Employee Drinking Practices and Their Relationships to Workplace Alcohol Social Control and Social Availability

Abstract

This study explored relationships between employee drinking practices and employee perceptions of workplace alcohol social controls and social availability. Study data were gathered via a survey and open-ended interviews. Study participants were Administrative Support Unit and blue collar employees of a large, public urban university in the midwestern United States. Binary logistic regression analyses revealed that employee problem drinkers were more likely than nonproblem drinkers to perceive lower levels of certain workplace alcohol social controls against drinking. Employee problem drinkers also were found more likely than abstainers and nonproblem drinkers to report higher levels of certain forms of workplace alcohol social availability. A key informant interview revealed the potential manipulation of alcohol social controls and influence on alcohol social availability that probable employee problem drinkers can have in the workplace. Implications for workplace alcohol prevention are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• alcohol drinking patterns
• employees
• physical availability
• social availability
• social control
• workplace

This study was based upon the author's doctoral dissertation, which was supported in part by the Chancellor's Golda Meir Scholarship, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The author would like to thank the local American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union members, union-represented employees, and union officers who participated in this study.

Notes

Note. ASU = Administrative Support Unit; BC = blue collar.

^a White.

^b American Indian or Alaskan Native, Asian or Pacific Islander, Black, Hispanic, and Other.

∗p < .05, ∗∗p < .01,∗∗∗p < .001.

Note. ASU = Administrative Support Unit; BC = blue collar.

^a Ref. = Referent group.

^b Referent is disagree/strongly disagree.

^c Referent is unlikely/very unlikely.

∗p < .05, ∗∗p < .01, ∗∗∗p < .001.

Note. ASU = Administrative Support Unit; BC = blue collar.

^a Ref. = Referent group.

^b Referent is no report of the behavior.

^c Referent is hard/very hard.

∗p < .05, ∗∗p < .01, ∗∗∗p < .001.