Official Newsletter of Drug Free Workplaces
September 2016 Vol. 17 No. 9
DrugFree@WorkPlace
Published by The Council on Alcohol and Drugs
Tel (404) 223-2486 | Fax (866) 786-9811 | www.LiveDrugFree.org
Productive, Alcohol Free
Employees
Alcohol use can dramatically impact an
employee’s contribution to a company’s
success. The abuse of alcohol can lead
to reduced productivity, increased absenteeism and tardiness, higher turnover rates, and increased insurance
costs. Light and moderate drinkers
cause 60% of tardiness, absenteeism,
and poor quality work as a result of alcohol consumption. Heavy drinkers and
alcoholics cause the remaining 40%.1
“Office workers” are more likely to
drink during the week and also to a
greater extent than those who are unemployed or economically inactive. But
there are many benefits to individuals
and the workplace when employees
abstain from alcohol use. Studies have
proven that by not drinking—even for a
period of 30 days—concentration levels
can increase by an average of 18%
and work performance can improve by
an additional 17%.2
Drinking alcohol has negative effects
on a person’s mental state that can adversely impact productivity at work. An
employee who is physically and mentally hungover is not able to perform at
an optimum level. Excessive drinking
creates an imbalance of chemicals and
nutrients in the body, resulting in a
brain that is agitated on a cellular level. Alcohol also inhibits memory and
retention of information. And because
alcohol is a sedative, it slows impulse
transmissions between brain cells that
control the ability to think even long
after a person stops drinking.3
Alcohol Use/Health Insurance
Rates
One-third of liver transplants in the
U.S. are necessary because of liver disease caused by long-term alcohol
5,000 people under 21
die each year from
underage drinking!
www.LiveDrugFree.org
consumption. The kidneys and pancreas are also damaged, and excessive
alcohol consumption over sustained periods of time can lead to weaker immune systems and cancer. But abstaining from alcohol for only one month
can decrease the accumulation of fat in
the liver (a precursor to liver damage)
by an average 15%.4
Drinking large amounts of alcohol can
also lead to high blood pressure and
stroke. All of this results in excessive
health insurance costs for employers.
Higher insurance rates force employers
to lower salary levels, negatively impacting all employees.
A Safer Workplace
Up to 40% of industrial fatalities can be
linked to alcohol abuse and alcoholism.
Drinking can affect judgment and reasoning, slow down reaction time, upset
coordination and balance, impair vision
and hearing, and cause a loss of concentration even many hours after a
person has stopped drinking. In one
study, 14 hours after drinking, twothirds of a group of pilots could not
perform routine tasks in a simulator,
despite the fact that all of the alcohol
had left their system.
But abstaining from alcohol for only 30
days results in a 10% increase in quality of sleep and a 9.5% increase in
wakefulness, which makes for a more
alert and safer employee.
Numerous studies have shown that
employees who suffer from alcohol
abuse disorders have a higher risk of
injuries on the job, which increases
workers’ compensation insurance rates.
More employees abstaining from alcohol use results in fewer workplace accidents—which creates a safer workplace
for everyone, and reduced workers’
comp insurance costs for companies.5
To help us combat substance abuse, go to www.LiveDrugFree.org and click on “Donate!”
DrugFree@WorkPlace | September 2016 Vol. 17 No. 9 | www.LiveDrugFree.org | Tel (404) 223-2486
More Healthy Employees
Ingesting the empty calories in alcoholic drinks slows down the body’s
metabolic rate and causes weight gain
over time. Alcohol also lowers inhibitions and weakens willpower, resulting
in a craving for fatty foods. And because alcohol is a toxic substance, the
body works to process the alcohol first,
and stores any food eaten while drinking as fat. This is why abstaining from
alcohol will always result in weight loss
even without diet or exercise.
Additionally, abstaining from alcohol
for just a one-month period causes
blood glucose levels to even out,
resulting in an average reduction
in blood glucose of 16%. Lower glucose levels and healthy weight loss
results in happier, more productive
employees.6
The 30-Day Challenge
Perhaps you or someone you know
could benefit from taking the 30-day
challenge to abstain from alcohol?
Many who have successfully completed
this challenge have reported: increased confidence, healthy weight
loss, improvement in overall health
and mood, better quality of sleep, improved relationships with family and
friends, and many other positive outcomes. An internet search on “benefits
of 30 days of alcohol abstinence” reveals 435,000 results.
It only takes 21 days to change a behavior, and if drinking is becoming an
issue, the 30-day challenge might be
all that is needed to get the problem
under control.
Even if the goal is just to reduce the
amount of alcohol intake overall, 30
days of abstinence is a good way to
start. And your body and brain will
thank you for it. But if you have
been a frequent user of alcohol, you
might first need to consult with a
physician about the possibility of experiencing withdrawal symptoms.
Symptoms can occur to different degrees based on each individual’s alcohol use history. If you experience
nausea, insomnia, irritability, tremors, depression, aggression, seizures, anxiety, or hallucinations,
seek immediate physician care.
__________
1
Cesar Fax, The Center for Substance Abuse Research, University of
Maryland citing 1999 “Keeping
Score” Report Focuses on Effects of
Alcohol on Society. April 10, 2000,
Volume 9, Issue 14.
2
New Scientist, http://
www.newscientist.com/data/images/
ns/cms/mg22129502.600/
mg22129502.600-4_1248.jpg.
3
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/
content/how-your-body-processesalcohol.html.
4
http://loveyourliver.com.au/
alcohol/.
5
Alcohol and Other Drugs in the
Workplace: Costs, Controls and
Controversies, Bureau of National
Affairs.
6
http://www.nutritionsecrets.com/
what-happens-when-you-stopalcohol/.
To help us combat substance abuse, go to www.LiveDrugFree.org and click on “Donate!”