Firm Up Your Policy on Alcohol Consumption

02/28/07

Did you hear the one about the employee who drove home drunk after a company party?

It’s a real killer?

Companies that have weak alcohol-consumption policies can pay dearly in lost lives and public liability lawsuits. This isn’t just a concern during the holidays, either; disaster lurks whenever alcohol and employees get together.

These six suggestions can help HR create a sound alcohol-consumption policy that applies year round:

1. Review existing policies. An Internet search for the phrase “alcohol consumption policy” will produce dozens of examples from the public and private sectors that you can use for guidance. A few of their more common elements:

Banning consumption or possession of alcoholic beverages on company premises or at company-sponsored activities without higher-management approval.

Prohibiting workers who consume alcohol at company-sponsored events from returning to work afterward or driving while intoxicated.

Providing safe transportation or lodging after the function ends. Some options include having each group of employees choose a designated driver, offering company-paid cab or limo service, and arranging for overnight accommodations. Putting people up for the night is a logical choice if the event takes place at a hotel, but it adds the risk of inappropriate sexual behavior.

Requiring managers who want to serve alcohol at company functions to obtain advance approval and supply the following details:

Location, date, time, and purpose of the activity.

Number of employees expected to attend.

Name of the host department and the manager in charge.

Transportation and lodging arrangements for attendees.

2. Employ professional bartenders to serve drinks. Authorize them to monitor employees’ alcohol consumption and cut off people whose speech, appearance, or behavior indicates that they’ve overindulged. They should also be on the lookout for people who arrive “half in the bag” or sneak in their own liquor to fortify whatever else you’re serving.

3. Provide intoxication information.Most people don’t know that a twelve-ounce can of beer, a one-ounce shot of eighty-proof whiskey, and a five-ounce glass of wine have identical amounts of alcohol. They also don’t know that body weight affects its absorption. For example, a 160-pound male will be legally drunk (a blood-alcohol content of .08 percent or higher) after having four drinks in an hour, while a 100-pound female will be legally drunk after just two.

4. Don’t make alcohol the norm at company functions. Offer non-alcoholic mixed drinks and other choices such as soft drinks, punch, and coffee. Workers who opt for these should not be made to feel uncomfortable or out of place.

5. Serve low-salt snacks to reduce cravings for liquids and high-protein hors d’oeuvres, which slow down the body’s alcohol absorption.

6. Communicate your written policy through multiple channels. Inform new hires during orientation; notify present employees through department meetings, payenvelope notices, and bulletin-board announcements; have workers sign a statement to confirm their understanding and compliance (which may be important if you have to take disciplinary action). Reinforce the policy’s initial launch with periodic follow-up discussions at department meetings, publication in your employee newsletter, and before every event where alcohol will be served.

There’s no room for negotiation or excuses where alcohol’s concerned. Management must demand that employees drink responsibly, if at all, and have a policy in place to enforce compliance. People’s lives—and perhaps the future of your company itself—may depend on it.