Working Under the Influence (WUI): Correlates of Employees' Use of Alcohol and Other Drugs

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Abstract
In response to the use of alcohol and other drugs in the work place, policy decisions with significant social and legal implications—such as urine testing for drug use—are being made without a clear understanding of either the epidemiology or etiology of this phenomenon. This article presents the major theoretical perspectives on employees' substance abuse and assesses the desirability of integrating them. Using data from an anonymous mail survey of 9,175 employees of 47 organizations in three industries, the author analyzed responses to items addressing age, gender, social interaction with coworkers, and satisfaction with one's job to determine any relationship between these variables and self-reported instances of working while intoxicated. The findings indicate that the employees most likely to work under the influence of alcohol or other drugs were men younger than 30 years, and that the likelihood of their—or other employees'—doing so increased when they felt unhappy about their jobs and socialized frequently with coworkers off the job. The author discusses the implications of these findings for both deviance theory and policies for employee assistance programs.

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