Alcohol and drugs in the workplace : attitudes, policies and programmes in Ireland

Abstract

Alcohol abuse in the workplace manifests itself in a number of ways: Absenteeism; Impaired work performance; Lateness for work; General carelessness; Irresponsibility; Poor concentration; Accidents/Security risk; Arguments with work colleagues/supervisors. These features were mainly identified in relation to alcohol. In general there was a lack of information and lack of awareness about drug abuse. Where it was thought to be a problem it was thought to manifest itself in the same way as alcohol related problems. While there was a general lack of knowledge about the extent of drug related problems in this regard among both employee and employer organizations was quite high. All sources - union respondents, employer respondents and the literature - were in agreement that alcohol related problems are more common in the workplace than drug related problems. Both however, were found to be difficult to identify. Absenteeism was cited as one of the major manifestations of alcohol and drug related problems at work