There’s certainly no hiding from the health fallout of alcohol, which affects every organ in the body. It’s linked to more than 200 diseases, and thousands of injuries and causes three million deaths a year globally. In January, a study confirmed alcohol to be a direct cause of cancer.
Social Pressures in After-Work Drinking Dynamics
Managers should know the telltale signs of on-the-job drinking, but they should never accuse a worker of being inebriated, Shea said. While HR can establish codes of conduct employees must abide by, there will still be limitations on all employee actions outside the workplace. If a circumstance of this nature were to arise, it should be addressed and handled by HR.
Is Drinking After Work Getting Out of Control?
Happy hour has also become a substitute for networking and brainstorming, with a third of the American workers surveyed saying that getting drinks after work promotes team bonding. High-stress jobs also place people at risk https://ecosoberhouse.com/ for developing alcohol dependence, including lawyers, doctors, and air traffic controllers. These are also careers where drinking at work can cause significant damage to oneself and others, beyond coworkers or businesses.
Treat the drinking water source
AddictionResource aims to present the most accurate, trustworthy, and up-to-date medical content to our readers. Our team does their best for our readers to help them stay informed about vital healthcare decisions. Consider a formal intervention if the employee’s behavior does not improve despite utilizing the EAP or refuses to use the services. Gather evidence of continued alcohol use at work, such as documentation of incidents, coworker reports, and performance issues. While occupational hazards are intrinsic to many professions, alcohol consumption introduces an additional, and often underestimated, layer of risk.
Helpful Resources
This is especially important in environments with machinery, vehicles, or other safety-sensitive areas. Addressing substance abuse in the workplace is a critical component of OSHA’s mandate to maintain a safe working environment. Continue reading to learn more about the dangers of drinking at work and the role of workplace policies in creating a safer work environment drinking after work for everyone. The key to reducing alcohol misuse in the workplace is to avoid waiting until something goes wrong before acting. There are steps that can be taken at every level of your company and for every employee. Alcohol misuse, combined with absenteeism, can affect productivity.4 Productivity losses accumulate when employees miss work due to health problems.
- With all of that being constant, your best bet is to take a look at the ritual—or tool—you’re using to mark that daily transition and blow off steam.
- Notably, it may induce feelings of relaxation in moderation, but excessive or prolonged use can lead to substantial mental health challenges, such as dependence, depression, and anxiety.
- Deveire Young, 30, is accused of controlling a drugs line running from London into Harwich, Essex.
- Lots of people with alcohol use disorder need professional help to quit drinking.
Consider an alternative drinking water source or additional treatment if chemical contamination is suspected or you have doubts about water safety. They’re more common in people older than 40 with a long history of alcohol misuse. Withdrawal seizures usually happen 12 to 48 hours after your last drink. Get help right away if you or a loved one has an alcohol-related seizure. The spate of SHRM inquiries about on-the-job drinking could reflect the time of year, workplace attorneys and substance abuse experts said. While having drinks with coworkers and employees may seem like a harmless bonding activity, things can quickly take a turn for the worse.
‘The best I can come up with is not drinking most of the time, and only drinking when I really want to,’ she tells WH. Such technology is already a part of many workplaces and will continue to shape the labor market and HR. Here’s how employers and employees can successfully manage generative AI and other AI-powered systems. Hoyman acknowledged that despite these accommodation requirements, there can be a stigma attached to alcoholism that isn’t attached to other ADA-covered conditions. Employers should proceed carefully when it comes to employees who struggle with alcoholism. However, an employer can discipline, discharge or deny employment to an individual whose use of alcohol adversely affects his or her job performance or conduct, Hoyman said.
In light of these findings, there’s a call for integrated screening and treatment strategies that address both substance use and mental health, as well as a reduction in stigma to encourage more individuals to seek help. Long-term alcohol use has been shown to decrease myocardial protein expression and synthesis while accelerating protein degradation in the heart muscle, further contributing to cardiovascular deterioration. Moreover, repeated binge drinking, defined as consuming multiple drinks in a short timeframe, has been correlated with an increased likelihood of developing prehypertension, a precursor to full-blown hypertension. This type of drinking behavior can also produce immediate changes in circulation, heightening the risk of cardiovascular disease in otherwise healthy young adults, as outlined by the American College of Cardiology. In the tech industry, the rise of remote and hybrid work models has reduced the incidence of in-person after-work socializing, leading to a decline in drinking as a bonding ritual. This shift has been influenced by a recognition of the importance of mental health and the negative consequences of alcohol on well-being.