Alex James joins Dr Georges Petitjean on Recovery Talks at Work to share his lived experience of addiction, recovery, and working life, and why workplace support for substance use and mental health must improve. Alex describes how his alcohol and drug use began in childhood, escalated through his teens and twenties, and eventually affected every part of his life, including his health, jobs, and sense of safety at work. He explains how he often felt he was not “working” so much as surviving, using alcohol simply to get through the day and avoid withdrawal. The conversation explores the stigma around addiction in the workplace, especially the fear of losing a job or being judged if you speak up. Alex reflects on how larger organisations often felt impersonal and reactive, while smaller family-run businesses were more likely to show compassion and flexibility. Together, Georges and Alex discuss what a recovery-ready workplace should look like: clear policies, regular supervision, psychologically safe conversations, and support that starts before a crisis. Alex argues that addiction should be treated like any other chronic health condition, with open-ended support and a return-to-work pathway that helps people stay in employment and recovery.

Will Halstead joins Dr Georges Petitjean for a honest conversation about gambling harm, recovery, and the impact addiction can have on work, relationships, and mental health. Will shares how gambling began as a normal social activity, how quickly it became isolating and destructive, and why secrecy and shame kept him silent for so long. The episode also explores how gambling addiction shows up in the workplace, why employees may struggle to ask for help, and what organisations can do to create a safer, more supportive environment. Will and Georges discuss the dangers of gambling advertising, the need for better awareness, and how peer support can help both people with living experience and those affected by someone else’s gambling.

Dr William Shanahan, addiction psychiatrist and Medical Director at the Priory Hospital in Roehampton, talks about what addiction treatment has learned over four decades and what workplaces still get wrong. The conversation centres on stigma, recovery-ready workplace policies, and why substance use needs to be treated as a health issue rather than a moral failing. We discuss alcohol, cocaine, cannabis, opioids, club drugs, and gambling, plus how employers can build trust so people feel safe coming forward early.

This episode explores addiction, recovery, and workplace culture through the personal story of Jamie Stuart, a senior leader in the City of London and in recovery for 19 years. Dr Georges Petitjean frames the conversation around the Workplace Addiction and Recovery Movement and the need to normalise support, reduce stigma, and help employees access support earlier. We discuss what workplaces often misunderstand about substance use, why recovery is a long-term process rather than a one-time event, and how senior leaders can create psychological safety by speaking openly. The conversation also looks at signposting, employee networks, relapse, shame, and the role of hope in recovery.

Professor Dame Carol Black joins the launch episode of Recovery Talks at Work to reflect on a career spent tackling problems many people once thought were unsolvable. From transforming the understanding of scleroderma to reshaping how the UK thinks about health, work, addiction, and recovery, she explains why good work, housing, and coordinated support matter so much.We discuss her early life, the path into medicine, the workplace health reforms behind Working for a Healthier Tomorrow, and her independent drug reviews. Carol also shares what the UK has got right, where implementation has stalled, and why knowledge, trust, and non-judgmental spaces matter in recovery and public life.