Employers urged to help tackle booze Britain

Employers urged to help tackle booze Britain

Employers should use pre-emptive action to reduce harm and increase productivity among workers who drink too much, suggests a personal view published on bmj.com.

Director and Founder of the Alcohol Health Network (a UK-based social enterprise that aims to reduce alcohol-related ill health) says that the “workplace culture of mixing alcohol with off-duty relaxation […] remains as strong as ever in the UK’s private and public sectors”.

Don Shenker says that the complexity of Britain's workplace culture means that although group drinking "fosters greater team spirit and acts to reduce stress", there are employees who are in danger of being sacked if their drinking gets out of control. He asks whether employers or employees are ultimately responsible.

One quarter of the UK workforce drinks at hazardous levels which Shenker says causes 40% of workplace accidents, 17 million lost work days a year and costs Britain’s economy £7.3bn a year. Studies from Australia and Finland have also shown that alcohol consumption is positively associated with the number of days of sickness absence for both men and women.

He says some employers now have clear polices to ensure that staff must report to work alcohol-free but what is often missing is preventative work.

As such, Shenker suggests using “standardised screening for alcohol misuse” which is “highly effective and cost efficient among NHS patients in primary and secondary care”. He adds that offering staff confidential use of a programme such as AUDIT (the alcohol use disorders identification test) “may well help prevent problems with alcohol at an earlier stage”.

Through a programme such as AUDIT, staff can self-assess the risks their drinking poses and take appropriate action subsequently reducing “hazardous drinking [and reducing] the risk of dependent drinking occurring”.

Shenker concludes that further research is needed to establish “the best incentives to encourage staff to assess their drinking through workplace initiatives” and that “employers can help staff get the balance right […] while also contributing to a general reduction in alcohol related harms and costs to society”.