Dry January has become a mainstream wellbeing challenge across Britain’s workplaces, encouraging millions of people to take a month-long break from alcohol. But experts are warning that for some employees, the campaign can have unintended consequences that continue well beyond 31 January.
Addiction specialists say that people who struggle to complete the challenge may be at risk of falling into a pattern of heavier drinking in February, a trend they have dubbed “Febru-Lairy”. The pattern can translate into dips in mood, performance and attendance at a time of year when sickness absence is already high.
Research from Brown University in the US suggests that not everyone benefits equally from Dry January. A review found that people who failed to complete the month reported drinking more alcohol afterwards than they did before attempting the challenge.
Surveys carried out in 2025 indicated that around 70 percent of participants successfully completed Dry January, while about 30 percent did not. The same research found that 60 percent of participants experienced alcohol cravings, and those with cravings were around four times more likely to abandon the challenge.
So for many people, Dry January provides a healthy reset but for a significant minority, the month can create a sense of deprivation that leads to more intense drinking once February begins.
What is Febru-Lairy?
Febru-Lairy is the informal term used by specialists at Rehabs UK, a confidential addiction recovery support service, to describe the tendency for some people to reward themselves with binge drinking after a month of abstinence.
With an estimated 17.5 million people planning to take part in Dry January, the movement has become firmly embedded in workplace culture. Many participants report benefits including better sleep, improved mood and lower blood pressure.
But Rehabs UK argues that those benefits are most likely to be sustained when people use January to rethink habits, rather than treating it as a temporary endurance test.
Lester Morse, founder and director of Rehabs UK, said occasional celebration was not the issue.
“For most, having a celebratory drink and joking around is all in good fun,” he said. “But for those that feel the need to make up for lost time and struggle to control their alcohol intake in February, it may be a sign of a problematic relationship with the substance.”
The binge and purge trap
Morse said that completing a single month without alcohol could sometimes give people a false sense of security about their drinking habits.
“Events like Dry January don’t work for everyone because they can trap people in a binge-purge cycle, the mindset of earning a binge after going sober for a while,” he said.
Data from the same Brown University review supports that concern. Around 15 percent of people who failed to finish Dry January reported drinking to the point of drunkenness more often in the following months, compared with roughly 6 percent of those who completed it.
Morse warned that treating sobriety as a short-term challenge could make the underlying issue worse. “When you treat sobriety as a month-long pass or fail test, you’re just creating a sense of deprivation that makes the drink even more attractive,” he said.
“I’ve seen it many times, people white-knuckle it through January only to hit it twice as hard in Febru-Lairy because they haven’t actually changed their relationship with alcohol.”
What employers should look out for
For HR teams and managers, the risks linked to failed Dry January attempts may not be immediately obvious. Morse said warning signs were often more about attitudes and behaviour than visible consumption.
“In the workplace, red flags around an employee’s relationship to alcohol are sometimes less about how much a person appears to physically consume, and more about their attitude towards it,” he said.
“If an employee views Dry January as a horrendous experience they’ve managed to survive, and February as an opportunity to make up for lost time, this could indicate that the mental obsession with alcohol never went away.”
He said managers should be alert to sudden changes in behaviour. “HR managers should be vigilant for a sudden dip in a person’s mood or performance, irritability, a sense of restlessness as the weekend approaches, or discussing how hard they’re going to celebrate their freedom from Dry January,” he added.
Withdrawal symptoms mistaken for stress
Another risk is that some employees may experience genuine withdrawal symptoms during January without recognising what is happening.
Alcohol acts as a depressant on the central nervous system, and regular heavy use can lead the body to adapt to its presence. When drinking stops suddenly, the adjustment period can produce physical and psychological effects.
Common symptoms include hand tremors, sweating, anxiety, low mood and difficulty sleeping. In more severe cases, withdrawal can cause seizures or hallucinations.
These symptoms can easily be mistaken for general stress or winter fatigue, meaning employees may struggle in silence.
Morse warned that anyone experiencing serious withdrawal symptoms should seek medical support before trying to stop drinking abruptly. For people who have developed dependency, the safest route can be a medically supervised detox or a gradual, structured reduction with professional guidance.
A sensitive approach to support
With many organisations actively promoting wellbeing initiatives in January, HR teams may find themselves needing to respond sensitively to issues that surface in February.
Rather than treating post-Dry January drinking as a disciplinary matter, experts recommend approaching concerns as a health and wellbeing issue.
Morse said employers should prioritise open, non-judgemental conversations. “If you’re concerned about an employee’s post-Dry January drinking, it’s time to initiate a sensitive and non-judgemental conversation, in line with company conduct guidelines,” he said.
Clear policies, access to employee assistance programmes and training for managers on how to discuss substance misuse can all help create an environment where staff feel able to ask for help.
Lessons for workplace wellbeing programmes
The rise of Dry January highlights how closely personal health campaigns are now linked to workplace culture. But the concept of Febru-Lairy is a reminder that one-off challenges do not suit everyone.
Employers may get better long-term results by promoting ongoing moderation, mental health support and healthy coping strategies rather than relying on short bursts of abstinence.
As winter sickness absence continues to put pressure on organisations, understanding the hidden impacts of alcohol use on wellbeing and performance is likely to remain an important part of effective people management throughout the year.
William Furney is a Managing Editor at Black and White Trading Ltd based in Kingston upon Hull, UK. He is a prolific author and contributor at Workplace Wellbeing Professional, with over 127 published posts covering HR, employee engagement, and workplace wellbeing topics. His writing focuses on contemporary employment issues including pension schemes, employee health, financial struggles affecting workers, and broader workplace trends.
- William Furney
- William Furney
- William Furney
- William Furney
