Alcohol abuse costing €8.5bn in workplace productivity
The report also noted that, according to the National Alcohol Diary Survey 2013, 4.2% of employed respondents reported they had missed days from work due to their alcohol use in the 12 months prior to the survey. File picture
Alcohol abuse is costing the country €8.5bn a year in lost workplace productivity, according to Alcohol Action Ireland(AAI).
The independent national advocacy group says the impact alcohol has is so great the Government should implement policies to reduce consumption and, in turn, make the economy “more robust and competitive”.
While alcohol’s impact on the health service and the criminal justice system is well known, according to the body, a less well-known impact is on the workplace.
In its 'Alcohol’s Cost to the Workplace', the organisation used national and international evidence to review the impact of alcohol in the workplace in Ireland, the scale of its impact on workers, on employers, and on the economy.
AAI CEO Sheila Gilheany said: “Alcohol is by far the most used psychoactive substance in the workforce, with people having harmful consumption patterns that increase their risk of social, legal, medical, occupational, domestic and economic problems.”
She pointed out that while more than half of Irish drinkers are classified as “hazardous drinkers", within that cohort there are 578,000 people with an alcohol use disorder (AUD).
Of those, 90,000 are at a level classed as “severe”.
“Alcohol poses a significant risk to workers, to businesses, to productivity and to the economy,” she said.
“Working under the influence of alcohol, or with a hangover, can increase the risk of accidents, injuries and absenteeism, along with tardiness at work and/or leaving work early, resulting in loss of productivity.”
She added: “It can also lead to the development of inappropriate behaviour at work, poor relations with colleagues, and low company morale.
“The impact of alcohol on the workplace is multifaceted.”
The report noted heavy drinking increases the risk of absenteeism.
"International research indicates that high-risk drinkers are 22 times more likely to be absent from work due to their alcohol use compared with lower-risk drinkers," the report noted.
"It is over two decades since the Irish Business and Employers Confederation (Ibec) carried out a survey of 557 businesses in which 12% of firms cited alcohol and alcohol-related illnesses as a cause of short-term absences for men, and 4% of companies reported the same rate of absences for women."
The cost to the economy from absenteeism alone is estimated to be between €1bn and €1.5bn.
The report also noted that, according to the National Alcohol Diary Survey 2013, 4.2% of employed respondents reported they had missed days from work due to their alcohol use in the 12 months prior to the survey.
On average, each of these respondents missed 3.3 days.
