Alcohol at Work

Alcohol and Work at the work place are certainly not a good mix. A large amount of people have problems with alcohol at work. It is a serious and growing problem. People who consume alcohol and are now dependable and maybe out of work can complete our online application form to get help. A Teen Challenge London Support Worker or Drug Rehab Centre Manager will contact you to arrange an interview. Our services are free.

It is estimated that:

* Alcohol related problems cost British Industries approximately £2 billion a year in absenteeism and poor performance;

* Up to 14.8 million working days are lost each year as a consequence of misusing alcohol;

* Workers who misuse alcohol are believed to be 2 to 3 times more likely to be involved in an industrial accident.  

It is imperative that both employers and employees are aware that under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 employers have legal requirements to ensure the health and safety of their employees. However, according to a recent survey conducted by CIPD, about 4 in 10 of the 500 organizations interviewed have no policy in place to help them manage this challenging issue.  

Alcoholism is usually a way of coping with other problems to free ones self from their problems. If you're struggling with an alcohol problem, but you don't want to see someone face-to-face at the moment, then we can help by having a free one to one telephone chat before you commit yourself. Please call 0208  553 3338.

Key findings include

* Only 33% of employers train managers in how to manage misuse of alcohol and drugs at work and just 22% train employees generally in organization procedures in tackling these issues; * Almost a 1/3 of organizations have dismissed employees in the last 2 years due to alcohol problems;

* Only 12% of respondent organizations have referred employees with drug problems to specialist treatment and rehabilitation in the last 2 years.

While dismissal is often the obvious choice and maybe justified in some cases, many companies and public service organizations are not aware that having a substance policy in place, with managers and staff appropriately trained, may be more economical than going through costly dismissal and recruitment procedures, especially if the policy's ethos focuses on assisting their staff to return to work at an appropriate level of performance

Key messages

While for many people, drinking alcohol is a positive part of life and does not cause any problems, the misuse of alcohol can lead to reduced productivity, taking time off work, and accidents at work. Employers should adopt an alcohol policy, in consultation with their staff. This should include matters such as:

1. How the organization expects employees to limit their drinking;

2. How problem drinking will be recognized and help offered; and

3. At what point and in what circumstances you will treat an employee's drinking as a matter for discipline rather than as a health problem.

Some employers have decided to adopt alcohol screening as part of their alcohol policy. If you think you want to do the same, think very carefully about what you want screening to do, and what you will do with the information it generates. Screening by itself will never be the complete answer to problems caused by alcohol misuse.

If you don’t want the embarrassment of alcohol screening by your work employer then contact Teen Challenge, our friendly fully trained staff will listen and assess your needs.

Sensible Drinking

Doctors and scientists agree that there is no completely 'safe' lower limit when it comes to alcohol. Drinking alcohol will always carry some risk to health. However, if we drink sensibly the risks to health are very low and there could be some benefits to health.

Drinking small amounts of alcohol (between 1 and 2 units per day) may protect against coronary heart disease. However, this benefit only applies to men over 40 and women past the menopause and it are not possible to “bank” these benefits beforehand!

So what do we mean by 'sensible drinking'?

Simply put, it means not getting drunk. Being drunken means that the liver is overloaded, it can't deal with the alcohol in the bloodstream quickly enough to stop it affecting the rest of the body. At the same time as its making us feel happy, light-headed and talkative, it’s also damaging cells and imparticular cells in the liver.

Don’t burden your liver, or damage your healthy cells any longer, call us free to find your freedom from alcoholism.

How much is too much?

Men should drink no more than 3-4 units a day. Women should drink no more than 2-3 units a day. A unit is equal to 10ml of pure alcohol.

What about 'binge drinking'?

'Binge drinking' means different things to different people. For most, it means serious drunkenness, fighting and aggression, throwing up and behaving badly in public. This is the image of binge drinkers portrayed in the media and most people rightly conclude 'that's not me'.

The importance of alcohol-free days

Alcohol causes changes in the cells in our livers. Over time, these changes build up into liver disease and even liver cancer. By not drinking every day, the liver gets a chance to repair itself so that there's no lasting damage.

Everyone should have 2-3 days without alcohol every week.

If you drink over the sensible limit on any occasion, you should avoid alcohol for at least 48 hours.

Medical definitions

In the UK, a 'binge' is usually reckoned to mean drinking more than 8 units if you're a man or 5 units if you're a woman.

What if you drink more than this?

Then you can apply for free to one of our Teen Challenge Centers today. Alcoholism at work is a serious and growing problem. You don't need to suffer in silence, or be alone. Complete our online application form to get help. One of our Support Workers or Centre Manager will then contact you to arrange an interview. Our services are free.