t like how it made her feel. It clashed with the lifestyle she professionally advocated.

Welcome to the next round—where we explore what happens after people evaluate their relationship with alcohol. Whether you’re a daily drinker or an occasional binge drinker, alcohol can affect your life in both physical and psychological ways. Can quitting open up new perspectives?

This week’s guest, Cecilia Shandeva, a Workplace Wellbeing Professional and Grief Recovery Specialist, proves that no matter where you start, social pressures remain the same—but cutting out alcohol can make a huge difference. While the physical benefits of quitting are clear, the biggest gains may come from the psychological transformation.

“Everything about drinking isn’t fully aligned with me, who I really am as a person.”

For years, Cecilia lived a life dedicated to health and fitness. She ran marathons, led group workouts, and encouraged others to prioritize their well-being. But one thing wasn’t aligning with her values: her drinking habits.

“I considered myself a social drinker, I’d go out maybe once a month, and sometimes I’d take a break for a couple of months. But then there were times, like around birthdays or Christmas, when I’d drink more than I planned. Even when I thought I was controlling it, I wasn’t.”

Despite drinking less frequently than some, the impact was undeniable. The hangovers, the anxiety, the lost days of recovery – Cecilia realised that alcohol was taking away from the life she wanted to live.

“If I went out planning to have one or two drinks, it would usually end up being more. I was waking up feeling awful, regretting the night before, questioning my decisions – even if I hadn’t done anything particularly bad.”

Find Club Soda:
The Club Soda Tasting Room is at 39 Drury Lane, London, WC2B 5RR
Find us on Instagram