Fed:Alcohol abuse costs businesses over $400m

AAP General News (Australia)
12-11-2006
Fed:Alcohol abuse costs businesses over $400m

CANBERRA, Dec 11 AAP - Alcohol consumption in the workplace goes far beyond a couple
of beers at the office Christmas party and has become a major problem for business, costing
more than $400 million per year.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), Australia's largest business
organisation, has called for a collective effort by individuals, industry, unions, health
professionals and regulators on combating the problem of drug and alcohol usage in the
workplace.

This follows research by the National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction
at Flinders University that found that 2.5 million workdays were directly lost to alcohol
consumption in 2001, and indirectly 7.5 million days were lost.

The direct impacts on the economy amounted to $437 million per year, and $1.2 billion indirectly.

"Until now, the problem of excessive alcohol consumption on our roads has been well
known, but the problem in the workplace has not been widely understood," said ACCI chief
executive Peter Hendy.

However, he says these findings are not a surprise and confirm anecdotal concerns of
employers that alcohol and drug usage is a significant and growing challenge for managers
and the community.

"For employers, this is both a workplace safety and productivity matter. For the community,
it is a health matter."

Mr Hendy says there is no one solution, but it does start with individual responsibility.

"Employers have a right to expect employees to present for work in a state that is
safe and productive, and to clamp down on misuse of sick leave. Employers should make
workplace policy clear, and remove safety risks where foreseeable and practical."

A recent ACCI survey of 549 union and non-union agreements shows that only 25 per cent
specifically address the drug and alcohol issue, but did adopt a variety of approaches.

These included provision for leave to attend rehabilitation, the implementation of
employee assistance programs, and disciplinary, counselling and testing protocols.

They also included zero tolerance policies in industries where employee or public safety
is at risk, such as building, mining, aviation and transport.

Mr Hendy said employers needed new management tools to deal with the problem.

"Employers are lay people and not health professionals, and often have little or no
past exposure to alcohol or drug misuse or addiction," Mr Hendy said.

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KEYWORD: ALCOHOL

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