Alcohol Prevention in Work Places. A Comparison between Two Models

Abstract

There is an increasing interest in alcohol and drug prevention in the work place. For the employers, a well developed policy on alcohol and drugs may improve the working environment and also production results. There are different models, but most existing programs focus more on secondary than on primary prevention. There is lack of documentation and evaluation of these programs.

In this article, based on pilot studies, we present two models of alcohol preventive programs that have been implemented in two manufacturing companies in Sweden. By interviews with employers and employees, we have collected data to document the structure and the process of the activities carried out by two support organizations for alcohol prevention in the work place.

The two organizations turned out to be very similar in structure: small (2–3 persons) consulting bodies, working with relatively short term projects on different enterprises, and with a strong commitment to their work. The process by which they implemented the program differed considerably. One worked according to a predefined concept and channeled work mainly through the administrative leaders. The other worked more within the enterprise, took note of expressed needs and interests of the company, and strived to strengthen internal networks.