Drunk Dialing

Mobile phone + C2H5OH = Dead Career!

tough day at work...just closed a deal...end of the week

Have a few drinks last night?

Check your mobile: who did you call???

In the past five years I've worked with a surprising number of talented professionals who've blown their careers by dialing drunk: drinking socially or to unwind, then hitting their mobile, deliberately or accidentally, to vent or boast to staff, colleagues - even bosses!

Invective and self-promotion are rarely (if ever!) great ways to build or engage in working relationships... but when you add alcohol to the mix, you reveal more about yourself than you realise: and none of what they see, does you, or the relationship, any good.

If you have a propensity to fuel your mobile with dutch courage, the short-term fix is to give your phone to a trustworthy friend and get them to lock it away until you're stone cold sober. Another option is to switch to a phone provider who allows you to bar calls to specified numbers for fixed periods - before you have a drink, call the provider and bar all work numbers until 6 the next morning. It might be a bit of a hassle, but it can save your career!

The long-term fix is to deal with your alcohol problem, because yes, you DO have one!

Drink & Dial? Save it 'til you're sober!