How to Avoid Looking Hungover at Work

Keep to yourself. Do your best to limit personal interaction. The easiest way to not look hungover is to limit how much you’ll be looked at. Avoid long conversations with others and when forced into them, do more listening than speaking. Provided they’re not your superior, a terse “sorry, I’ve got to get back to my work” should deflect any chatty coworkers.

• Stay away from as many people as you can - your coworkers, your boss, your clients and especially anyone notorious for office gossip. Hopefully your scarcity will be taken as a sign of hard work.
• If you are an underage drinker, this poses a range of risks. Not only can it be detrimental to your health if you drink irresponsibly, but you are at a high risk of being caught, and likely reported to an official. Most individuals will roll their eyes and go on with their day, but there are few that will take note and inform someone who will do something about it. If your coworkers seem suspicious and question why you are acting unusual, simply respond that you were working on a project or thing (of your choice) and didn't complete it until the early morning. Plan your excuse if you choose to take this route, but remember the consequences of if you are caught. If you are worried, simply don't drink beforehand.
• If you can't get away from a meeting, stare intensely at each speaker. Allow your mind to completely shut down while you "look engaged.” Be careful not to zone out so much that you’ll look unresponsive, especially if you’re likely to be asked anything.

Act as you normally would. Though the previous step cautions discretion, don’t be so unreachable that it’s odd or especially noticeable. Try to make your day exceptionally unexceptional: do everything you normally would, no more or less. Remember in all things you’re trying to avoid suspicion and attention. So much of not looking hungover at work will be trying to look as normal as possible.^[2]

• This will start with being on time. Again, you’re looking to have to explain yourself very little on the day of a hangover. Don’t trap yourself into having to lie about being late.
• Keep the day’s schedule. If your job involves a lot of meetings or organized face-to-face time, you’ll unfortunately need to maintain this. It’s far too suspicious to try and cancel things.
• Watch how you speak with others as well. Keep from being curt, dismissive, or tired with others (even if you are). Maintain a smile and excuse yourself from conversations whenever appropriate.

Work slowly and methodically. If you attempt to get through work like a maniac in an attempt to look put together, you'll set yourself up to make a mistake. That’ll be one more thing have to explain away, which you’ll need to avoid. Work deliberately and slowly if you have to. It’s better to work well than to work a lot; it’s easy to blame a slow day on a bad night’s sleep.

• Find something more menial and less intellectual to maintain a steady-but-productive work look throughout the day.
• If you’re really looking to do the bare minimum, ask your immediate superior what really needs doing that day in particular. Note though that this might draw their attention to you throughout the day.

Tell no one. Nobody needs to know you’re hungover. You may a look a little worse for wear, but if anyone asks you can blame it on any number of things from not sleeping well to the chance that you might be getting a cold. Nothing will undo your hard work disguising your hangover like office gossip.^[3]

• Depending on your social media presence, your coworkers may already know some about your night before. If asked, be vague; “oh I had a great time,” or “Yeah, it was a blast.”
• There’s a chance a co-worker was the with you the night before. Hopefully you’ll know about situations like these in advance, and you both can agree on mutual silence. If it’s someone you don’t know too well, be prepared for the worst. They may tell more than you’d like.

Take medicine. A hangover can cause you all sorts of physical discomfort. Co-workers will develop concern and wonder if you look bowled over in pain, or if they hear you vomit. Fortunately, the most common problems can be fixed with over-the-counter medication. If you’re a regular drinker or know when you’ll have a hangover, try to keep these in stock.

• If you feel like you might vomit, drink an Alka-seltzer or take some Pepto-Bismol, as they both settle your stomach. Have an excuse such as food poisoning if you get caught throwing up. If time allows, consider going to a bathroom on another floor or at another office to avoid being seen or heard.
• If you're in pain with a throbbing head, take some painkillers before arriving at work and keep more to take during the day. Use ibuprofen (Advil) or naproxen (Aleve) as opposed to acetaminophen (Tylenol), as it puts stress on your already stressed liver.

Stay hydrated. Once at work, drink plenty of water throughout the day to help keep you awake and reasonably alert. Sports drinks such like Powerade or Gatorade are useful as well. They contain electrolytes which can aid rehydration. Alcohol dehydrates, so you’ll need to put back what’s been taken out.^[4]

• Initially, sip the water slowly. If you're feeling like you're going to vomit, anything you consume can trigger the need to throw up. As the day wears on, you'll probably be able to drink more and faster.
• You may have people prod you about why you’re drinking so much water. Explain to them that you think you might be sick, and are hydrating to try and avoid it. Hopefully then they avoid you in order to do the same.