Going for a drink after work might not be such a good idea

Alcohol Concern is calling for boards to have a formal responsibility to address financial losses incurred through workers' reduced performance caused by alcohol.

Based on 21 European studies, Anderson & Baumberg (2006) estimated that productivity losses contributed 47% of the total €125bn social cost of alcohol to Europe. Alcohol Concern chief executive Eric Appleby said in the Telegraph last week: “Companies simply have to address attitudes to alcohol and drinking behaviours - it is costing the economy billions every year”.

Despite the relationships between the work environment and the risk of alcohol use disorders, surprisingly few intervention studies have investigated the impact of changing work structures on reducing alcohol-related harm. Brief advice programmes, programmes attempting to change workplace attitudes toward on-the-job substance use, as well as training workers to recognize and intervene with co-workers who have a problem are the most promising. There is an enormous potential for the better development and implementation of workplace policies and actions that improve wellness at work and productivity, as well as reducing the wider social costs due to alcohol.

This issue is being addressed by the European Commission funded project “European Workplace and Alcohol (EWA)” Its aims are to develop effective methods of engaging with workplaces, and their workforces, to raise awareness and bring about individual. It hopes to bring an organisational change that leads to reduced alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm.