Employee absenteeism is costly; past estimates have placed the aggregate cost of employee absenteeism to U.S. organizations at around $225 billion per year. One important factor that contributes to workplace absenteeism is employee alcohol usage. While the association may seem straightforward, research suggests that it may not be so simple.
The authors of this study (Bachrach et al., 2010) argue that the amount of alcohol consumed or frequency with which it is consumed by employees within a given period of time are not the most meaningful measures of alcohol usage as it relates to absenteeism. Instead, the authors suggest focusing on the frequency of heavy drinking episodes (5 or more drinks), as they believe that this measure of alcohol usage should better predict employee absenteeism.
THE RESEARCH STUDY
The researchers collected data from 470 transit employees working for a single organization in the U.S. As expected, the frequency of heavy drinking episodes was a better predictor of employee absenteeism than simply the amount of alcohol consumed in a given period of time.
Interestingly, the authors also found that social support from coworkers somewhat negated the negative influence of heavy drinking episodes on absenteeism. For example, coworkers might offer assistance during stressful times or help with work-related problems, thus encouraging employees to report to work despite their drinking binges. Support from supervisors, however, had the opposite effect; a high degree of perceived supervisory support actually exacerbated the negative influence of heavy drinking episodes on absenteeism. For example, employees may interpret supervisory support as, “the boss should be cool with me not coming in today,” and are thus more likely to be absent from work.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Given the potential costs of employee absenteeism, organizations should be concerned about their employees’ drinking habits, and this study demonstrates an effective way for organizations (and researchers) to measure employee alcohol consumption. Finally, it is important to note that in addition to organizations losing money due to absenteeism, employees can also incur monetary losses when they are absent from work.
Bachrach, S.B., Bamberger, P., & Biron, M. (2010). Alcohol consumption and workplace absenteeism: The moderating effect of social support. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(2), 334-348.
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