OFF-THE-JOB DRINKING PREDICTS LATER ON-THE-JOB INJURY

"In general, the job of an urban transit operator is one of the most stressful jobs in the United States," says researcher David R. Ragland, research professor of epidemiology in the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley. "Our findings imply that off-the-job drinking can have costly impacts for the worker and the transit agency."

Ragland and his colleagues, writing in the September issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, reviewed three sources of data. The first was a cross-sectional study of 1,871 transit operators employed by the San Francisco Municipal Railway, or MUNI, from 1983 to 1985 that examined alcohol consumption, demographic variables, and medical histories. Employment data were also gathered on MUNI employees through to the end of 1988. A third source was workers' compensation injury claims due to any cause by this group from 1983 through to the end of 1988. The final tally examined consisted of 1,836 transit operators.

Of these, 983 (53.5 percent) had filed a workers' compensation claim during the approximately five-year period of examination. Individuals with higher alcohol consumption were more likely to be male with a longer tenure as drivers and a higher job-stress score. After adjustment for these variables, individuals with higher alcohol consumption were more likely to make a workers' compensation claim during this time.

"The results indicate that the more one drinks, the more likely one is to have an injury," says Ragland. "These findings have implications for prevention, including not only changing at-work factors that affect off-work drinking but also strategies for decreasing off-work drinking."

Although the risk of injury attributable to alcohol consumption was a mere 3 percent, Ragland says it is nonetheless notable: "A conservative estimate based on 3 percent in the context of this study would translate into approximately $250,000 in workers compensation claims for just MUNI. Clearly, while the attributable risk due to alcohol may seem low, the associated monetary costs can be high."

"The findings strongly suggest that frequent drinking is a risk factor for safety problems on the job and for increased compensation cost claims for employers, especially those working in public service," says Joel B. Bennett, consultant and president of Organizational Wellness and Learning Systems.

Bennett adds that social programs designed to address heavy or uncontrolled alcohol consumption among employees tend to focus on controlling medical and productivity costs for individuals and society while under-emphasizing the prevention of costs for employers and their insurance providers.

The most prevalent types of claims were "sprains and strains" (36.4 percent), "pain" (27.1 percent), and "contusions" (20.9 percent). Ragland called these types of injuries "fairly typical for the transit industry." Although the rate (53.5 percent) of workers who filed a claim may seem high, Ragland noted that when viewed over a five-year period, the rate is equivalent to about 10 percent per year.

Ragland and his colleagues hope to examine in greater detail how occupational conditions, work stress, and beliefs about "drinking to unwind" may affect transit operators' off-the-job drinking. They also want to determine if work site interventions aimed at modifying stress and norms about drinking may reduce harmful drinking-related outcomes.

The study was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and the Alcohol Beverage Medical Research Foundation.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Health Behavior News Service: (202) 387-2829 or www.hbns.org.
Contact: David R. Ragland, Ph.D., M.P.H., at davidr@uclink.berkeley.edu or (510) 642-0655 or Joel B. Bennett, Ph.D., at owls@coserv.net or (817) 921-4260.
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research: Contact Mary Newcomb at (317) 278-4765 or mnewcomb@iupui.edu, or visit www.alcoholism-cer.com.