The festive season can be a time to gather amongst family and friends and enjoy a few alcoholic beverages. It can also be very easy to over-indulge with flow on effects. For some, alcohol provides enjoyment and stress relief however for others, particularly around the holidays it can present a challange in avoiding consuming alcohol in quantities that put their health at risk.
Alcohol reduces motor and sensory skills not ideal when considering workplace safety. Excessive alcohol consumption can cause many health concerns and have an impact on workplace culture.
The National Health and Medical Research Council’s Australian Alcohol Guidelines provided advice on how to reduce health risks from alcohol. They recommend no more than 4 drinks in one sitting and no more than ten drinks in one week.
If a person is intending to drive a motor vehicle or operate other machinery, their blood alcohol level can not exceed 0.05. It is important for people who drink alcohol to be aware how much alcohol can be consumed safely, and to develop strategies to ensure that they don’t drink excessively.
The following tips for safe alcohol consumption apply to any time of year, but can be particularly helpful in the pre-Christmas period where drinking alcohol can become more frequent and in larger quantities.
- Remember the difference between a standard drink and a serving of alcohol
- Keep track of how much you drink (finish a full drink before refilling)
- Space drinks with water or non alcoholic beverages
- Organise alternative transport after parties or social functions to avoid risking your license and safety
Take this opportunity to reinforce with your employees their obligations too in providing a safe workplace and any concerns or questions they may have around drug or alcohol testing. Prior to Christmas parties, remind employees if they want to enjoy a few alcohol drinks to consider alterative ways home and to avoid driving. Choose to host your christmas party on an evening or weekend where the least amount of people will be required to work the following day to allow for fatigue or alcohol is also worthwhile.
Now is not the time to stop or reduce workplace testing even if operating on skeleton staff.
We would also like to take this opportunity to remind any current customers about our Christmas Delivery Cut-off Dates. While our team will do our very best to ensure all orders are received, there are factors outside our control (like Christmas postage delays).
Over Christmas & New Year (25th Dec – 2nd Jan) we will have minimal staff available while we encourage our team to take a well earned break. Where possible, please finalise orders by Friday 13th December to allow sufficient time to receive them prior to Christmas.
We would like to take this opportunity to extend a heartfelt thank you for your support this year.