ALCOHOL ABUSE AND THE WORK PLACE

WHY IMPORTANT

  1. Employee health care 

Individuals who abuse alcohol or drugs usually suffer from a host of physical ailments and their health or social life may suffer as a result. 

  1. Employees need to be informed 

It is more constructive to inform employees and possibility prevent accidents or incidents of misconduct. 

  1. Occupational safety 

There is a responsibility on your company and employees alike to ensure that there is no drunkenness in the workplace e.g. through poor concentration, absentmindedness, slower reaction times, impaired eyesight, decreased hand steadiness etc.

Studies have shown a definite link between workplace accidents and alcohol abuse. 

ABSORBED IN THE BLOODSTREAM

The network of blood vessels from the stomach and intestine carries the alcohol to the main arteries and is pumped by the heart throughout the body.

Several factors affects the absorption rate of alcohol and therefore how it will affect us: 

  1. Speed of drinking

The faster the drink is consumed, the higher the amount of alcohol which accumulates in the blood. 

  1. Presence of food in the stomach

Food in the stomach slows down the absorption of alcohol and the drinker may experience less feelings of drunkenness.  Oily, high protein foods are particularly suited to slow down absorption.  Fizzy mixers speed up absorption.  

  1. Body mass

Absorption rate is slower in the larger person than the smaller person because the former has more body mass and therefore more blood.  In this way the alcohol is less concentrated in the body of a larger person. 

  1. Previous experience with drinking

Heavy drinkers gradually built up a resistance (tolerance) to alcohol.   This means that the person needs to drink more to experience the same effect.   Chronic alcoholics experience a loss of tolerance after many years of drinking, because of extensive damage to the liver and the body in general.  

SHORT TERM EFFECTS – FRONTAL AREA OF THE BRAIN

In the frontal area of the brain we find the higher functions such as our ability to reason, make calculations, think and plan ahead, make good decisions, memory, self control and understanding complicated things or situations.

  • Alcohol is a depressant and not a stimulant

  • Feelings of warmth, relaxation, mild euphoria

  • More talkative, expressive

  • Less shy and reserved

  • Greater self-confidence, more likely to take risks.

  • Person is more careless with what he says or how he behaves

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY

  1. Person more likely to take risks, less critical of own performance, tend to overlook detail, or more likely to do things without thinking, less able to concentrate.

  2. The person’s hearing is affected, he is less sensitive in his fingertips, takes longer to react, makes more mistakes with tasks which require steady hands and finger control, less able to judge distance and the speed of moving objects, more forgetful and makes more errors especially if unexpected events occur.

  3. Different types of vision impairment:

  • Pupil dilation:  Alcohol slows down the speed with which the pupil constricts or dilates therefore, the person is blinded for longer periods when there is a change in light intensity.

  • Decreased eye movement:  In a sober person the eyes continuously scan the field of vision.  When this part is affected, there is less eye movement and person is inclined to stare. 

  1. What makes this situation so extremely dangerous is that the drinker is seldom aware of the fact that his vision is affected.

  • Blurred vision:  Muscles which control the lens relax and cannot focus properly.

  • Double vision:  Because the muscles lose their precision of focus the eyes no longer focus on the same object – two images sent to brain = double vision.

  • Tunnel vision:  Sober person is able to see objects out of the  “corner of the eye”  The drunker the person gets the less able he is to spot things to his extreme left or right.  Therefore, the higher the BAC, the narrower the field of side vision.  In other words, the person only has a tunnel of fairly good vision.  If something happens outside this narrow field the person may only see it when it is too late to prevent an accident.

IDENTIFY A DRINKING PROBLEM

HIGH RISK PHASE

  1. Does drinking make up an important part of the persons leisure time activities?

  2. Can a person drink a lot before getting drunk?

  3. Does he often drink faster than the rest?

  4. Does or says things which he later regrets

  5. Does he often drink more when upset or when happy? 

PROBLEM DRINKING PHASE 

  1. Cannot remember things which he did or said whilst drinking

  2. The person drinks secretively/hides his drink

  3. Quarrels in the family as result of drinking

  4. Blames others for things that go wrong in his life

  5. Gets drunk at the wrong times or places

  6. Frequent stomach upsets as result of drinking

  7. Becomes irritated/aggressive when others refer to the drinking 

ADVANCED PHASE

  1. Drinks to alleviate the effects of the hangover

  2. Persons stops for a period only to start drinking again

  3. Person gets drunk from less alcohol than before

  4. Withdrawal symptoms following a drinking bout

  5. Problems at work (e.g. Absenteeism, under influence) 

UNDER THE INFLUENCE:  WHAT STEPS TO TAKE 

  1. The manager will see certain signs (smell of alcohol)

  2. The manager will call another management witness to make sure that his suspicions are well founded.

  3. If the manager is of opinion that the person may be under the influence, a shop steward or worker representative will be called.

  4. If the company’s policy stipulates that a test should be done, the person will be ordered to undergo a suitable test.

  5. If the reading is positive, the person will be ordered to leave the premises and the person will be charged with having been under the influence. 

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