Alcohol Consumption in the Workplace: A Comparison between European Union Countries’ Policies

Abstract

Background: Alcohol use is an ever-growing phenomenon in the population, consumption data indicate that 5–20% of the European working population have serious problems related to alcohol. The use of alcohol constitutes a risk to the health and safety of workers as well as to the safety of the general population. The present work aims to address the problem of alcohol intake in occupational settings by comparatively analyzing alcohol consumption behavior within the 27 countries of the European Union. Methods: The purpose of this research is to analyze the differences between the 27 countries of the European Union in the application of measures to assess and manage the risk of alcohol intake in occupational settings. Results: An examination of the legislation and guidelines of the different countries reveals profound differences in the management of the problem of alcohol in the workplace. The discrepancy is very wide that it ranges from the complete absence of legislative restrictions on a national level in some countries to highly restrictive measures with severe sanctions in others. Conclusions: It would be appropriate—also for the purpose of ease of movement of workers within the European Community—to find shared management models useful for protecting the health and safety of workers and the general population.