Skip navigation

 Login or Register | Member Centre

Workplace Alcoholism

Hospitality sector tops list of industries with booze problems

PATRICK WHITE

From Wednesday's Globe and Mail

Latest comment posted at 9:21 AM EDT 26/03/08

New study ranks industries according to the number of alcoholics working in them ...Read the full article

This conversation is semi-moderated What is moderation? | How do I report a comment?

  1. Nathan Cool from Toronto, Canada writes: I don't understand why companies tolerate employees showing up hung-over. Just fire them.
  2. Jim Shepherd from Lima, Peru writes: Nathan: Contract miners get fired on their first missed shift.

    I have been at this game for some 30 years, with no problems.

    But then, I tend to limit myself to a glass of white wine with dinner.

    It takes all types to make the world go round, and I am a lousy moralizer.

    However, my miners have to blow on the way back to work. Best Regards.
  3. Kenichi Uchino from Canada writes: Why wait until you hit the pubs...drink on the job. It's the only way to handle Toyota Inc.
  4. Rollo Tomasi from Belgium writes: A glass of wine or beer with lunch is not drinking. A glass of wine helps with digestion because we take a little more time to eat and to enjoy lunch.
  5. John E. Boy from Canada writes: It is not surprising that Hospitality is No. 1 on the list. That industry is enough to drive anyone to drink. For any alcoholic out there looking to manage their money better, it wouldn't be difficult to find a restaurant or pub that doesn't monitor it's bar inventory. It's highly recommend it as a method of supplementing the $11 to $12-an-hour wages. Drink yourself into oblivion. You'll find your co-workers already there since they have no where else to go in an industry that demands you work nights, weekends and holidays.
  6. Matt Toma from Vancouver, Canada writes: Nathan Cool from Toronto, Canada writes: I don't understand why companies tolerate employees showing up hung-over. Just fire them.
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Because hiring and firing has a huge cost attached to it.

    Losing a day's lost labour productivity to a hangover every now and then is much cheaper than the search costs attached to turnover.

    Likely even cheaper in some industries to risk an increased insurance premuim or possible legal action from allowing a hungover employee to work than from terminating employees.
  7. Albin Forone from Canada writes: My suspicion is that the booziest workplaces are home offices.
  8. Andre Seguin from Montreal, Canada writes: Why fire them?

    They will be out of your hair after they suffer a stroke and become epileptic. They will never touch alcohol after the day that fovever changes their life. In moderation alcohol is not considered dangerous. If you do go overboard and sink in that bottle, there may be a very steep price to pay as your rear end may be sitting in a wheelchair for a very very long time. If you like to walk and talk you want no part of stroke. When the lightning bolt strikes, you fall down on the ground and you do not get up again anytime soon.
  9. Jack O'Douley from Toronto, Canada writes: I went to my doctor in France. He asked me whether I drink. I said 'yes'. He asked me how much. I replied that I drank between a half bottle and a bottle of wine per day. He ticked the 'does not drink' box on the form.
  10. Eric B from Ottawa, Canada writes: Jack, that's a very familiar story. I went to my doctor in Ireland - he considered 3 pints of Guiness as an appertizer and accused me (rightfully so) of being a foreigner. I guess the accent gave it away...
  11. Dream Walker from An Office Near You, Canada writes: It seems fairly obvious to me that the higher alcoholism rate in hospitality might be explained by an addict finding work that makes it easier to get their fix - sort of like pedophiles in the priesthood or other places where there's easy access to kids. That being said, the hours of the industry don't leave many other options when your shift ends. One notable exception for me was in Victoria BC back in the mid-80's - the Oak Bay rec center stayed open 'til 1am and turned up the music, giving servers who were off early enough time to blow off some steam at the pool instead of the bar.
  12. larry hallatt from Canada writes: Part of the difficulty in this subject is separating the food properties of alcohol from the boozing qualities. People who use alcohol as part of the meal normally have little alcohol problems. Those that drink, but do not have the alcohol as part of a larger meal are the group of individuals who have difficulties.
  13. The Habs from Toronto, Canada writes: Forget the booze....how about the drugs. Any financial institution on Bay Street would win that title also. Why do you think they don't crack (pardon the pun) down on drugs ? Because it'll screw up many people with a lot of money. As for alcohol; I've seen guys show up hung over consistently...and managers knowing full well...but looking the other way. Seen both.
  14. Jim Shepherd from Lima, Peru writes: Mine haul trucks have a loaded weight of some 500 tons, and I can assure you that the operators are 100% healthy.

    How do I know? We train and test them on a weekly basis.

    They are extremely well paid, for an extremely important job.

    However, there is no such thing as a 'minor accident' with multi-million dollar mining equipment larger than your house.

    OK, office workers can get away with a bit, but they would never be allowed to get anywhere near a mine haul truck. Best Regards.
  15. J W from Canada writes: The worst for us is workplace parties. I totally understand taking the opportunity to drink with your coworkers, maybe drink a little too much and have a few laughs or whatever. The problem is when the employers are the ones getting sloppy drunk and shooting their mouths off. I don't care how liberal minded people are, when that happens employees lose respect for their employers.
  16. Sue City from Canada writes: And what is defined as a, "serious drinking problem" exactly? Two drinks a day, 10 drinks a day? What?? I hate it when G&M forgets the facts!
  17. Chazz Michaels from United States Outlying writes: who really gives a crap what affects productivity, if you want more output hire more workers and stop trying to do more with less
  18. T P from Canada writes: Showing up hung over is no different than showing up tired from staying up late watching TV. You fire someone because they are not filling the role their were hired for, not because they are tired. If that was the criteria, every new parent would be fired.

Join the Conversation, Leave a Comment

This conversation is semi-moderated What is moderation? | How do I report a comment?

You must be logged-in to submit a comment — login now!

Not registered with globeandmail.com? Register now. It is quick and free.

close

Alert us about this comment

Please let us know if this reader’s comment breaks the editor's rules and is obscene, abusive, threatening, unlawful, harassing, defamatory, profane or racially offensive by selecting the appropriate option to describe the problem.

Do not use this to complain about comments that don’t break the rules, for example those comments that you disagree with or contain spelling errors or multiple postings.

Back to top