The Cost of a Drunk Worker.
Posted by Health Promotion | Posted in Health Promotion, Wellness Programs | Posted on 01-09-2010
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Having even one problem drinker on your health plan – including a covered family member with abuse issues â.” can cost your organization big.
Some estimates place the potential cost as high as $35,000 a year per case. What’ your company’s risk?
Many wellness programs are geared toward managing employees’ health risks associated with diseases like diabetes or asthma.
But unless the wellness program is integrated with an staff member assistance program (EAP), chances are alcohol abuse-related risks go undetected. Here are two strategies that’re getting good results.
1. Include alcohol in medical testings
When you already sponsor confidential worker health-risk assessments, it’s easy to screen for alcohol risks, too. This could be as simple as making sure three questions are added to the current appraisal -
o Just how often do you’ve a drink containing alcohol?
o How many alcoholic drinks do you’ve on a typical day? And
o Exactly how often in the last month have you’d six or more drinks?
For male workers, more than 14 drinks per week, or one or more episodes of heavy drinking suggests a possible problem. for women, more than seven drinks in a week, or one or more episodes of drinking four or more drinks, is a red flag.
Alternative – When you don’t offer appraisals, you are able to refer personnel to a free, confidential online screening.
Benchmarking tools
A lot of specialists say drug-free worksite policies and employee assistance programs (EAPs) are the two most proven solutions within companies’ grasp for minimizing the risks and costs of alcohol abuse by health plan enrollees.
To see if sponsoring an employee assistance program (EAP) makes financial sense, you are able to calculate your own firm’s current cost risk for free here. Plug in your corporation type, locale and number of workers.
You’ll get a customized estimate of annually direct (absenteeism, disability, ER visits) and indirect (presenteeism, turnover) costs from alcohol misuse by a covered staff member or family member.
To design a drug-free worksite policy â.” or check if your existing one is up to par and compliant with the law – more guidance is available here.