UK ‘one of world’s least work-oriented countries’ claims BrewDog founder - as he slams obsession with 'work-life balance'
14 January 2025, 19:57 | Updated: 15 January 2025, 00:20
The founder and former CEO of BrewDog has claimed the UK is one of the “least work-oriented countries in the world” and urged people to move beyond their obsession with a “work-life balance.”
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James Watt, who co-founded the popular beer brand in 2007, said the idea of work-life balance is a concept created by individuals dissatisfied with their careers and instead suggested people should strive for “work-life integration.”
When he left the company, he mentioned plans to “take a bit of time off, to travel, to spend more time with my family and friends,” while also noting his intention to “dedicate some more time to my other business interests.”
Before his departure, several former employees had signed a letter criticising the “toxic attitudes” in the workplace and a “culture of fear” linked to Watt and co-founder Martin Dickie.
Watt stepped down from BrewDog's daily operations last year after 17 years but retains his ownership stake and holds the title of “captain and co-founder” in a non-executive role.
The company apologised and promised to learn from the situation, though they later faced backlash for reversing a pledge to pay real living wages.
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“I think the whole concept of work-life balance was invented by people who hate the work that they do. If you love what you do, you don’t need work-life balance, you need work-life integration,” Watt shared in a now-deleted Instagram post, accompanied by his fiancée, actor and businesswoman Georgia Toffolo.
Toffolo chimed in, saying, “It’s so true, when I met James I was quite taken aback at how aligned we are in the important stuff and one of those things was a lack of work-life balance in a really beautiful way.”
“Work knows no bounds. Constantly in our home, we are working but we do things we find incredibly fulfilling and we also have a supportive other half that loves that high-octane obsession with what we do,” she continued.
“I’ve always known I would end up with someone like James because it wouldn’t work otherwise.
"If someone was saying ‘you need to knock off now,’ I would be thinking ‘what, do you not like my business? Do you not believe in me? Are we not striving towards the same thing?’”
Watt deleted the original post and stated he had removed the first video due to abusive messages.
He said: “I’m always up for respectful discussion but there is, after all, only so many times you can be called a gay Scottish egg-headed c*** in one day."
To “add context” to his first video, he said his content was for entrepreneurs and those aiming to “push their careers forward” and merely represented his own views on the issue.
In December, Watt suggested he could delay his marriage to Toffolo for several years for tax relief purposes.
