What You Can Do to Make Your Workplace Safer, Healthier, and More Productive
Employees of the USPS and their family members who have alcohol problems are more fortunate than many American workers. They have access to a well-established employee assistance program (EAP) and comprehensive insurance coverage for alcohol treatment. A recent study of federal employees who receive the same benefits documents the effectiveness of this combination in treating alcohol problems.
For a variety of reasons, however, workers with alcohol problems don’t always seek help on their own. That’s why it’s important to encourage proactive approaches for identifying alcohol problems in the workplace and treating them more effectively, including:
Promoting use of the USPS employee assistance program
Educating employees about alcohol problems through health promotion
Screening for alcohol problems
Intervening earlier with problem drinkers who are not yet dependent on alcohol
Treating alcohol problems more effectively
Following up for as long as possible with employees who have been treated for alcohol problems
Promoting use of the USPS employee assistance program
The USPS provides employee assistance to more than 700,000 workers and more than a million of their family members. Among the services it offers to identify and assist people with alcohol problems are:
- Confidential screening and counseling
- Worksite awareness programs
- Web-based information, referrals to treatment
- Recovery support for workers in treatment
- Union/Supervisor training to spot on the job problems
- Consultation and support to supervisors and union representatives
If employees know these services are available they are more likely to use them. The USPS offers a variety of resources for workers, union representatives and supervisors/managers to promote its EAP, including:
- a toolkit for developing a communications plan
- information about best practices
- samples of promotional materials already being used successfully in other districts
- video commercials that can be downloaded
- a calendar of activities
Go to www.foh.dhhs.gov to access these resources and find out what some USPS EAP Advisory Committees have done to promote the USPS EAP. Click "logon" and use "advisorycommittee" for your username and "USPS" for your password.
Educating employees about alcohol problems through health promotion
Many Americans don’t know much about alcohol. For example, even though standard servings of beer, wine and distilled spirits contain the same amount of alcohol, many people mistakenly believe they are less likely to get into trouble if they stay away from the kind of “hard” liquor (such as vodka and whiskey) found in mixed drinks or consumed in shots.
People often are also confused about the health benefits of moderate drinking. They don’t know the definition of moderate drinking and they don’t understand that while moderate drinking may provide some middle-aged men and women with protection against heart disease, heavy drinking damages virtually every organ system in the human body. Even light or moderate drinking can be risky in certain situations.
Use these tools and resources to educate workers about drinking:
Basic Information About Drinking
Medical Complications of Heavy Drinking
Find out how General Motors and the United Auto Workers reduced alcohol problems in their workplace through a health promotion program:
Promote Health, Modify Alcohol Use and Save on Business Costs
Screening for alcohol problems
Alcohol problems occur along a continuum. Most people don’t seek treatment until they are well along in the continuum and in acute need of medical care. Screening makes early intervention possible.
Alcohol screening is conducted using standardized instruments such as the Alcohol Use Disorders Inventory Test. It can be incorporated into wellness programs where questions about alcohol use should be nested with other general health concerns. It also should be used when employees seek help for stress, depression, marital difficulties and other problems that often are alcohol-related.
Confidential online alcohol screening is available for USPS employees at www.eap4you.com.
Find out more about alcohol screening and how some other employers in America have used it successfully:
Alcohol Screening: A Quick First Step to Reduce Problem Drinking
Other Resources:
Alcohol Use Disorders Inventory Test (Interview Version)
Alcohol Use Disorders Inventory Test (Self-Report Version)
Intervening earlier with problem drinkers who are not yet dependent on alcohol
People who screen positive for serious alcohol problems typically fall into one of two broad categories: problem drinkers people with alcoholism. If they are identified early enough, problem drinkers may benefit from brief interventions.
Brief interventions can motivate problem drinkers to reduce the amount or frequency of their alcohol consumption, or change its context. They can be conducted in five or fewer counseling sessions lasting less than 20 minutes.
Brief intervention services are available through the USPS EAP.
Find out more about brief interventions:
Brief Intervention: Cost-Effective Help For Problem Drinkers
Treating alcohol problems more effectively
Understanding that alcoholism is a chronic, relapsing disease similar to asthma, diabetes, and high blood pressure can improve how it is treated. Effective treatment for these chronic diseases includes early identification and intervention, behavior change by the patient, medication, and continuing care.
In recent years, many advances have been made in alcoholism treatment. The use of brief interventions, psychotherapy to strengthen patient motivation, and new medications that target brain chemistry have now made it possible for physicians to treat alcoholism as a chronic condition.
People being treated for serious alcohol problems often have alcohol-related illnesses, drug problems, and mental health disorders at the same time. The presence of these co-occurring disorders may require a higher level of services.
Find out more about effective alcohol treatment:
Other Resources:
Following up for as long as possible with employees who have been treated for alcohol problems
EAP follow up, or continued monitoring in the workplace of employees who have been treated for alcohol problems, supports recovery efforts and preserves the investment that an employer has made in their treatment. Studies indicate that routine follow-up helps prevent relapse when it lasts at least a year, but that personal follow up, including phone calls and handwritten notes, of longer duration produces even better results.
Effective EAP follow up can prevent employees who have been treated for alcohol problems from falling into old, destructive patterns of behavior by identifying “trigger mechanisms” – experiences that prompt cravings to drink – and referring clients to additional counseling services as needed.
The USPS EAP provides follow-up services.
Find out more about EAP follow up:
EAP Follow-up in the Workplace Boosts Alcohol Treatment Success
Basic Information About Drinking
What Is A Standard Drink?
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| 12 oz of beer (150 calories) |
5 oz of wine (100 calories) |
1.5 oz distilled spirits (80 proof) (100 calories) |
Drinking Definitions
What is a standard drink? A standard drink contains half an ounce of alcohol, which can be found in a 12-ounce can of beer, a 5-ounce glass of wine or 1.5 ounces of 80 proof distilled spirits.
What is moderate drinking? The U.S. government defines moderate drinking as not more than two drinks per day for men and not more than one drink per day for women. Moderate drinking for older people is one drink per day (or less), because of age-related changes in metabolism.
What is heavy drinking? People who drink five or more drinks on at least five occasions during a month are considered heavy drinkers in federal government surveys, but it is important to remember that alcohol problems can and do occur at much lower levels of consumption.
What is binge drinking? People who drink five or more drinks on at least one occasion during a month are considered binge drinkers. When heavy drinkers consume five or more drinks on a single occasion, they are “bingeing,” but not everyone who binges is a chronic heavy drinker. People who binge, however, put themselves at serious risk for an alcohol problem.
Who Should Not Drink?
- Children and adolescents
- Individuals of any age who cannot restrict their drinking to moderate levels
- Women who are or may become pregnant
- Individuals who plan to drive, operate machinery or take part in other activities that require attention, skill or coordination
- Individuals taking prescription or over-the-counter medications that can interact with alcohol
Sources:
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (2000); Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2001); U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; U.S. Department of Agriculture.
