A quarter of employees have turned up to work still feeling the effects of alcohol from the night before, according to a recent survey.
A new survey by ELAS has found that a quarter of UK workers admit to having attended work whilst under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Of the 1,500 people surveyed, 25% stated that they had arrived at work still feeling the effects of drink or drugs, with men aged 25-34 being the group most likely to turn up to work whilst still under the influence. 24% of those surveyed admitted to having driven into work after a night out whilst still feeling over the drink drive limit.
Up to 17 million working days are lost each year due to alcohol-related illness, with an estimated annual cost to UK employers of £1.7 billion. As the Christmas season gets into full swing these findings should remind employers that it is worthwhile reiterating their drug and alcohol policies, and making sure that employers fully understand the company stance on intoxication in the workplace.
This research coincides with findings by WorkForce Software, who recently conducted a survey across over 300 companies and found that just under half (47%) will focus primarily on Absence and Leave when it comes to evaluating workforce management over the next year – not surprising, considering that it is estimated that unplanned absences cause an 11% drop in productivity.
Danny Clarke, head of occupational health and safety at ELAS, said: “It is the foremost responsibility of all employers to provide a safe, healthy workplace environment – allowing workers to perform duties while impaired by the effects of alcohol or drugs, particularly in industries such as manufacturing or haulage, is grossly irresponsible.”
