ILR-Smithers conference looks at alcohol problems in the workplace

By Maralyn Edid

Consider this scenario: One day at work you realize an employee's behavior has become erratic. Some days he comes in late and some days he leaves early. He barks orders at the support staff and his productivity is slipping. As the unit manager, you suspect he might be drinking. What do you do? Company policy is vague, but you choose to avoid disciplinary action in favor of urging him to get some help. What you really want is a company program that integrates prevention, intervention and treatment of alcohol problems. A work-based approach, you believe, would benefit the employee and the workplace, his family and the community.

Dr. Nicolas Pace, foreground, an associate professor of medicine at New York University School of Medicine and a medical consultant to industry, makes a point at an international conference in New York City, Feb. 16-17, on alcohol problems in the workplace. Others shown, from left, are: Joannah Cabron, SafeWork, International Labour Organisation; Stuart Basefsky, Cornell senior reference librarian, ILR School Catherwood Library; Maretha Maree, University of Namibia School of Social Work; Jan Howard, Westat; Luc Chabot, University of Montreal; and Yael Bacharach, psychotherapist in private practice. David Yantorno

The elements and goals of such a program, and how research would inform its content and structure, were the subject of an international conference in New York City, Feb. 16-17, that was sponsored by the R. Brinkley Smithers Institute for Alcohol-Related Workplace Studies at Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) and the SafeWork Programme at the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Among the countries represented were Italy, Norway, Sweden, Namibia, Poland, the Philippines, India, Canada, Israel, England and Switzerland; a representative from the United Nations also attended.

In plenary sessions and small working groups, participants focused on three topics: criteria for and indicators of best practices in alcohol-related workplace programs; mechanisms for linking research to action; and related psycho-social factors that also affect the health, safety and productivity of the workforce.

"This conference represents the first step toward forging a worldwide partnership among workers and their representatives, employers and governments who are committed to building an infrastructure and implementing practices that will deal with the disease of alcoholism in the workplace," said Samuel Bacharach, the McKelvey-Grant Professor of Labor Management Relations at the ILR School and director of the Smithers Institute. "Another outcome will be a network of practitioners, researchers and policy analysts who can continue refining and advocating for programs that deal with alcohol in the workplace."

Participants sought to create a framework for research and practice that could be adapted to any culture, legal system, industry or company. They grappled with concepts and language in an effort to define terms that would be simultaneously specific and universal. They also identified a research agenda that could inform the evolution of programs designed to help workers worldwide overcome alcohol, drug abuse and related problems.

Conferees saw understanding problems with alcohol as central to workplace treatment programs. While they agreed that workplace programs should cover the psycho-social problems that often co-exist with alcohol abuse and dependence, they stressed that counselors, social workers, psychologists, doctors and other service providers needed to be especially knowledgeable about preventing, diagnosing and treating alcohol-specific problems.

Recognizing that "best practices" were not always attainable in environments where organizational politics intervened, conferees identified the following framework for discussing and documenting "good practices" for practitioners, researchers and analysts: 1) policy (the normative and political context in which practice is legitimized); 2) support (change agents such as nongovernmental organizations and researchers who identify, document, disseminate and assist in programmatic work); and 3) enterprise (the point of delivery where components such as program scope, outcomes, sustainability and replicability are key).

Noting the lack of good data on alcoholism in the workplace, participants identified three categories they wanted more research on: 1) the extent of workplace drinking (by country, occupation, industry; cultural norms; and the consequences of excessive drinking); 2) preventive efforts (the range of program models; why and when programs are adopted; durability and program cost; elements of success and failure; workplace risk factors; and impacts on related problems); and 3) treatment modalities (prevalence of programs; why and when programs are adopted; durability and cost; elements of success and failure; and outcomes, including measures of compliance and impacts on related programs). Finally, they stressed the need for cross-cultural research and attention to the increasingly short-term nature of employment relationships.

The Smithers Institute will take the lead in pushing forward the conference agenda, said Bacharach. In addition to future conferences, it will work with the ILO to develop a Web site on alcohol and other drugs in the workplace. The site, which will be linked to the Smithers Institute Web site at http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/smithers/, will offer information on prevention, intervention and treatment programs and case studies on different workplace programs and will link researchers, practitioners and decision makers.

For more information, contact Bacharach at sb22@cornell.edu.