Drinking your way to the top

The climb up the corporate ladder isn’t easy for most people. But one thing can make the climb a little easier--a drink.

Spending time with co-workers at happy hour is as important as impressing colleagues in the boardroom, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Labor Research. Researchers found that men who drink earn 10 percent more than those who don't, and women who drink earn 14 percent more than those who abstain. Drinking proved to be a decisive factor in determining annual income and access to job opportunities among people with the same education level, gender, ethnicity and religion.

The study surveyed 8,000 people nationwide. Participants were asked questions on everything from education level to marital status. Then for the kicker, the survey asked questions about drinking, including: “Do you consider yourself a drinker?” “Have you gone to a bar in the past month?”

After separating the drinkers from the non-drinkers, the co-authors of the study, Peter Stringham, a professor of economics at San Jose State University and editor of the Journal of Private Enterprise, and Bethany Peters, an economist with the Analysis Group in Dallas, were able to compare the earnings of both groups.

The study’s findings do track with other research. A 1997 study published in the Canadian Journal of Economics found that abstainers earn 7.4 percent less than moderate drinkers. Another study one year later in the Journal of Health Economics found that drinkers earn 7 percent more no matter their level of consumption.

Ryan Michaelis, an advertising manager in New York, isn’t surprised. "It's the networking aspect that makes drinking with co-workers important,” he said. “After a few cocktails, people let their guard down a bit. It’s a social thing instead of all business, so you get to know people more personally.”

Word is spreading, and networking Web sites have sprung up to help professionals add names to the electronic rolodex in their BlackBerrys. On the Web site NetworkingForProfessionals.com, people can sign up for social events in Atlanta or New York. The events draw groups of professionals looking to exchange business cards and make themselves more marketable to employers by having a large network of contacts.

Peters and Stringham concluded that networking could be a major factor driving up the salaries of drinkers. Stringham, who became interested in the topic after reading a preliminary study by Peters in 2002, said he was surprised by the results.

“The standard account is that drinking is bad for you in all aspects,” Stringham said. “There’s even a verse in the Bible that says wine leads to poverty. Before doing this study, I assumed it was the case that drinking for fun isn’t good for you.”

Stringham said the significance of drinking may not be equal for everyone. “I would guess that certain industries with more socializing would have a greater premium for drinking," he said. "Someone in sales would find it more beneficial than, say, I don’t know, an accountant.”

Lindsay Korn, a 22-year-old kindergarten teacher in New Jersey, recognizes this difference. “I don’t get paid more or less whether I’m a good teacher or a bad teacher, so I’m pretty sure that drinking wouldn’t help me out either.”

But for women who do drink, there are definitely some dos and don’ts. Lisa Emovi, an office manager, says that women have to be more cautious when it comes to the interoffice happy hour.

“If you’re a woman and you’re going to drink, you have to be more aware of what you’re saying and doing," she said. "You don’t want to get a reputation. But at the same time, there’s a benefit to going out with co-workers. In business, drinking can show the men you work with that you can fit in.”

Emovi, 37, has drinking to thank for her current job. She was hired by someone she met while out having drinks with a friend after work.

Holly Montgomery, 23, a bartender at Manhattan's Turtle Bay Grill and Lounge and a cocktail waitress at the bar Social, said she was used to seeing people tighten their business connections over a cocktail or two.

But there can be a downside to drinking.

“I’ve had groups of co-workers come into the bar after work, and sometimes I have to cut them off,” Montgomery said. “One Wednesday, these three guys came in at 6 p.m., and by 11 o’clock, they were so drunk they couldn’t see. They were being inappropriate, talking loudly about girls at the bar while downing rum and Cokes. It wasn’t impressive.”

In addition, a separate study by Peters concluded that “the relationship between income and alcohol consumption appears to be an inverse U; if people drink too much, their earnings decrease.”

Wayne Campagna, 28, a consultant in Washington, has seen drinking take a bad turn. Campagna recalled one night when people from his consulting firm went out to happy hour. A new employee on his project drank too much and started making derogatory comments about a co-worker’s ethnicity. “Later that night, he got in a fistfight with a senior manager and another co-worker who was with the company for a while. Everyone in the office was talking about it and he later had to be moved to another project,” Campagna said. “He lost the respect of his peers.”

Still, don’t cancel that office party just yet. “It’s OK to drink as long as you keep it in control,” said Mike Cohen, a salesman in New York. “You can be professional and still have fun.”

E-mail: cam2170@columbia.edu