Noviche BioScience

Factors Contributing to Employee Drinking

Drinking rates vary among occupations, but alcohol-related problems are not characteristic of any social segment, industry, or occupation. Drinking is associated with the workplace culture and acceptance of drinking, workplace alienation, the availability of alcohol, and the existence and enforcement of workplace alcohol policies.

1. Workplace Culture

The culture of the workplace may either accept and encourage drinking or discourage and inhibit drinking. A workplace's tolerance of drinking is partly influenced by the gender mix of its workers. Studies of male-dominated occupations have described heavy drinking cultures in which workers use drinking to build solidarity and show conformity to the group. Some male-dominated occupations therefore tend to have high rates of heavy drinking and alcohol-related problems. In predominantly female occupations both male and female employees are less likely to drink and to have alcohol-related problems than employees of both sexes in male-dominated occupations.

2. Workplace Alienation

Work that is boring, stressful, or isolating can contribute to employees' drinking. Employee drinking has been associated with low job autonomy, lack of job complexity, lack of control over work conditions and products, boredom, sexual harassment, verbal and physical aggression, and disrespectful behaviour.

3. Alcohol Availability

The availability and accessibility of alcohol may influence employee drinking. More than two-thirds of the 984 workers surveyed at a large manufacturing plant said it was "easy" or "very easy" to bring alcohol into the workplace, to drink at work stations, and to drink during breaks. Twenty-four percent reported any drinking at work at least once during the year before the survey. In a survey of 6,540 employees at 16 work sites representing a range of industries, 23 percent of upper-level managers reported any drinking during working hours in the previous month.

Restricting workers' access to alcohol may reduce their drinking. The cultural prohibition against alcohol in the Middle East, making alcohol less available, may explain the reduction in drinking among UK military personnel serving in operations. An estimated 80 percent of the military personnel surveyed reported decreased drinking while serving in Middle East operations.

4. Supervision

Limited work supervision, often a problem on evening shifts, has been associated with employee alcohol problems. In one study of 832 workers at a large manufacturing plant, workers on evening shifts, during which supervision was reduced, were more likely than those on other shifts to report drinking at work.

5. Alcohol and Drugs Policies

There is wide variation in the existence of alcohol and drugs policies, in employees' awareness of them, and in their enforcement in workplaces across the country. Researchers found that most managers and supervisors in one large manufacturing plant had little knowledge of the company's alcohol policy. In addition, supervisors were under constant pressure to keep production moving and were motivated to discipline employees for drinking only if the drinking was compromising production or jeopardizing safety. Workers' knowledge that policies were rarely enforced seemed to encourage drinking.

Effects of Employee Drinking

Alcohol-related job performance problems are caused not only by on-the-job drinking but also by heavy drinking outside of work. Researches found a positive relationship between the frequency of being "hungover" at work and the frequency of feeling sick at work, sleeping on the job, and having problems with job tasks or co-workers. The hangover effect was demonstrated among pilots whose performance was tested in flight simulators. Researchers, Yesavage and Leirer, found evidence of impairment 14 hours after pilots reached blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) of between 0.10 percent and 0.12 percent. Morrow and colleagues found that pilots were still significantly impaired 8 hours after reaching a BAC of 0.10 percent. Drinking at work, problem drinking, and frequency of getting "drunk" in the past 30 days were positively associated with frequency of absenteeism, arriving late to work or leaving early, doing poor work, doing less work, and arguing with co-workers.

Preventing Alcohol Problems in the Workplace

Health promotion programs offered in the workplace may reduce employees' alcohol-related problems. An employee health promotion program delivered in three 2-hour sessions at one manufacturing plant was designed to increase participants' awareness of the health risks related to stress and drinking. More than one-half of the 294 workers attended the sessions. Researchers based their results on data from 120 employees who completed pre-study and post-study evaluations. After 6 months, 76 percent of the heaviest drinkers reportedly reduced their alcohol consumption. Moderate drinkers also reduced their consumption, and participants reported changes in their attitudes toward drinking and drinking and driving, knowledge about problem drinking, and recognition of signs of a drinking problem.

A 15-session worksite coping-skills intervention designed to reduce work- and family-related risk, to enhance protective factors, and to reduce negative health outcomes was conducted among 136 female secretaries. Six months later, participants reported less work-related stress, higher social support, and less alcohol use compared with a control group. Twenty-two months later, participants reported greater use of coping strategies and less drinking.

FREE TOOLBOX TALKS

We have developed a series Five free Alcohol and Drugs Toolbox Talks specifically for Safety Managers.

• Click here to download the Alcohol and Drugs Tool Box Talks

****************************************************

The Impact of Alcohol and Drugs in UK Industry Sectors (click on a link):

• Public Service Transport
• Logistics and Distribution
• Engineering
• Utilities
• Railways
• Shipping and Maritime
• Finance and Commerce
• Aviation
• Manufacturing
• Education
• Retail and Wholesale
• Atomic and Nuclear

Contact Us

For drugs testing, alcohol testing, drug screening, alcohol hair testing, mobile phlebotomist, drugs training, or Drager recalibration in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Chester, Derby, Exeter, Hull, Ipswich, Leeds, Leicester, Lincoln, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Northampton, Nottingham, Norwich, Preston, Shrewsbury, Stafford, Swansea, Swindon, and York, please CONTACT US