Running alcohol campaigns in the workplace A guide for HR professionals

Transcription

1 Running alcohol campaigns in the workplace A guide for HR professionals WINE GLASS (250ML): ABV 12% 3 UNITS

2 Contents 03 A CIPD/Department of Health partnership 04 Why get involved? 05 Resources 06 Template articles 07 Developing a campaign 09 Alcohol FAQs 10 Case studies 11 Evaluation PINT OF CIDER: ABV 5.3% 3 UNITS 2

3 A CIPD/Department of Health partnership Did you know that an incredible 17 million working days are lost to alcohol-related sickness each year? Or that there is a total annual alcohol-related output loss to the UK economy of up to 6.4 billion? With employee alcohol use often closely linked to workplace output, CIPD has set up a partnership with the Department of Health and its Units campaign which aims to improve the public s understanding of alcohol units and of consumption levels. This new programme is designed to assist HR professionals in running alcohol awareness-raising activity in the workplace. The ideas and materials provided in this pack will help you to engage your colleagues with this important workplace issue. It will also help support productivity and individual employee health and wellbeing. The Know your Limits Units campaign The Government s important Know your Limits Units campaign was launched in Iconic advertising, depicting the number of units in popular alcoholic drinks, aims to raise awareness of units and the NHS recommended drinking guidelines. The campaign also warns drinkers that regularly consuming too much alcohol can put them at risk of health problems, including liver disease, various types of cancer and stroke through high blood pressure. A new website enables visitors to calculate their unit intake and to access advice on how to cut down. This is an excellent initiative which will enable workers across the UK to improve their alcohol unit literacy, enabling them to make informed choices about how much they drink. With alcohol misuse affecting not just the health of individuals, but the health of the economy too, we welcome a programme that is moving to tackle the problem. Don Shenker, Chief Executive, Alcohol Concern At CIPD, we know that our members are concerned about the impact of alcohol both on workplace productivity and on the health and wellbeing of individual employees. A survey we carried out in 2007 showed that four out of ten employers believe alcohol misuse is a significant cause of employee absence and lost productivity. These new resources from CIPD and the Department of Health are designed to give HR professionals innovative ideas on exactly how employers can communicate with staff on this important issue. Ben Willmott, Senior Public Policy Adviser, CIPD Did you know that nearly one in three men and one in five women drink more than the NHS recommended unit guidelines for alcohol? PINT OF LAGER: ABV 5.2% 3 UNITS 3

4 Why get involved? As an HR professional, you will be aware that alcohol is an issue relevant to both company productivity and to the health of employees. You may also have a corporate responsibility or employee wellbeing strategy which requires you to develop measures to promote good employee health. Four out of ten respondents to CIPD s 2007 survey Managing drug and alcohol misuse at work identified the consumption of alcohol as a significant or very significant cause of employee absence and lost productivity. To combat this and/or to comply with health and health safety legislation, many organisations have workplace policies providing a framework for when and how employers should intervene in situations involving employee alcohol consumption. (More information on alcohol workplace policies is available in CIPD s Managing drug and alcohol misuse at work: a guide for people management professionals see page 5 of this pack for details.) But have you considered adopting a more proactive stance within your organisation by making sure that all staff are informed about alcohol rather than simply reacting when a problematic situation involving an individual arises? With nearly one in three men and one in five women drinking more than the NHS recommended unit guidelines for alcohol, it is highly likely that this will include some of your colleagues. Getting involved in the awarenessraising activity outlined in this pack is a key opportunity for you to influence positively the wellbeing of staff. PINT OF BITTER: ABV 3.6% 2 UNITS 4

5 Resources So how can you get involved? This pack outlines a number of ideas, from the simple and easy-to-introduce, to the more complicated with greater budget and resource implications. A new online game Further Units information The Units campaign has also developed a number of informative resources which you might like to distribute to staff, either as part of a more developed campaign (see page 7) or as a one-off activity, by giving them to line managers to hand out or by including them in pay packets. To order any of these materials, please contact knowyourlimits@forster.co.uk referencing CIPD in the subject box. Units and You leaflet Includes information on the short and long-term health benefits of sticking within the NHS recommended guidelines for alcohol and tips on how to cut down intake. Unit counter This credit-card sized unit counter includes a handy chart outlining the number of units in different drinks. It s easy to keep in a wallet or handbag to refer back to. An exciting new online game, Drink Think, has been developed by the Department of Health to support you in running activity. It aims to encourage workers to reflect on their drinking habits and to have discussions around alcohol with colleagues. The game will help players to recognise the number of units in their favourite drinks and will refer them to the Units campaign website for further information. Time constraints will be placed on game-play so that players can only access the game for a limited period to avoid work disruption. To view the game go to and to circulate to colleagues, simply copy the link into an with the following text: Subject line: Think you know your drink units? copy: Think you know how many units are in a large glass of wine or a pint of lager? To find out, click on the link below and play new alcohol game Drink Think. Click here to play: Posters are available for use on staff noticeboards or in your office canteen. Alcohol workplace policies The suggestions included in this pack focus specifically on how to run campaigns to improve the knowledge of all staff in your organisation around alcohol. However, if you would like more information on how to set up a workplace policy on alcohol and how to manage this issue proactively, you can access the CIPD guide Managing drug and alcohol misuse at work: a guide for people management professionals from The guide covers: Developing a policy Recruitment including health screening Providing support and taking disciplinary action Supporting the substance misuser Testing for drug and alcohol misuse at work The legal implications of managing drug and alcohol misuse at work 5

6 Template articles Uploading articles to your organisation s intranet site or including them in other internal communication materials are easy ways to get staff talking about alcohol. For electronic versions of the articles below, contact knowyourlimits@forster.co.uk referencing CIPD in the subject box. Remember to insert the name of your organisation in the final paragraph. Drinking after a stressful day? How to relax without turning to the bottle It s been a long day and you can t wait to settle down on the sofa with your partner and a bottle of wine or to catch up with colleagues over a few pints at the pub. Recent figures show that 42% of English drinkers say they tend to drink to unwind after a stressful day. And it s those of parenting age who are most susceptible over half of the age group say that stress is a motivation to drink. But how can you de-stress without alcohol? These top tips may help: Exercise is an excellent way to de-stress. Even a brisk walk can help clear your head and make the day s worries disappear Try replacing an evening at the pub with another activity maybe the cinema or gym? Jumping into a nice warm bath will relieve tension from your body Get an early night to leave yourself fresh and alert for the next day Alcohol can have an impact on your performance at work. Did you know that an incredible 17 million working days are lost to alcohol-related sickness every year? It also disrupts your sleep patterns, leaving you tired and less productive if you do make it in to work. And, in the longer-term, if you re regularly drinking over the recommended guidelines of 3-4 units a day for men and 2-3 units a day for women, you are increasing your chances of suffering from health problems, including a number of cancers, stroke and liver disease. [Insert name of organisation] is participating in a Department of Health/CIPD programme to raise awareness of alcohol units across the UK workforce. For more information on units go to Cutting down on the booze could you do it? We ve all tried to give up chocolate, but how do you think you d get on if you decided to cut back on your alcohol intake? First things first. You ve probably heard of a unit and you may know the number you shouldn t regularly exceed if you want to stay away from health risks 3-4 units a day for men and 2-3 for women. But do you really know how many you re drinking on a night out or at home after the kids have gone to bed? It might surprise you that there are 10 units in a bottle of 13.5% ABV wine. That means that sharing a bottle of wine with your partner will take you both over your recommended daily limits. With a large wine glass measure (250ml) served in a pub containing 3 units and the combined credit crunch encouraging more of us to drink at home where we don t have spirit measures, it can be difficult to keep track. For an online calculator to take you through your daily intake go to If you d like to try cutting down, you may find the following tips helpful: Try a lower-alcohol lager or replace white wine with white wine spritzers. Stick to single shots of spirits instead of doubles Avoid top-ups to help you keep track of how much you re drinking Try to avoid drinking in rounds as you ll tend to drink more Drink water or a soft drink between each alcoholic drink Set yourself goals you could try deciding how many units you want to drink in an evening before going out Set aside specific days in the week when you don t drink [Insert name of organisation] is participating in a Department of Health/CIPD programme to raise awareness of alcohol units across the UK workforce. For more information on units go to 6

7 Developing a campaign This section outlines ideas on how to run a more extensive alcohol awareness campaign in your workplace. The content relates specifically to alcohol, but you might like to tie the work you set up into any other healthy workplace themed activity you may be running for example around stress or healthy eating. Getting the professionals involved Inviting a professional in to speak can really bring a health issue to life for staff. You could approach a GP from your local surgery or a contact from the health promotion team at your area s Primary Care Trust to run a Q&A session at lunchtime. Make sure staff are invited to the session in advance so that they have time to prepare questions. You might want to ask your speaker to focus on specific themes, such as pregnancy and alcohol. When does work tempt us to drink?: Gathering staff opinion You could try surveying different teams within your organisation to find out if/when they think work encourages alcohol use. Do employees drink to combat work stress? Or do they automatically go to the pub after work instead of thinking about other options? You could use the information you get to develop an action plan. Perhaps you need to update procedures looking at stress management. You could also think about setting up a company football team, or other sports or activities such as pilates or yoga classes. These can provide an alternative to visiting the pub after work and help promote employee wellbeing. Running a health awareness day An event will provide a focus for an alcohol awareness raising campaign. Why not theme one around a healthy workplace? If you have a staff-away day, you could tie your event into this. You could run stalls focusing on various different aspects of a healthy lifestyle, such as healthy eating, stop smoking, stress and mental health, and alcohol. Order some of the Units campaign materials to hand out to staff visiting your stall and test their knowledge by running a units quiz (page 8). You could also make the Units website available so that staff can check their intake using the online units calculator. BOTTLE OF WINE (750ML): ABV 13.5% 10 UNITS 7

8 Developing a campaign Training up your staff As trusted voices within their teams, line managers will have to respond to work and non-work related questions from their colleagues. Why not equip them to provide information on alcohol to their teams? You could circulate the FAQs sheet on page 9 so that they have the details to assist a colleague who approaches them. The Units campaign has developed a suite of resources for healthcare professionals to assist them in identifying drinkers consuming over the NHS recommended unit guidelines and in advising them on how to cut back. A new online learning module will also be launched in You could make these resources available for your occupational health team, if you have one. For more information, and to order materials, please contact knowyourlimits@forster.co.uk referencing CIPD in the subject box. Promoting employee wellbeing The CIPD Research Insight What s happening with wellbeing at work? ( may provide you with some ideas about how to support and promote employee wellbeing. The report: Examines the nature of employee wellbeing Explores what employee wellbeing programmes involve Identifies the impact of employee wellbeing on individuals and organisations Illustrates how a number of different employers are introducing the concepts of employee wellbeing into their organisations Units quiz Some questions are multiple choice and correct answers are in bold. Q How many units are in a large glass (250ml) of 12% ABV (Alcohol by volume) wine? A (a) Three (b) One (c) Two Q Are there more units in a pint of 5.2% ABV lager or in a 40% ABV double whisky and coke? A There are more units in the lager 3 units, compared to 2 units for the double whisky and coke. Q Drinking water before you go to bed protects your liver TRUE or FALSE? A False. It will help to make you less dehydrated, which may result in less of a hangover, but it will have no protective effect on your liver. Q Darker drinks give you worse hangovers TRUE or FALSE? A True. There are chemicals in their dark colourings that irritate blood vessels and tissue in the brain. 8

9 Alcohol FAQs You could use the information on this sheet to train up line managers in answering questions from colleagues around alcohol, or include it on your intranet or in your next company newsletter. If you are unsure of how to answer a question, look at the information on or contact knowyourlimits@forster.co.uk referencing CIPD in the subject box. What are the NHS recommended drinking guidelines? NHS guidelines recommend that men should not regularly drink more than 3-4 units a day and women should not regularly drink more than 2-3 units a day. Regularly means every day or most days of the week. For an online calculator to take you through your weekly intake go to What about if I store my limits up for the weekend? You shouldn t. While sticking to the daily guidelines keeps you at a lower risk of health consequences, storing up and having your allowance at weekends is a binge and can be harmful. Binge drinking is classed as more than 8 units for men and more than 6 units for women in any one day. Why are the guidelines lower for women than for men? Women s bodies have a higher ratio of fat to water so they re less able to dilute alcohol in the body and don t process it as effectively. What is the advice for drinking when you re pregnant, if you re trying for a baby or if you re breastfeeding? Pregnant women and women trying to conceive should avoid alcohol altogether. If they do choose to drink, to minimise risk to the baby they should not have more than 1-2 units once or twice a week and should avoid getting drunk. If you re breastfeeding, the NHS advises that you drink no more than 1-2 units once or twice a week. Drinking heavily can also make men less fertile and cause temporary impotence. What are the health risks associated with drinking too much? In the short-term, you might suffer from tiredness, anxiety, weight gain, poor sleep or sexual difficulties. Longer-term, you are increasing your risk of developing conditions including liver disease, various types of cancer and stroke through high blood pressure. For further information, visit or speak to your GP. Are there any immediate benefits from cutting down? Yes. If you do drink more than the recommended daily limits on a regular basis, then cutting down will be good for your health. But you re more likely soon to start seeing other benefits. You may feel better in the mornings and less tired during the day. Other likely benefits include your skin looking better and your body feeling in better shape. You may also stop gaining weight. Why do I get worse hangovers now than when I was a student? Your body is generally less able to process alcohol as you get older so you may find that it takes you longer to recover from a drinking session than when you were younger. Risks to your health also increase as you get older. How long does alcohol stay in your system for? Depending on your weight, it takes about one hour to eliminate one unit of alcohol. Am I ok to drive if I ve only had one drink? Any amount of alcohol in your blood will impair your ability to drive in fact, you are more than twice as likely to have an accident when driving with the legal limit for alcohol in your blood than if you had not been drinking. It s much safer not to drink at all. It s also very difficult to translate the legal limit into numbers of drinks. Is it true that drinking makes you fat? Alcohol can be fattening. Adding three or four gin and tonics to your daily diet could make you put on 4lb in four weeks. A 175ml glass of white wine has 130 calories equivalent to a small bag of crisps. The papers always say that some drinks are good for you. Is that true? If you re middle-aged, an older man or a postmenopausal woman, drinking around one unit each day is thought to have potential benefits in reducing the risk of heart disease. You may though feel the same or greater effects with just exercise and a good diet. For more information For information on the number of units in specific drinks and tips on cutting back, go to 9

10 Case studies Hampshire County Council: distributing materials and introducing training for occupational health staff Here at Hampshire County Council we understand the importance of ensuring that our staff know how to monitor their drinking habits and how to access support if they want to both for our productivity as an organisation and for the health of individual employees. In 2009, we are developing a project with other members of the Hampshire Alcohol Partnership Board, including Hampshire Primary Care Trust and Hampshire Drug and Alcohol Action Team. We are using the Units resources and included the campaign s information in our payroll in January. This means that 40,000 staff now have information on the long and short-term health benefits of sticking within the NHS recommended unit guidelines for alcohol. We are also displaying the campaign posters across our sites. I oversee our occupational health team and, as we are encouraging staff who would like more information on alcohol to contact them for advice, we brought in a representative from the local Primary Care Trust to train them in how to identify those drinking over the guidelines and how to offer advice on cutting back. This work will ensure that we have a sustainable resource within the Council and an ongoing commitment to providing support for our staff where necessary. Other local employers, including Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service and Hampshire Constabulary are all running similar work, and we look forward to seeing how this develops across the county. Gavin Wright, Director of Human Resources, Hampshire County Council Promoting Health & Wellbeing at Abbey At Abbey we take an integrated approach to protecting and promoting the health and wellbeing of our people. We run a number of key proactive initiatives, including a wellbeing website, computer based lifestyle assessments, quarterly Health and Lifestyle updates, regular Health and Lifestyle events and discounted health screening. Abbey recognises that alcohol can have a significant, negative effect on modern society, and therefore on the working population. Although it s not a big concern in the financial sector, we want to make sure our people are aware of the short and long term health implications of excessive drinking. We have a written policy that clearly lets staff know what is expected and the implications for being under the influence at work. Where staff or managers feel there may be a developing problem, the policy encourages an open and supportive dialogue. Staff are offered practical help and support including access to confidential occupational health advice and an Employee Assistance Programme. We firmly believe that prevention is better than cure, which is why alcohol awareness raising activity was specifically included at each of our recent head office Health and Lifestyle Events. Experienced practitioners from the local Primary Care Trust were on hand to give staff simple, practical advice on lower risk drinking, bringing with them a series of props and literature to demonstrate their message. We feel that providing an integrated employee health and wellbeing programme is simply good business practice. It s a visible demonstration of our commitment to our people, resulting in motivated and engaged staff delivering a great service. Dave Moore, Head of Occupational Health and Safety, Abbey 10

11 Evaluation The Department of Health and CIPD would be very interested to hear your feedback on this programme to inform future planning. Please complete the following form, giving reasons for your responses where possible, and return it to referencing CIPD in the subject box. 1. Have you found this pack useful? Yes No Reason: 2. Have you/do you plan to circulate the online game to your colleagues? Yes No Reason: 3. Have you/do you plan to use the Units campaign information resources (leaflets/posters/unit counters) in your workplace? Yes No Reason: 4. Have you/do you plan to run any other awareness-raising activity around alcohol in your workplace? Yes No Reason: 5. If you answered yes to questions 2,3 or 4, what was the main reason behind wanting to raise awareness of alcohol in your workplace? Company productivity Employee health Both of the above Another reason. Please specify 6. If you answered no to questions 2, 3 and 4, what would encourage you to raise awareness of alcohol in your workplace? 7. What other resources would you find helpful for running alcohol awareness raising activity in your workplace? 11

12 This guide has been produced by the Department of Health in partnership with CIPD. For more information, contact referencing CIPD in the subject box. DOUBLE GIN AND TONIC(50ML): ABV 40% 2 UNITS