And one of these people surveyed has been Senator of Mass. since 1962.
Posted on 05/07/2008 7:55:57 AM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
One in three employees admits they have been to work with a hangover and more than one in 10 has been drunk at their desk, a study suggests.
Staff said they made mistakes, struggled to concentrate and had to go home early as a result of drinking.
Four out of five employers say alcohol is the biggest threat to the well-being of their staff, according to a survey for Norwich Union Healthcare.
Alcohol Concern said bosses needed to be aware of symptoms of alcohol abuse.
One thousand people and 250 businesses were interviewed about drinking habits for the survey.
Of those who had had a hangover or been drunk at work, 85% confirmed it affected their performance or mood.
More than a third (36%) found it hard to concentrate, 35% were less productive, 42% felt tired to the point of being sleepy and 25% did the minimum amount of work and went home as soon as possible.
Worst culprits
Some occupations are worse than others with regard to drinking and the workplace.
Forty-one per cent of people working in media and creative jobs said they had been to work while still drunk - four times the average.
The number who admitted to have been drunk at work was also high in the construction industry (24%), professional and business services (23%), and information technology (15%).
Don Shenker, from Alcohol Concern, said that with so many people drinking at harmful levels, it was not surprising that it was having an effect on the workplace.
"After-work or lunchtime drinks are the norm for many and in some cases this is promoted by companies as a way to build teams or just as the way to do business."
Mr Shenker said employers needed to watch out for the early warning signs that alcohol may be affecting their workers in a serious way.
Cary Cooper, Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health at Lancaster University, said excessive drinking was a manifestation of stress, and it was endemic in certain industries.
"It's no surprise there is a lot of drinking in the media; it's part of the culture to unwind with a drink.
"This is not about social drinking. This is about the long-hours culture we have in this country.
"It's the jobs where there is most stress - long hours, high expectations, short-term contracts and bad management - where you get the most excessive drinking."
Professor Cooper said people drank to cope with stress.
"Employers need to change the culture of long hours. More flexible working is needed and employers need to offer more healthy options such as more working from home.
"For people who have a drinking problem employers need to offer help like counselling. Employers cannot afford to ignore this," he said.
Duh.
The other two thirds were too drunk to answer the survey, the study said.
Actually, I was going to say don’t worry about the other 2 of 3. I make it up for them.
Back in my drinking days I didn’t feel right if I went to work withiout a hangover. Nothing like sweating out a good hangover in a hot paint room.
This reminded me of something my father did while he was acting postmaster of our town. Seems quite a few employees were drinking on the job, and their union didn’t feel that was a firing offense. My dad called an employee meeting and told them that if they had to drink, they should drink vodka. At least that way the public would think they were just stupid rather than drunk.
Isn’t this somewhat half of a statistic? I mean how often does this occur? I have been hungover 2 times going to work, but over a 25 year career or 6,500 days I don’t think is a reason for my boss to be concerned.
And one of these people surveyed has been Senator of Mass. since 1962.
I don't drink at work, but I've fit any one or all of these at work at some point in time in the past couple of weeks.
Hope that my boss doesn't fire me for being "less productive". Whatta stupid study.
Forty-one per cent of people working in media
Well that explains how they can vote and shill for Hillary and Obama.
I can’t say I’ve been innocent in this respect. Fortunately, those days are behind me.
My brother worked in a city postal “palace” back in the early 80s...where half of the guys in the back were drunk or wasted in the afternoon or evening hours. For a while, management didn’t care, and then some new boss arrived. He arranged for the drunks to get vehicles to move mail around....and as they went out to drive while drunk...the boss called the cops. Once the cops stopped them and issued a ticket...this was a major offense, and then the post office had a reason to terminate them. It only took a month or two to get rid of eight problem guys. None of these guys were bright enough to figure what the boss was doing and how each one got a ticket.
Put me down with the 1/3 group this morning...going for another cup of coffee now.
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