Alcohol at Work

Managing Alcohol Problems and Issues in the Workplace

Clive Tobutt

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781317182702
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Negocios y empresa
• Subtopic: Habilidades empresariales

In the European Union many individuals will partake in drinking a little wine with their lunch or dinner to aid their enjoyment of the meal or as an appetizer for food. Alcohol is also a drug of dependence. Some individuals will drink too much and some of them will become addicted. Access to alcohol, binge drinking, and younger drinkers can lead to unsafe workplaces, absenteeism, fraud and criminal behaviour. Alcohol at Work is a definitive guide to the problem, exploring its nature and scale and providing a complete range of ideas and techniques to help create a policy in the workplace and develop appropriate and effective measures for monitoring and tackling alcohol abuse. The key collective message is solve the problem - take the alcohol, not the person, out of the workplace. In the UK alone, research puts the cost of alcohol abuse in the workplace at £2 billion a year. This is a must-have reference for human resource, occupational health and risk managers, as well as those involved in tackling criminal behaviour such as fraud and violence at work resulting from alcohol abuse and addiction.

CHAPTER 1
Introduction to Alcohol and the Workplace

CLIVE TOBUTT

---

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this chapter you will be able to understand:

• the terms and definitions used in this book relating to alcohol consumption;

• alcohol: its nature physiology and effects;

• what to expect in the following chapters.

---

Introduction

In the European Union (EU) many individuals will partake in drinking a little wine with their lunch or dinner to aid their enjoyment of the meal as well as being used as an appetizer for food. You will observe this activity in any restaurant in Brussels, London, and in Stockholm or in The Hague. People have done so throughout history and will probably continue to do so in the future. Pleasure may or may not be good for you but there is no doubt that drinking for most individuals brings both direct and indirect social and economic benefits. This is a perspective that a brewer and the wider alcohol-producing employer organisations promote, for instance the (European) Amsterdam Group, the UK-based Portman Group, the Dutch-based STIVA, the Swedish Brewers Association, and the Beer & Society Information Centre in Belgium for both Flemish- and French-speaking communities. However, alcohol is also a drug of dependence (Edwards, 2000) and some individuals will drink too much and some individuals will develop alcohol dependence.

Many employers in Europe are concerned with becoming more efficient due to the global nature of trade and industry. These concerns cover questions like how to reduce absenteeism, prevent accidents, or improve productivity and work quality, as well as the related costs that impact directly and indirectly on enterprises and organisations. Alcohol-related problems in the workplace affect both owners, directors, managers, workers, trade unions and professional bodies alike.

Why did you pick up this book? Maybe one of the reasons is that the title grabbed your attention, or you may have more specific interests in one or more of the chapters? Have you had to deal with any individual alcohol-related problem in your organisation or are you interested in developing a preventive alcohol policy, or a social programme in response to alcohol-related problems in the workplace and the wider community? This chapter introduces the idea that alcohol-related issues can be problematic in the workplace and therefore must be a concern for organisations or workplaces within and external to the EU.

The EU has grown from 15 Member States to the current 27, the world has grown smaller. Table 1.1 shows the current 27 European Member States and it includes those 15 European States outside of the EU regulations. Many of these 15 European States are located within Member States –a result of historical treaties from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries – and have more favourable taxation laws. You will of course note that Turkey is not in the EU as of yet but it is a Candidate State. Croatia is likely to join the EU before Turkey. There are a number of potential accession countries from the former Yugoslavia that are being considered to be Candidate States but this will not happen before the EU alters its current treaty on enlargement as, with 27 States, it has reached its membership limit under the present treaty. Yet countries in Europe seem to share common historical and cultural traits that justify the European focus of this book.

The principles for developing social programmes or managing workplace performance in relation to alcohol are the same as they are based upon the International Labour Organization’s (1996) Code of Practice on the Management of Alcohol and Drug Related Issues in the Workplace that are the global standards for policy development in the workplace (International Labour Organization, 2003). This book is aimed at those people who either work in occupational health and safety, human resource management, personnel departments, trade unions and works councils, employers and their employer organisations or others (such as consultants or social and health care professionals) who develop, implement or follow policy at an organisational level in public or private sector workplaces. It has also been written for those who are responsible for the day-to-day monitoring of work performance at supervisor or line manager level, with a view to provide practical advice and best practice on how to effectively deal with alcohol-related issues in the workplace. Finally, this book can be a resource when developing and implementing social programmes or an alcohol policy for your organisation.

Europe

The term ‘Member State’ refers to one of the 27 EU Member States and not the candidate countries applying for membership of the EU or the potential EU candidate countries (see Table 1.1). EU15 refers to the older grouping of the EU (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom before enlargement). EU25 refers to the enlarged EU (EU15 plus Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia – sometimes the term EU10 is used, referring to the newer countries that have recently joined). EU27 refers to the most recent enlargement, the inclusion of Romania and Bulgaria in January 2008.

Table 1.1 Current 27 European Member States, Candidate States and the current 15 non-European Member States in 2007

In some chapters of this book, the authors refer to regional terms within the EU such as central, or northern or southern Europe; Baltic, Eastern and Nordic. By central Europe we mean those countries between the north and south rather than between east and west. So, for example, this term includes Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Luxemburg and the United Kingdom. By northern Europe we mean the Member States from Finland, Norway (not a EU Member State but has formed a membership with two other non-EU States to form the European Free Trade Association) Sweden, Iceland (a non-EU State and a member of the European Free Trade Association). Denmark is classified when using this term as a central European country. However, when the term Nordic countries is used this refers to Denmark plus Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Southern Europe refers to the countries France, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain. Sometimes an author has used Mediterranean countries and this represents those countries from southern Europe plus the Islands of Cyprus and Malta. The term Baltic States refers to those newer EU Member States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Finally the term eastern Europe refers to those European Member States from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Technical Terms used in this book

Throughout this book there are a number of technical terms that are used in relation to the EU, alcohol consumption and behaviour, diagnostic medical criteria and so forth. This can be confusing although the World Health Organization (2007) uses a standardised framework of medical criteria that the authors of this book use. This manual is known as the International Statistical Classification of diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision Version for 2007. The other standardised medical framework that is sometimes referred to in this book is the American Psychiatric Association’s (1994) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). There is also cross referencing to the International Labour Organization’s (2003) terms used for the workplace in relation to alcohol as these are specific terms that relate to work performance and action for the supervisor or organisation.

Anderson and Baumberg (2006) argue that the terms that should be used when discussing alcohol are levels and categories of drinking: hazardous drinking, harmful drinking, intoxication, episodic heavy drinking and alcohol dependence. They go on to argue that there are imprecise terms being used that are not standardised or are open to interpretation and these include moderate drinking, sensible drinking, responsible drinking or social drinking, excessive drinking, alcoholism, alcohol abuse and alcohol misuse. However, for the purposes of this book, all of these terms are defined so as to help the reader understand all of the terms and make their own mind up.

Alcohol

Alcohol is also known as ethyl alcohol or ethanol and is found in alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine and spirits that human beings consume (Edwards, Marshall and Cook, 2003). Absolute alcohol is ethanol not containing more than 1% by weight of water (World Health Organization, 2007). The consumption of alcohol refers to the alcohol content which is 100% ethanol. Alcoholic drinks will vary in the alcohol content depending on if they are brewed or distilled.

International Labour Organization: Traffic Light Zones

The International Labour Organization (2003) defines drinking categories in the workplace using a simple framework so that it is easier to define the drinking categories in the workplace. The framework is based on the colours of the traffic light at road junctions, that is, green zone, yellow zone and the red zone (see Figure 1.1).

This figure has intentionally been removed for copyright reasons.
To view this image, please refer to the printed version of this book

Figure 1.1 International Labour Organization’s traffic light framework for identifying alcohol-related problems in the workplace

Source: International Labour Organization (2003) Alcohol and Drug Problems at Work. The Shift to Prevention (Figure 4.1, p. 25). Geneva: International Labour Organization. Copyright © 2003 International Labour Organization. Reproduced with permission.

The framework is an easy one to remember as those employees who are in the green zone are those who either do not drink alcohol or only drink in moderation. These employees can continue to drink. Those employees in the amber zone are using alcohol to excess but they are not yet alcohol dependent. They will be able to change their drinking behaviour by themselves or by the use of professional counselling. They either need to reduce their alcohol consumption or need to stop drinking. Employees within the red zone need to stop drinking altogether. The employees in this zone are alcohol dependent and will require professional health and social care to be able to stop drinking, usually in specialist alcohol treatment settings. The emphasis of the framework is a shift to prevention in that the scope is not just those employees in the red zone but also those in both the amber and green zones.

Alcohol Use

Alcohol use is an imprecise term and is often associated with the terms such as sensible drinking, social drinking and responsible drinking. Anderson and Baumburg (2006) explain that the term levels and categories of drinking is a precise term in measuring alcohol consumption and refer to a standard drink. Alcohol drinks are normally sold by fluid measures and in different measures rather than by weight. There are three main volume measurement systems currently used in the world with regards to alcohol and these are:

• the metric system;

• the Apothecaries system;

• the imperial system.

The metric system is used in Europe (litre (l), milliliter (ml) and centiliter (cl)), the Apothecaries system used in the USA (US fluid ounces) and the imperial system is used in the UK, Canada and Australia (British imperial fluid ounces). Confusing? Read on as there are other measures!

• Alcohol by volume

Alcohol by volume (abv or ABV) is a standard measure of how much alcohol is contained in an alcoholic drink and is expressed as a percentage of the total volume (abv).

• Grams of alcohol

Alcohol is also measured by weight to volume using the metric system in grams. This measurement is calculated as follows: room temperature is assumed to be 20°C; the temperature of pure alcohol in water is assumed to be 4°C; then the weight of 1ml (that is, volume) will be 0.79g. If we use an imperial (volume) measurement then 1fl oz containing pure alcohol is the equivalent in the metric system of 22.4g.

• Standard Alcohol Units (SAU)

In the UK, a SAU is equal to 8g of alcohol which is equivalent to 10ml or 1cl of pure alcohol. A SAU is equal to a half a pint of standard strength beer (280mls or 3.5% alcohol by volume), a small glass of wine (125mls or 12% alcohol by volume) or a single pub measure of spirits (25mls or 40% alcohol by volume). If any alcoholic cocktails are drunk these are taken as four units per drink. Home measures of wine or spirits are invariably larger than pub or restaurants therefore it might be easier to measure by the bottle over a given period or double the number of SAU.

Alcohol is also a product that many global countries see as an economic activity as it generates taxation, not only for those in government, but also for companies and the alcohol industry employs many individuals from the population (Room et al., 2002).

Cultural Use

Cultural use of alcohol can be viewed at both individual and societal levels. For example, O’Conner (1975) classifies cultures that do and do not drink into four main types: abstinent cultures (dry cultures); ambivalent cultures (both dry and wet cultures); permissive cultures (wet cultures) and ultra-permissive cultures (wet cultures). O’Conner’s works (1975; 1978) are still relevant today in that he described abstinent cultures as those that are negative towards alcohol consumption and also have controls that do not allow drinking. Ambivalent cultures have both a negative and positive attitude towards alcohol consumption, whilst a permissive culture allows alcohol consumption but frowns upon public intoxication and alcohol-related problems. An ultra-permissive culture has favourable attitudes towards both alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems. Whilst this is a useful classification, drinking and consuming alcohol can be defined simply as a wet culture based on the behaviour of the population. In contrast, a dry culture does not drink or consume alcohol (Edwards et al., 1994). At the individual level, an example of cultural use could be when a young person drinks a small glass of wine that has been watered down at the dinner table with their family as this is a social event but the drinking of wine is supervised by the young person’s parents. This classification will also change over time as a result of the social cultural values of the community, the period of time, the ethical values and from country to country.

Categories of Drinking

Categories of drinking are used by the World Health Organization (2007) for epidemiological studies and are grouped into four types by daily intake: level 0, abstinent; level I, 0–40g of absolute alcohol for men and 0–20g for women; Level II, 40–60g of absolute alcohol for men and 20–40g for women; level III, 60g + of absolute alcohol per day or more or 40g + for women. Drinking patterns are an important part of research as alcohol has an effect on the individual’s behaviour and blood alcohol levels (Babor et al., 2003).

CEREMONIAL USE

The use of alcohol can also be interpreted with various meanings, such as social drinking. Ceremonial alcohol use is different from the previous explanation of the cultural use of alcohol in that it is associated with religious practices and in that leaders of religions use alcohol as a symbolic meaning (Tobutt et al., 2001). For example, drinking wine is used in many Christian and Jewish ceremonies, but there is control on the amount and how the alcohol is drunk by the religious leader or the shaman of the religion.

MODERATE DRINKING

Moderate drinking, or social drinking as it is sometimes known, is the consumption of alcohol with others as opposed to individual solitary drinki...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Dedication
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• List of Contributors
• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Chapter 1 Introduction to Alcohol and the Workplace
• Chapter 2 The Nature of the Problem: Examining the Evidence
• Chapter 3 Policy Development for Organisations
• Chapter 4 Workplace Testing
• Chapter 5 How to Deal with the (Problematic) Use of Alcohol in Relation to Job Performance
• Chapter 6 Alcohol Screening and Assessment
• Chapter 7 Alcohol Interventions and Treatment
• Chapter 8 Communities and Employers Working Together
• Index