For this week’s Workplace Wednesday let’s look at alcohol in the work place.
Drinking alcohol can have socio-economic effects and cost organization a lot of money.
On the International Centre for Alcohol Policies Website, (http://www.icap.org/PolicyTools/ICAPBlueBook/BlueBookModules/22AlcoholandtheWorkplace/tabid/542/Default.aspx) they summarize the topic as follows:
• Lost productivity—often as a result of absenteeism, poor job performance, accidents and injuries, and alcohol-related disability and death—is believed to be the most significant social cost of harmful drinking.
• Certain occupations and work environments are associated with a greater risk of alcohol-related harm.
• Unemployment has been linked with higher rates of alcohol-related harm.
• Employer policies on alcohol in the workplace can improve worker health, safety, and productivity.
• The workplace can be a convenient point of access to provide education, intervention, and treatment programs to a large segment of the adult population, including certain at-risk groups.
• More research is needed to properly evaluate workplace programs to reduce the negative impact of alcohol.
• For examples of interventions, see the online database Initiatives Reporting: Industry Actions to Reduce Harmful Drinking.
Having policies on Alcohol in the Workplace can be practical and useful for both employers and employees. They help to make the workplace a safer place to be and enable the employees at risk to get access to the help that they need.
Do you have an Alcohol in the Workplace Policy?
