According to a recently released ranking of industry-based problem drinking patterns, construction and mining have the highest percentage of problem drinkers, with nearly one in seven workers in these fields having a serious alcohol problem.

The rankings, published by Ensuring Solutions to Alcohol Problems (Ensuring Solutions) at the George Washington University Medical Center, also reveal that government agencies and professional services, such as law, medicine and architecture, have much smaller percentages of problem drinkers in their workforces.  Problem drinking is defined by the American Psychiatric Association as having an alcohol dependence disorder or alcohol abuse disorder. 

“The fact is, for every industry, the numbers are too high,” said Eric Goplerud, Ph.D., Director of Ensuring Solutions. “Alcohol problems take a tremendous toll on the workplace, and it’s in the interest of every workplace to confront the problem and encourage treatment. Treatment works: it saves companies money, and it saves people’s lives.”

The rankings are based on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health and were computed using the Alcohol Cost Calculator for Business, which provides industry-by-industry comparisons as well as industry-specific calculations of the likely impact—including costs—of alcohol problems on any one workplace.  This tool was created by Ensuring Solutions to help employers grasp the impact of alcohol problems and to encourage them to help their employees obtain treatment through health insurance plans and Employee Assistance Programs.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Working Partners for an Alcohol- and Drug-Free Workplace (Working Partners) program also encourages employers to take positive action to address worker drug use—including alcohol abuse—by implementing drug-free workplace programs that encourage and assist individuals with related problems to seek help.  The Working Partners Web site offers a number of resources to help employers establish such programs, including guidance on how to develop a drug-free workplace policy from start to finish and ready-to-use training and educational materials.  It also reviews strategies employers can adopt to ensure their workplace is supportive of individuals in recovery from substance use disorders. 

“Employees with alcohol problems are not likely to leave those problems behind when they come to work, and no business can afford to risk workplace safety by simply hoping they will,” said Elena Carr, director of Working Partners.  “Smart employers take steps to protect their business by educating their employees about the dangers of alcohol abuse and encouraging those with problems to seek help before it affects the safety of all.  Working Partners is committed to helping employers establish programs to prevent workplace substance abuse.”

DOL also has special initiatives to address substance abuse as it impacts the construction and mining fields in particular.  Although not required under its regulations, DOL’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) strongly supports drug-free workplace programs that include assistance for employees with substance abuse problems and established an alliance with four international labor unions in a collaborative effort to improve worker safety and health in the construction industry through such programs.  Similarly, DOL’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) initiated an outreach effort to educate miners and mine operators about substance abuse issues and recently convened a summit to identify effective strategies to keep the nation’s mines alcohol and drug free.