Are workplace factors associated with employee alcohol use? The WIRUS cross-sectional study

Abstract

ObjectivesSociodemographic predictors of employee alcohol use are well established in the literature, but knowledge about associations between workplace factors and alcohol use is less explored. The aim of this study was to explore whether workplace factors were associated with employee alcohol use (consumption and alcohol-related problems).DesignCross-sectional study. Linear and binary logistic regression analyses.SettingHeterogeneous sample of employees (workers and supervisors) from 22 companies across geographical locations and work divisions in Norway.ParticipantsEmployees (N=5388) responded on survey items measuring workplace factors and alcohol use.OutcomesData on alcohol use were collected with the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Consumption was measured with the AUDIT-C (the first three items), and alcohol-related problems were operationalised as a sum score of 8 or higher on the full 10-item AUDIT.ResultsHigher levels of alcohol consumption were associated with more liberal workplace drinking social norms (b=1.37, p<0.001), working full-time (b=0.18, p<0.001), working from holiday home (b=0.40, p<0.01), being a supervisor (b=0.25, p<0.001), having supervisors with less desired leadership qualities (b=−0.10, p<0.01), shorter working hours (b=−0.03, p<0.05), higher workplace social support (b=0.13, p<0.05) and higher income (b=0.02, p<0.001). Alcohol-related problems were associated with more liberal workplace drinking social norms (OR=3.52, p<0.001) and shorter working hours (OR=0.94, p<0.05).ConclusionsWorkplace drinking social norms were the supremely most dominant predictor of both consumption and alcohol-related problems. Results suggest that some workplace factors may play a role in explaining employee alcohol consumption, although the predictive ability of these factors was limited. This study points to the importance of drinking social norms, workplace drinking culture and leadership for understanding employee alcohol use.

Work for the Prison Service: selected health consequences – investigating the role of personal resources, job demands, work stress, and burnout

“…The key role of support from superiors and management staff in protecting the well-being of prison officers is highlighted in studies [60]. There are also studies showing that in other occupational groups, actively cooperating superiors are a protective factor against alcohol consumption for employees [61]. This is consistent with the result obtained in this study.…”

A longitudinal study of the influence of work characteristics, work–family status, and social activities on problem drinking: the Japanese civil servants study

“…Hasegawa et al reported that in the working population, problem drinking was associated with occupational factors 10) . In other studies, work characteristics were shown to be linked to problem drinking [11][12][13] , and work-family status 14,15) and social activities 16) were also individually cited as related factors, suggesting differences in the factors related to problem drinking between men and women. However, these studies were cross-sectional and did not explain the causal relationship between these factors and problem drinking.…”