Why Sober People Are Still Hiding at Work with Laura NelsonWhy Sober People Are Still Hiding at Work with Laura Nelson
Recovery Rocks
Laura Nelson talks about why many sober people still hide their status at work and how she’s building sober-inclusive professional events and communities. The conversation focuses on workplace culture, event planning and making alcohol-free choices feel normal rather than secret.
33:49•4 Sept 2026
Why Sobriety at Work Still Stays in the Shadows
Episode Overview
- Around a quarter of professionals in a room may be sober or sober-curious, yet many still feel they must hide that at work.
- True event inclusion goes beyond mocktails and requires attention to invitations, timing, venues, bar setup and staff training.
- Building a sobriety-focused community on LinkedIn helps support people in their professional lives rather than only their recovery journeys.
- Sober-focused events like Amplify aim to connect sober advocates with business owners, event planners and HR teams to shift workplace norms.
- Non-alcoholic brands need space at conferences and corporate events so organisers can offer genuine, attractive alcohol-free options.
“If I am worried that somebody knows I'm sober, how can I help other people who are potentially thinking about being sober curious?”
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol in the middle of a very boozy corporate culture? Recovery Rocks brings in Laura Nelson to talk about that exact tension for sober professionals who still feel they have to keep quiet at work. Laura, co-founder of Sober Life Rocks and author of *The Inclusive Event Planner*, shares how a single question at a women’s dental entrepreneurship conference changed everything.
When she asked 125 attendees how many were sober or sober-curious, about a quarter raised their hands "very hesitantly" and looked around to see who was watching. That moment showed her how many people are quietly avoiding alcohol at work while pretending to fit in. You’ll hear how Laura went from starting a secret TikTok channel in early sobriety to building a LinkedIn-based community focused on supporting sober professionals at work, not on getting people sober.
She talks through why standard "we’ve got mocktails" event planning often misses the mark, and why real inclusion means thinking about invitations, timing, venues, bar setup and bartender training as much as the drinks themselves. The hosts, Anna David and Lisa Smith, dig into the idea of workplace events as an inclusivity issue, noting that around 25% of any group might not want to drink for a whole range of reasons.
Laura explains her Amplify conferences, including the shift from "Amplify Sober Voices" to "Amplify Sober Choices", and her move to host the next event at a children’s museum so non-alcoholic brands can be fully involved. Along the way, there are funny nods to past habits (post-aerobics cigarettes, anyone?) mixed with sharp observations about how alcohol gets centre stage while actual connection is treated as an afterthought.
If you’ve ever clutched a fake lime-in-glass at a work do just to blend in, this conversation might have you asking: what would happen if sobriety at work wasn’t something people felt they had to hide?
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