How Recovery Changes Leadership, Culture, and Connection with Emily Pearson
Nov 04, 2025
“Addiction and recovery are the last taboo of workplace wellbeing.” – Emily Pearson
This week, Patrick talks with Emily Pearson, founder of the Wellbeing Lead Academy, about something most companies still don’t know how to handle: recovery in the workplace. What they unpack goes way beyond alcohol. It’s about leadership, stress, culture, and how our environment shapes behaviour more than we think.
The conversation starts with a truth most people avoid
Patrick opens by saying how powerful it is to share stories like Emily’s because recovery doesn’t just happen at home, it shows up everywhere, especially at work.
Patrick: “Your own journey through addiction and what’s on the other side, that transformation, matters to so many men.”
Emily agrees.
Emily: “We’ve raised awareness on mental health and menopause. But we’re still not talking about addiction and recovery to the levels we should be.”
That’s really what this episode is about: breaking the silence around addiction at work and seeing recovery as part of wellbeing, not separate from it.
Emily’s story
Emily’s been doing this work for 25 years. She started in criminal justice and drug and alcohol services before launching the Wellbeing Lead Academy.
Emily: “I worked in health and social care for 15 years before moving into workplace wellbeing. The majority of people I saw, from young offenders to adults in recovery, were men. That gave me a deep understanding of what it’s like to be a man in today’s world.”
When she helped deliver MIND’s Blue Light Programme, a government-backed mental health initiative for emergency services, she saw firsthand how work culture affects mental health.
Emily: “Back then, nobody was talking about mental health in the workplace. This was the first real culture change project of its kind.”
That experience shaped the framework she uses today, one that helps organisations make wellbeing part of their structure, not just a nice-to-have policy.
Why it’s not just about the individual
Emily: “You can’t change behaviour if you only look at one part of the system. It’s not enough to tell people to be more resilient if the system itself is creating stress.”
Patrick relates this to his own work with men and alcohol.
Patrick: “A lot of guys think we’re just going to work on not drinking. But that’s just the start. You have to look at why you’re drinking in the first place, and work is often a huge factor.”
It’s a simple point, but an honest one: you can’t fix individual behaviour without looking at the environment that feeds it.
Accessibility has changed everything
Emily points out how addiction has evolved and why it’s hitting people differently now.
Emily: “Men still die twice as often as women from drug and alcohol problems, but accessibility is changing the picture. Gambling, for example, is now on your phone. You can be feeding your kids and gambling.”
Patrick shares his own frustration.
Patrick: “At football with my kids, halftime is a gambling challenge. Kids are seeing it before they even understand what gambling is.”
Emily’s response hits hard.
Emily: “We’d never run a halftime challenge for alcohol or porn, but gambling gets a free pass. It’s absurd.”
The workplace piece
Here’s the part that really makes you think. Most people with addiction problems aren’t out of work, they’re sitting at desks, running meetings, leading teams.
Emily: “Seventy percent of people with substance use disorders are in employment. Alcohol-related lost productivity costs over seven billion pounds a year in the UK.”
And work stress fuels the problem.
Emily: “Twenty-seven percent of employees increase alcohol use because of work stress. The higher up you go, CEOs, founders, the higher the risk.”
Patrick sums it up perfectly.
Patrick: “Addiction doesn’t stop at the boardroom door.”
Changing the environment
Emily shares one of her favourite examples, Rat Park. It’s a study showing that when rats were isolated and stressed, they chose drug-laced water until they died. But when placed in a rich, social environment called Rat Park, they stopped choosing it.
Emily: “The environment drives behaviour. That’s what workplaces need to understand. Recovery isn’t just about the person, it’s about the culture they’re in.”
What workplaces can do
Emily: “Right now, most organisations are reactive. Something happens, and they check the policy only to realise they don’t have one. People get tested and sacked. No compassion, no support, no signposting.”
Patrick adds,
Patrick: “If your company supports you when you’re struggling, that alone reduces stress. It creates safety.”
Emily explains that recovery-friendly workplaces aren’t soft. They’re smart. They reduce risk, boost performance, and build loyalty.
Emily: “People in recovery are some of the healthiest people you’ll ever meet. They’re self-aware, disciplined, and resilient.”
The three pillars of a recovery-friendly workplace
Emily: “First, reduce stigma and create psychological safety so people can talk. Second, provide clear pathways to support, coaching, peer groups, women-only or faith-based recovery spaces, not just AA. Third, tackle work-related stress. That’s your legal duty.”
And she makes a strong point about leadership.
Emily: “Managers are culture creators. They have more impact on a person’s mental health than their doctor or therapist.”
Where leadership and recovery meet
Emily: “Senior leaders set the weather. If you’re struggling with alcohol or addiction, it will show up in how you lead. Do your own work first.”
Patrick echoes it.
Patrick: “We’re not just hiring people to do jobs. We’re caring for humans so they can perform.”
That’s what this episode is really about, leadership that starts with honesty.
Emily’s story of being radically human
Emily: “Being radically human means being authentic, even about the darkest parts, so it helps others.”
Then she shares something raw.
Emily: “I had a three-year ketamine addiction during COVID. I was isolated, stressed, and trying to cope with PMDD. At first it helped, but it became something else. Recovery for me means telling the truth so others can find their way sooner.”
You can hear in her voice that she’s not sharing for sympathy. She’s sharing to show what recovery really looks like: messy, brave, and human.
If you lead people, start here
Emily: “Break the taboo. Add recovery to your wellbeing strategy. Do stress assessments. Train managers. Build safe pathways.”
Patrick: “You can’t fix what you pretend isn’t there.”
And that’s the message to take away. Recovery isn’t separate from leadership. It is leadership.
Resources
Emily’s Recovery-Friendly Workplace ebook gives a step-by-step guide on building supportive, stigma-free systems inside your organisation. You can grab it through this link.
Listen to the episode
Episode 224: How Recovery Changes Leadership, Culture, and Connection with Emily Pearson is now streaming on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere you listen.
Keep rethinking alcohol. Keep leading differently.
