@article{ref1,
title="Alcohol- and drug-related absenteeism: a costly problem",
journal="Australian and New Zealand journal of public health",
year="2015",
author="Roche, Ann and Pidd, Ken and Kostadinov, Victoria",
volume="40",
number="3",
pages="236-238",
abstract="OBJECTIVE: Absenteeism related to alcohol and other drug (AOD) use can place a substantial burden on businesses and society. This study estimated the cost of AOD-related absenteeism in Australia using a nationally representative dataset. <br><br>METHODS: A secondary analysis of the 2013 National Drug Strategy Household Survey (n=12,196) was undertaken. Two measures of AOD-related absenteeism were used: participants' self-reported absence due to AOD use (M1); and the mean difference in absence due to any illness/injury for AOD users compared to abstainers (M2). Both figures were multiplied by $267.70 (average day's wage in 2013 plus 20% on-costs) to estimate associated costs. <br><br>RESULTS: M1 resulted in an estimation of 2.5 million days lost annually due to AOD use, at a cost of more than $680 million. M2 resulted in an estimation of almost 11.5 million days lost, at a cost of $3 billion. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: AOD-related absenteeism represents a significant and preventable impost upon Australian businesses. IMPLICATIONS: Workplaces should implement evidence-based interventions to promote healthy employee behaviour and reduce AOD-related absenteeism.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1326-0200",
doi="10.1111/1753-6405.12414",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1753-6405.12414"
}