Boozing on the Rise

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According to the AADAC study, awareness about alcohol use in the workplace has increased greatly in the past few years, but it appears people are slow to react, as the number of people drinking at work has remained fairly stable for the past 10 years, according to recent studies. It’s not just the front-line oipatch workers who are enjoying their habits a bit too much.

 Calgary, Alberta’s oil capital, has its share of problems as well.

 "The three-martini lunch is pretty famous, in this town anyway," says Joanie Corbett, a Calgary-based chartered psychologist and president of Janus Associates, an employee-assistance program provider.

"But I think to a great degree it's gone more underground than it has in recent years," says Corbett, adding people are more careful about how and when they consume alcohol during work hours.

"There was a time when the notion of a liquid lunch was quite expected or acceptable to a lot of people," says George McBride, manager of the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission's (AADAC) Calgary adult treatment and prevention office.

Many people in the oilpatch went along with that hard-drinking reputation in years past, he says. "The notion nowadays is that there is far more public awareness," says McBride.

While public awareness has increased in the past few years, the actual number of people who report drinking on the job has remained fairly stable. According to an Alberta study, about 11 per cent of the province's workforce, or 184,000 people, drink on the job at some time.

The problem is also being handled a lot differently today. Where a company would just fire someone in the past, they are now offering more treatment to help workers deal with the problem and to get them back on the job, she says.

In a tight labour market you often can't afford to lose employees, and it affects people of all walks of life; some of the top performers use alcohol in the workplace, she says.

Drug use actually increased slightly from 1992 to 2002, when AADAC's study of about 3,000 Alberta workers was conducted. Ten per cent of workers reported using drugs other than alcohol while at work, compared to six per cent 10 years earlier. Drugs have "typically been more prevalently used by young people, and there are now more young people in the workforce," says Corbett.

Alcohol is the substance more commonly used and it's not a widespread problem. In the U.S., alcohol consumption levels are about the same or slightly higher, with 15 per cent of workers reporting consuming alcohol before or during their shifts, according to a recent study by the University of Buffalo. The behaviour is most common among men, younger workers and single people.

David Nesbitt, director of AADAC's Business and Industry Clinic, says he treats about 200 people a year, most of whom are referred to him by companies.

"It's all about risk management," says Nesbitt. "Workplaces are wanting to catch a problem early. The point is that it's absolutely critical for a company to have a well-thought-out policy," he says.

"There's more awareness, but not necessarily a different outcome," he says.

McBride says companies don't have to overreact, but they need to have policies to help high-risk employees.

HARD TO SWALLOW:

- About 11 per cent of the workforce, or 184,000 employees, report using alcohol while at work in Alberta;

- Fewer workers report alcohol is available in the workplace -- 19 per cent, down from 56 per cent in 1992;

- Fewer workers drank at lunch -- 11 per cent, down from 28 per cent.

Source: AADAC Workforce Study 2002