Social drinkers’ can cost employers millions
A greater threat to productivity than addicts?
Employers have invested a great deal of time and money in offering treatment and counseling for workers who have become addicted to alcohol and other substances.
But while these efforts are laudable, a new study indicates they may be facing an even greater threat to productivity from "social drinkers" who have too much to drink the night before work or during the day.
"It may seem harmless, but an employee who drinks too much champagne at a Sunday evening wedding, consumes a few too many beers during Monday night football, or has a drink at lunch could be costing your company money. . . .
"[Our study found] the majority of alcohol-related work performance problems are attributed to these employees — employees who are not alcohol dependent, but who occasionally drink too much on a work night or during a workday lunch," writes Bruce Davidson, manager, Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and Work/Life Programs at Compaq Computer/Digital Division, in an introduction to the study.
The report, "New perspectives for work site alcohol strategies: Results from a corporate drinking study," was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
It was written by Thomas W. Mangione, PhD, senior research scientist at JSI Research and Training Institute Inc. in Boston; Jonathan Howland, PhD, professor, Boston University School of Public Health; and Marianne C. Lee, MPA, Harvard School of Public Health, and consultant, JSI Research and Training Institute Inc. in Boston.
The survey of 7,255 managers and supervisors from 114 work sites further concluded that the National Institutes on Health’s 1995 Report to Congress, which estimated costs of $27 billion in lost productivity due to alcohol use alone, "may be understated."
Among its findings: Employees who are not alcohol-dependent account for 60% of the alcohol-related work performance problems reported in the study.
While not addicted to alcohol, these employees can be affected by it. For example, the "hangover effect" can result in arriving late or leaving work early, being absent, or getting into arguments with co-workers. Yet, an employee who drinks too much the night before work may have no alcohol in his or her blood in the morning.
The good news? Because most drinkers who affect workplace productivity are not addicted, "they are open to messages about changes in their drinking behaviors."
Therefore, education programs can help teach these employees to make better choices. (For a summary of the study’s key findings, see the box, right.)
Getting the facts
Work performance problems were identified by asking employees how many times they experienced five types of performance issues in the past year: absenteeism, arriving to work late, leaving early, doing poor quality work, and having arguments with co-workers.
This "CAGE" alcohol-dependency screening instrument has been successfully used in a number of early research projects on substance abuse. (For a screening instrument to identify a more serious problem, see the box on p. 55.)
Why would employees who are not alcohol-dependent be responsible for the majority of those types of work problems? Because the number of alcohol-dependent employees in the workplace is much smaller than the number of non-dependent drinkers (23% to 77%, according to the authors). Even though their rate of work-related problems is less, there are so many more of them that their total problems outnumber those of dependent employees.
"You can get increased absenteeism due to health problems [caused by too much drinking] or plain hangovers — particularly concentrated on Mondays or holidays," says Laura Schneider, LCSW, EAP coordinator for the Van Nuys, CA, office of PacifiCare Behavioral Health. "These include fatigue or not thinking clearly, due to not having enough sleep or simply drinking too much the night before."
In fact, employees who don’t drink at all can be affected by other employees who overdo it. The study found that productivity could be significantly affected by "secondhand alcohol." "Fully 21% of workers reported being injured or put in danger, having to redo work or to cover for a co-worker, or needing to work harder or longer due to others’ drinking," wrote the authors.
Of course, someone who is not physically addicted to alcohol can still have some serious medical problems as well.
"You could be talking about someone who is not only a drain on his employer; but on his marriage, someone who is not being the kind of parent he could be, or who runs the risk of becoming addicted," says Schneider. "If you have to have 2-3 drinks to go to a party or talk with your wife, you certainly are dependent — you’re just not physiologically addicted. I’m sure these people also have higher-than-average medical problems, such as high blood pressure, heart attacks, and strokes."
An alert wellness director may be able to spot a non-dependent drinker, she adds. Symptoms include absenteeism, drowsiness, exhaustion, fatigue, and irritability.
Missing the boat
The point is, if employers are directing their intervention efforts exclusively to alcohol-dependent employees, "they are missing the source of a substantial number of alcohol-related problems," says the study. "Corporate drinking policies will be more effective in reducing alcohol-related performance problems if they address both low-level exposure, such as drinking at lunch, and the residual effects of heavy drinking on next-day performance."
Health promotion professionals who address this problem should have a receptive audience. More than 80% of the employees surveyed supported testing after an accident, two-thirds supported pre-employment testing, and half supported random testing for alcohol during the workday.
[Editor’s Note: For a free copy of this study, contact JSI Research and Training Institute, Attention: Thomas Mangione, 44 Farnsworth St., Boston, MA 02210. Telephone: (617) 482-9485. Fax: (617) 482-0617.]
Sources
• Laura Schneider, PacifiCare Behavioral Health, 5990 Sepulveda Blvd., Suite 400, Van Nuys, CA 91411. Telephone: (818) 623-5696.
For educational programs on the effects of alcohol:
• Employee Assistance Professional Association, 2101 Wilson Blvd., Suite 500, Arlington, VA 22201. Telephone: (703) 522-6272.
Key Findings of the Corporate Drinking Study
• The majority of alcohol-related work performance problems can be attributed to employees who are not alcohol dependent.
• Getting high or drunk the night before will exacerbate work performance problems the next day — a "hangover" effect. Hangovers may disrupt sleep, making employees feel tired the next day, even if they don’t experience the classic symptoms of headache or an upset stomach.
• Any drinking immediately before or during the workday, usually at lunch of company-sponsored events, is associated with increased work performance problems.
• Managers are more than three times as likely to drink during working hours than hourly workers.
• Even within the same companies, work sites and work groups develop their own micro- cultures about drinking that influence how an employee drinks at work as well as away from work.
• Current estimates of productivity losses due to alcohol exposure also don’t account for "secondhand" effects.
• Many supervisors charged with enforcing alcohol policies don’t know what the company policies are, including rules about drinking before driving a company vehicle.
Checklist helps screen for dependency
The following is a set of questions that help screen for chemical dependency. The source of this instrument is Matrix Adult Outpatient Substance Abuse Treatment Services, which is affiliated with the University of California at Los Angeles. Telephone: (800) 310-7700.
1. Have you ever felt you should cut down on your drinking or drug use?
2. Have people annoyed you by criticizing or complaining about your drinking or drug use?
3. Have you ever felt bad or guilty about your drinking or drug use?
4. Have you ever had a drink or drug in the morning (eye opener) to steady your nerves or to get rid of a hangover?
5. Do you use any drugs other than those prescribed by a physician?
6. Has a physician ever told you to cut down or quit use of alcohol or drugs?
7. Has your drinking/drug use caused family, job, or legal problems?
8. When drinking/using drugs, have you ever had a memory loss (blackout)?
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