Resources for workplaces

Workplaces

Workplaces remain an underused setting for alcohol prevention and early intervention, despite the fact that most adults spend a large part of their lives at work and many alcohol-related harms affect productivity, safety and wellbeing. Alcohol is by far the most used psychoactive substance in the workforce.

Occupational health services, employee assistance programmes, workplace health promotion initiatives and safety programmes provide routine points of contact where brief, supportive conversations around alcohol use can take place in a confidential and non-stigmatizing way.

Integrating screening and brief interventions into workplaces helps identify risk early, prevent escalation, and protect workers’ health, safety and performance. When implemented as part of broader workplace health policies, these interventions can also reduce absenteeism, injuries and long-term costs for employers and society.

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Healthier and more inclusive professional gatherings without alcohol: a short guide

This guide from the WHO Regional Office for Europe offers practical guidance for planning alcohol-free meetings, conferences, receptions, and network and workplace events. Alcohol is a leading risk factor for disease and social harm. In addition to health risks and safety concerns, its presence in professional environments can create discomfort and exclusion. Designed for workplaces and institutions committed to well-being, this guide outlines the benefits of alcohol-free gatherings, offers tips for inclusive planning and respectful communication, and includes a ready-to-use checklist, beverage recipes, sample activities and communication materials. Alcohol-free events are not about restriction; they are a way to demonstrate leadership in health promotion and optimize the health of the workforce. This guide helps make that vision a reality.

Alcohol and the workplace

This publication investigates the effects of alcohol consumption on workers and worker performance, and assesses the different ways that companies deal with alcohol-related problems. It makes a special effort to establish accurate estimates of both the costs to industry of alcohol consumption and the costs associated with dismissing an employee, keeping problem-drinking employees at work, and rehabilitating and returning employees to work. The book has seven chapters. Chapter 1 discusses the effects on the workplace of alcohol-related absence, accidents, impaired job performance and poor working relations. Chapter 2 reviews various methods of estimating the costs and benefits associated with alcohol consumption both to society in general and to the workplace in particular. Chapter 3 analyses factors at the workplace that may influence drinking patterns and overall levels of consumption. Various alcohol policies at the workplace are reviewed in Chapter 4, which describes the main components of seven model alcohol policies in place in such different industries as transport, food production, television and the theatre. Subsequent chapters review recent developments in the testing and screening of employees for alcohol and drug use, and discuss some of the published estimates of the proportion of companies that have a policy in place for dealing with alcohol-related problems. The book concludes with a general discussion of the economic impact that alcohol use has on industry and the ways in which industry has attempted to reduce these costs.

Alcohol screening and brief intervention in workplace settings and social services: a comparison of literature

Employee alcohol and other drug use can negatively impact the workplace, resulting in absenteeism, reduced productivity, high turnover, and worksite safety issues. As the workplace can influence employee substance use through environmental and cultural factors, it also presents a key opportunity to deliver interventions, particularly to employees who may not otherwise seek help. This is a systematic review of workplace-based interventions for the prevention and treatment of problematic substance use. Five databases were searched for efficacy, effectiveness and/or cost-effectiveness studies and reviews published since 2010 that measured use of psychoactive substances (i.e., alcohol, cannabis, hallucinogens, inhalants, opioids, sedatives, hypnotics, anxiolytics, and stimulants) as a primary or secondary outcome, in employees aged over 18. Thirty-nine articles were identified, 28 describing primary research and 11 reviews, most of which focused solely on alcohol use. Heterogeneity between studies with respect to intervention and evaluation design limited the degree to which findings could be synthesized, however, there is some promising evidence for workplace-based universal health promotion interventions, targeted brief interventions, and universal substance use screening. The few studies that examined implementation in the workplace revealed specific barriers including lack of engagement with e-health interventions, heavy use and reluctance to seek help amongst male employees, and confidentiality concerns. Tailoring interventions to each workplace, and ease of implementation and employee engagement emerged as facilitators. Further high-quality research is needed to examine the effectiveness of workplace substance use testing, Employee Assistance Programs, and strategies targeting the use of substances other than alcohol in the workplace.

A systematic review of the efficacy, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of workplace-based interventions for the prevention and treatment of problematic substance use

Existing restrictions on alcohol consumption in government workplaces

Alcohol consumption restrictions in government workplaces reflect national policies aimed at reducing exposure to alcohol in public institutions and promoting healthier environments. These settings, such as ministries, public departments, and hospitals, are important as they serve both as workplaces and as public-facing institutions that set norms for acceptable behaviour.

This indicator captures the extent to which alcohol consumption is regulated at the national level in government workplaces, distinguishing between a total ban (no alcohol consumption permitted under any circumstances) and a partial ban (restrictions applying only to certain beverages, times, or specific sites within the category). This comparative overview is based on the WHO Global Survey on Progress with SDG Health Target 3.5 (2023).

Source: WHO Global Survey on Progress with SDG Health Target 3.5 (2023).

Andorra	Total ban
Armenia	No restriction
Austria	Subnational authority
Azerbaijan	Total ban
Belarus	Total ban
Belgium	No restriction
Bulgaria	Total ban
Croatia	Partial ban
Cyprus	Total ban
Czechia	Partial ban

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Alcohol and Work Wellbeing Check

We may not always think about how alcohol can connect with our work, and workplace environment and routines, our wellbeing, and the wellbeing and safety of others.
In the Workplace Wellbeing Check you can build your own work profile, choose work situations that feel relevant to you, or that you may wish to explore, complete a short alcohol self-check if you wish, and receive a personalised reflection.

The tool is for private self-reflection. It is not a diagnosis, or a fitness-for-work assessment.