Alcohol in the Work Place

Loss of productivity and poor performance

When companies around the UK were surveyed for how alcohol affected their business these were the main items that came up:

• Lateness and absenteeism
• Safety concerns
• Effect on team morale and employee relations
• Bad behaviour or poor discipline
• Adverse effects on company image and customer relations

In order to strengthen your company and help all employees on an individual basis, it is important to take a look at how much alcohol really is being consumed and the effects that this may be having at work.

Facts about Alcohol

Alcohol is absorbed into your bloodstream within a few minutes of being drunk and carried to all parts of the body including the brain. The concentration of alcohol in the body varies depending on many factors including, how much you have drunk, your size and weight, whether you have eaten and so on.

It takes a healthy liver about 1 hour to break down and remove 1 unit of alcohol. A unit is the equivalent of 10 ml of pure alcohol. This would be the equivalent of half a pint of beer, a normal single measure of spirits or a small glass of wine.

Contrary to popular belief things like black coffee, cold showers and fresh air are not going to sober you up. Though you may feel a little better. Sobering up fully, simply relies on the amount of time that your liver has to remove the alcohol from your body.

For this reason, having a few drinks at lunch will mean that you, in fact, will have that alcohol in your system for most of the afternoon, or drinking very heavily at night would mean that you could still be affected while driving in the morning.

Why is this is so important to your business?

Alcohol is estimated to cause 3-5% of all absences from work; about 8 to 14 million lost working days in the UK each year.

There are many different effects that alcohol consumption can cause in an office, some examples of these are: reduced work performance, damaged customer relations, or resentment among employees who have to ‘carry’ colleagues whose work declines because of drinking.

We do not have the precise figures on the number of workplace accidents caused or related to alcohol, but alcohol is known to affect judgement and physical co-ordination. Drinking even small amounts of alcohol before or while carrying out work that is ‘safety sensitive’ such as driving or operating machinery, will increase the risk of an accident.

What can you do about it?

There is a simple process that you can undertake to decide on policies for your staff. Problems may appear from a variety of sources, such as drinking during working hours, drinking in breaks or just before work, regular heavy drinking or getting drunk outside of work hours.

Follow these simple steps as a guide:

1. Find out if there is an existing problem.

2. Make a list of who you need to consult, this can be staff, managers or outside advisers, and consult them as necessary.

3. Decide how your company expects employees to limit their drinking. Are they expected to drink when out with clients, can they drink on lunch breaks, if so how much would be acceptable and so on?

4. Consider how you can make sure that if an employee does have an alcohol problem, this is noticed and help is made available. It is vital that help is tried before any disciplinary action is taken.

5. Decide at what point, and in what circumstances you will treat an employee’s drinking as a matter of discipline rather than a health problem.

6. Think about how you will let your workforce know about company policy regarding alcohol. It is advised at this point, to introduce a formal written alcohol policy.

7. Find out if any of your managers or other staff need more information or training. If so, get it arranged and carried out.

8. Consider providing staff with general information about alcohol and health.

9. Lastly, you can regularly review all of these steps to ensure that they are correct, working for your company and being followed.

Summary

Having a clear and workable alcohol policy in place will benefit not only your company but all the individuals working for you too. Allowing guidelines to be followed, accidents avoided and help taken when needed.

These statistics and guidelines were based on the Health and Safety Executive ‘Don’t mix it, a guide for employers on alcohol at work.’

If you would like any further advice on alcohol at work or rehabilitating an alcohol, please call us on 

00800 802 1375

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Delirium Tremens

Most people are aware that delirium tremens can set in when withdrawing from alcohol and as the name suggests one of the symptoms is tremors and shaking.

What many people may not realise is how severe the other effects of delirium tremens can be. Delirium tremens not only includes body tremors but also changes in mental function, agitation, irritability, confusion, disorientation, decreased attention span, delirium, fear, hallucinations, quick mood changes and restlessness.

Delirium is defined as an acutely disturbed state of mind that occurs in fever, intoxication, and other disorders and is characterised by restlessness, illusions, and incoherence of thought and speech.

Hallucination is defined as an experience involving the apparent perception of something not present.

This acutely disturbed state of mind can lead to self-harm and even suicide. Hallucinations may be extremely scary, commanding actions which would not normally be taken by the person.

Symptoms of delirium tremens occur most often within 24 to 96 hours after the last drink, but they can occur up to 7 to 10 days later.

Delirium tremens is most often seen in people who drink 4-5 pints of wine, 7-8 pints of beer, or 1 pint of ‘hard’ alcohol every day for several months. Though the alcohol consumption does not have to be that high, or maintained for that long, in certain cases for delirium tremens to occur.

It is critical that people become aware of the reality of alcohol withdrawal, either for themselves, their loved ones or even strangers with whom they may cross paths.

A horrible example of this is at the end of 2014; a man was found dead in a hotel bathroom, it was discovered that he had repeatedly asked the hotel staff for help and they had dismissed him thinking he was a drunk. His laptop records showed he was searching for help from alcohol withdrawal, looking on Wikipedia and medical sites to help get him answers.

He did not get those answers in time, and those hotel staff were missing this vital information, and before the night was over, he was dead at his own hand.

For more information on alcohol withdrawal, 

please contact us on 00800 802 1375

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Alcohol Withdrawal

Alcohol Really Is a Drug

 Alcohol is legal and it is a big part of most people’s social life, especially here in the UK where being able to “hold your drink” is considered a good thing. Most weekends don’t go by without at least one big night out. For that reason, it is not always thought of as “that bad” or “really a drug.”

Alcohol, though, is a drug, and it is important to realise that, and understand the facts so that you can then limit your drinking to a responsible level and not end up trapped in dependency.

Alcohol is classed as a depressant. Meaning that it slows down vital functions. That is why when you drink a lot you can end up with slurred speech, unsteady movement, disturbed perceptions and a slow reaction time. Mentally it also impairs your ability to think rationally and make good judgements.

The amount of alcohol that you drink determines the reaction that you will get, one beer or a glass of wine will not usually have a depressing effect but will stimulate you. The next level is the depressant affect. If even more is consumed, then you get into dangerous health areas such as vomiting, unconsciousness, coma or even death.

Statistically more than 9 million people in England drink over the recommended daily limits. In fact, in the UK in 2014 there were 8,697 alcohol-related deaths! Alcohol makes up 10% of the UK’s problems of disease and death, and is one of the three biggest lifestyle risks we have, along with smoking and obesity. 

For that reason, it is very important to understand fully that alcohol is a drug and how it effects the body.

Alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream via small blood vessels in the walls of the stomach and small intestine. Within minutes of drinking alcohol, it travels from the stomach to the brain where it quickly starts to slow the actions of the nerve cells.

Alcohol is also carried by the blood stream to the liver. The liver’s job is to remove the alcohol from the body, by converting it into a non-toxic substance by metabolizing it. The problem is the liver can only metabolize so much at a time. Which means when you consume a high amount, a lot of alcohol is left circulating in the blood stream. This specifically is why the quantity of alcohol you drink in a certain period of time directly effects your reaction to it.

When the amount of alcohol in your blood exceeds a certain amount, the depressing effects start to take their toll and the breathing system slows right down, meaning not much oxygen is reaching the brain which is what can lead to coma or death.

Some of the short term and more well-known effects of alcohol are slurred speech, drowsiness, vomiting, headaches, distorted vision and unconsciousness but there are other more drastic short term effects such as breathing difficulties, anaemia, blackouts and coma.

When you continue to binge drink over a longer period of time, there are other much longer term effects. Alcohol poisoning, high blood pressure, stroke, heart problems, liver disease, nerve damage, sexual problems, brain damage, ulcers and even cancer of the throat.

Other ways alcohol can affect your life is through accidents, or work and relationship losses. While consuming a large amount of alcohol you are more at risk to accidents and injuries whether intentional or not. Such things as car accidents, drowning, falls and burns are not uncommon. It can affect your productivity at work, cause you to make mistakes or even cause on the job injuries. Lastly is the effect on your family life. As you become more and more dependent, relationships will start to fall further and further away.

Think before you drink and if you feel you don’t have the ability to stop drinking, get help. 

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If you or someone you know needs help with alcohol dependence, then call Narconon today 

00800 802 1375

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A New Lease of Life and a Future 

That Seems Brighter and Clearer Than Ever 

Narconon’s New Life Detox aims to free the person from toxins that may be hindering their

physical and mental progress towards a drug-free life. It is a carefully designed programme to help re-establish their nutritional status, clean up their body and prepare them for the ensuing courses to increase their mental and emotional well-being. A student shares her story here:

"When I came to Narconon my life was on the road to ruin. Drugs overtook my zest for ambition and had set up my happiness for a disastrous fall—as I was finding out quite rapidly. When I reached my lowest ebb I didn't know who to turn to and I felt trapped. Narconon was a glimmer of hope in my otherwise vanquished life. Speaking to a Narconon representative for the first time was the first step to my life repair.

I am now in the latter stages of my sauna program on the New Life Detoxification and feel closer to my goal for a drug-free life than ever. I exercise, eat healthily, take vitamins and ensure every day that my problems are dealt with properly with help of the supportive staff at Narconon.

Not only do I have a new lease of life, but my outlook for the future seems brighter and clearer than ever. 

I will always remember and cherish Narconon for the help given me."

Call us today on 00800 802 1375

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How to Spot an Alcoholic?

Alcohol can seem so safe at first—everyone drinks, it's legal, it's not really a drug... until it is out of hand, and someone you know is addicted. Then is the time you really have to face the effects of alcohol abuse.

Here are some questions that you can ask yourself to determine the true level of the problem.

• Can the person control his (or her) drinking?
• If there is alcohol available can he make the choice to not drink and stick to it?
• Can he stop drinking while there is still alcohol in the bottle, glass or case?
• Is he always finding a reason or excuse to drink?
• Does he drink regularly on his own?
• Does he hide or deny the amount that he drinks?
• Have the costs related to drinking started getting out of control?
• Is he drinking in dangerous situations like driving or while taking prescription medication?
• Does the drinking continue despite things like legal problems or relationship issues?
• Is he neglecting his responsibilities?
• If you confront him on the problem, does he deny it, or even get angry with you?
• Does he deny the situation and refuse to look at change or solutions?
• Are there health problems being caused from the quantity of alcohol consumption?

Depending on how many of these were affirmative you can see how severe the situation really is. Alcoholism can creep up on someone, maybe it started socially but later got out of control. Because alcohol is a legal drug people often don't think that there is a problem until it is too late. Unfortunately like any addiction, it can ruin lives, and not only of the alcoholic themselves.

If the answer was yes to a only few of these, then don't wait for it to worsen but take effective action immediately, while the person is more able to confront the situation.

If you need advice with an alcoholic friend or family member, contact us to see how we can help.

 0800 802 1375

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