Alcohol policy at SDU

Drinking is taken for granted and is 'just something you, and everyone else, do'. The consumption of alcohol is part of social interaction in the network you are part of. They do not see themselves as deviant or do not see the heavy use of alcohol as a symptom of something unresolved or painful.

Drinking is a reaction to other issues in the person’s life – either external events, influences and situations or problems of an internal and more psychological nature. Typically, people with such a drinking pattern give the explanation that the consumption of alcohol has been a way in which they have been able to handle and possibly solve these other issues. 

Drinking is a form of addiction. People with such a drinking pattern perceive being addicted and the very fact of drinking heavily as the primary factors in their own drinking. There can be a tendency to apply the status of an almost chronic condition, which does not apply to you, to the loss of control and indifference to everything around you when you drink.

The drinking cannot be explained. People with such a drinking pattern do not understand why they have the alcohol consumption they have. They may well see that it is different from other people’s drinking but do not try to explain it based on the three drinking patterns above.

Typical signs of the inappropriate use of alcohol

• Breath that regularly smells of alcohol. Often, there are attempts to hide the smell with lozenges.
• Many mistakes and accidents, often need for other help or support
• Less regular attendance
• Over time, more frequent and longer periods of absence
• Irritability, vulnerability and defiance. Tendency for isolation
• Suspicion of colleagues and managers
• Many people at work have become very tired of all the problems that the person creates
• Accidents – also outside the job (due to alcohol)
• Family problems – often resulting in divorce
• Financial problems, advance on salary
• Excessive care with appearance (mostly applies to women)
• Sloppy with appearance and hygiene (mostly applies to men)

Many of the above signs can have causes other than alcohol problems – for example stress and depression – so tell the person what you have noticed and ask what the person is struggling with.

The most common type is heavy consumption, where contributions to work and the workplace are affected to a moderate degree. The closest colleagues will typically start to notice signs of failure to thrive, for example:

• Mood swings
• Complaints of headaches and fatigue
• Less regular attendance and inadequate work effort

Few people will associate the changed behaviour with alcohol. Most people will think that it is about stress, problems at home or cooperation difficulties.

Harmful alcohol consumption affects the work effort and the workplace more severely.

The most common signs are:

• Inadequate work performance and concentration problems
• Many individual sick days, most often Mondays and Fridays
• Lateness, procrastination and extended breaks
• Uneasiness and irritation at work, restlessness and depression
• Signs of hangover. Smell of alcohol (the person may try to hide it with chewing gum or throat lozenges)
• Many pretexts for offering alcohol (so that they are able to drink)
• Many people at work have noticed that the person has changed their behaviour. It is more or less obvious that there is an alcohol problem.

There is an imperceptible transition from harmful use to addiction. It often comes as a surprise to the person in question that alcohol takes up as much space as it does in everyday life.

The Danish Health Authority’s recommendations in relation to maximum unit consumption* are: 

• Women are discouraged from drinking more than 7 units and men more than 14 units per week – and fewer is better.
• Drink no more than 5 units in a single session – for example, over an evening
• Consumption of large amounts of alcohol in a single session increases the risk of, among other things, cardiovascular disease as well as accidents and injuries.
• Although the recommended unit limits should be seen as the absolute maximum consumption that one is recommended not to exceed, there seems to be a widespread perception that consumption of alcohol up to the unit limits is “healthy” consumption.

*as on 1 October 2013

Read more about the Danish Health Authority’s recommendations about alcohol.

All municipalities are obliged to offer free alcohol treatment and advice. You can choose freely between outpatient offers, but not between outpatient or inpatient treatment, which requires pre-admission assessment.

• Is free
• Usually takes place on an outpatient basis.
• Anyone can apply – even without a referral
• You can apply to any municipality – it does not have to be your home municipality.

On the municipalities’ website, you will find information about the municipality’s alcohol treatment services.

For example, Alkoholbehandlingen, which is based in Odense, is a free municipal offer for everyone who has an alcohol consumption that gives rise to concern at work, privately, physically or mentally.

You can contact us if you want a non-binding expert assessment regarding alcohol consumption and the possibility of support and possible treatment. Cognitive therapy, family therapy, contract therapy, supportive conversations and other treatment are offered, such as inpatient treatment homes. Alkoholbehandlingen also offers conversations to relatives.

• • Overview of outpatient treatment centres in the Region of Southern Denmark
  • Inpatient treatment at Ringgården
  • Website for heavy consumers of alcohol: Hope.dk

SDU’s staff psychologist has the task of advising and offering relevant treatment in cases where an employee experiences problems and burdens in their working life, which he or she needs professional help to handle. This could also be when one has substance abuse problems.

The staff psychologist scheme is a free offer to all employees, who can apply anonymously. As a manager, you cannot refer an employee to treatment, but you can encourage the employee to seek information.

You can read more about SDU’s staff psychologist under Crisis Management.

Facts: Alcohol affects the brain in such a way that one can appear tired, cannot concentrate and is forgetful. Alcohol can be detected in the body up to 24 hours after the blood alcohol level is zero. You can easily be at work even if you have an alcohol problem, but your ability to work and function is reduced. Experience shows that a person with a heavy alcohol consumption will try to keep up with their work until the last, whereas a marriage will break down sooner.

Facts: Excessive alcohol consumption is not something that only concerns the drinker. Excessive alcohol consumption reduces one’s ability to function in every way and disrupts the emotional relationships one has with others, including others in the family and at work. This concerns the workplace when it affects work performance and becomes socially stressful for colleagues and partners.

Facts: No, alcohol is a toxin that one should not drink for the sake of one’s health. Only older people with a high risk of heart disease may benefit from drinking a single unit a day.

Source: Alcohol policy and alcohol problems in the workplace. The Danish Health Authority 2008

Facts: No matter who you are, alcohol consumption over the Danish Health Authority’s recommended units contributes to the development of addiction and up to 60 different comorbidities. Excessive alcohol consumption is most common among the well-educated and affluent.

Facts: Feeling the need for alcohol in order to feel more comfortable indicates physical withdrawal symptoms. Once you have reached that stage, you need urgent alcohol treatment. The inappropriate alcohol habits have started several years earlier.

Facts: Alcohol treatment in a professional setting gives good results. In Alkoholbehandlingen, the alcohol treatment on Funen, more than two out of three of those who complete the treatment achieve a positive drinking pattern. Excessive alcohol consumption can be reduced if the problem is detected in time.