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Background For alcohol, the association with socioeconomic status (SES) is different than for other public health challenges – the associations are complex, and heterogeneous between socioeconomic groups. Specifically, the relationship between alcohol consumption per se and adverse health consequences seems to vary across SES. This observation is called the ‘alcohol harm paradox’. This study aims to describe different patterns of alcohol use and potential problems. Next, the associations between sub-groups characterized by different patterns of alcohol use and potential problems, and age, gender, educational level, full-time employment, occupational level and income is analysed. Methods Employing data from the ongoing cross-sectional WIRUS-study, N = 4311 participants were included in the present study. Individual response patterns of the ten-item Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) were analysed and latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify latent groups. Next, the associations between the classes identified in the best fitting LCA-model and sociodemographic factors were analysed and presented. Results We identified three classes based on the response patterns on AUDIT. Class 1 was characterised by low-level alcohol consumption and very low probability of negative alcohol-related consequences related to their alcohol consumption. Class 2 was characterised by a higher level of consumption, but despite this, class 2 also had a relatively low probability of reporting negative alcohol-related consequences. Class 3, however, was characterised by high levels of alcohol consumption, and a high probability of reporting negative consequences of their consumption. The classes identified were systematically differentially associated with the included measures of SES, with class 3 characterised by younger age, more males and lower educational attainment. Conclusions Our findings highlight the interconnectedness of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related consequences. Furthermore, the identified classes and SES yields further insights into to intricate relationship between various socioeconomic factors, alcohol use patterns and related negative consequences.

Background: Alcohol consumption is deeply integrated in people&rsquo, s social- and work lives and, thus, constitutes a serious public health challenge. Attitudes toward drinking stand out as important predictors of drinking, but have to date been sparsely studied in employee populations. This study explores the association of employees&rsquo, attitudes toward drinking with their alcohol-related problems, and whether this association is moderated by gender and employment sector. Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected from a heterogeneous sample of employees (N = 4094) at 19 Norwegian companies. Drinking attitudes were assessed using the Drinking Norms Scale. The AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) scale was then used to assess any alcohol-related problems. Data were analyzed using chi-square tests, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), and multiple logistic regression. Results: Employees with predominantly positive drinking attitudes were almost three times as likely to report alcohol-related problems compared to employees with more negative drinking attitudes (OR = 2.75, 95% CI: 2.00&ndash, 3.76). Gender moderated the association between positive drinking attitudes and alcohol-related problems (OR = 3.30, 95% CI: 2.10&ndash, 5.21). The association was stronger in women (OR = 5.21, 95% CI: 3.34&ndash, 8.15) than in men (OR = 3.10, 95% CI: 2.11&ndash, 4.55). Employment sector did not moderate the association between drinking attitudes and alcohol-related problems. Conclusions: Employee attitudes toward alcohol should be monitored to better enable early workplace health promotion interventions targeting alcohol problems. These interventions might need to be gender-specific.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore drinking culture and drinking situations that employers and employees encounter in the grey zone between work and leisure, and identify what might affect employees’ risky drinking behaviour. Methods: We used eight focus groups to interview 61 core company informants from eight Norwegian companies (private and public sector) participating in the WIRUS – Workplace-based interventions preventing risky alcohol use and sick leave – project. The informants represented employers and employees with a diversity of roles at multiple organisational levels. The transcribed interviews were analysed by applying a phenomenological hermeneutical approach. Results: The analysis revealed six dimensions of drinking culture representing potentially risky drinking behaviour in situations that fall in the grey zone between work and leisure: (1) “Who invited me?” (Degree of obligation towards inviter), (2) “Do I have to participate?” (Degree of participation volunteerism), (3) “To drink or not to drink?” (Degree of drinking volunteerism), (4) “Work talk or small talk?” (Degree of work-related conversation), (5) “Are there any drinking rules to follow?” (Degree of regulation), and (6) “The influence of being away from home” (degree of distance to home). Conclusions: The findings reveal that employers and employees’ experience of drinking culture can be categorised as six different “shades of grey”. The grey zone is shaded from light to dark grey, indicating how risky the informants perceive the grey zone to be. The findings may be useful when designing workplace health promotion programmes and alcohol regulations in the workplace. Significance for public healthIdentifying potentially risky drinking situations in the grey zone between work and leisure is of relevance for public health as use of alcohol is considered a threat to public health. Alcohol is causing ill health and premature death, as well as physical and social problems. Work related use of alcohol is one arena influencing the alcohol consumption, and therefore a significant arena for a public health perspective on employees’ alcohol habits. In Norwegian working life, the use of alcohol takes place in the grey zone between work and leisure time, to a small degree at work, and identifying risky drinking situations in the grey zone, is of value in order to develop efficient and effective alcohol prevention strategies. The model developed in this article for identifying potentially risky drinking situations can help improve interventions for health outcomes for working population, significant for public health.

There is ample evidence of associations between a perceived stressful working environment and several health-related outcomes. To better understand potential mechanisms behind these observations some studies have focused on the relationship between effort-reward imbalance at work and alcohol consumption. So far, the findings have been inconsistent. One reason for this inconsistency might come from the focus on alcohol consumption per se, while disregarding other aspects such as adverse consequences related to the consumption of alcohol. The aim of the present study was to explore associations between perceived effort and reward, effort-reward imbalance and overcommitment, and alcohol-related problems. Using data from the alcohol screening component in the Norwegian WIRUS-project (N = 5,080), we ascertained the perceived effort, reward, effort-reward imbalance (ERI) and overcommitment using the effort-reward imbalance questionnaire. Alcohol-related problems was determined using a cut-off ≥8 on the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT). Associations were estimated using crude and adjusted logistic regression models. Covariates were age, gender and education. We found associations between different aspects of ERI and overcommitment, and alcohol-related problems. Specifically, the main analysis indicated that there was an increased odds for alcohol-related problems among those who reported high levels of ERI in conjunction with high overcommitment [adjusted OR: 1.40 (CI 95% 1.10–1.78)] compared to those with low levels of ERI and low overcommitment. Our findings suggest that ERI and overcommitment is associated with increased likelihood of alcohol-related problems. These findings indicate that individual and work-related factors should be taken into account collectively when aiming to determine the impact of psychosocial work environment on alcohol-related problems. Due to the cross-sectional nature of the present study, we are not able to determine the direction of the associations, and future studies should aim to investigate this. Copyright © 2019 Skogen, Thørrisen, Bonsaksen, Vahtera, Sivertsen and Aas. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

Background: Harmful alcohol consumption is a major risk factor for ill-health on an individual level, a global public health challenge, and associated with workplace productivity loss. This study aimed to explore the proportion of risky drinkers in a sample of employees, investigate sociodemographic associations with risky drinking, and examine implications for intervention needs, according to recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO). Methods: In a cross-sectional design, sociodemographic data were collected from Norwegian employees in 14 companies (n=3571) across sectors and branches. Risky drinking was measured with the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). The threshold for risky drinking was set at ≥8 scores on the AUDIT. Based on WHO guidelines, risky drinkers were divided into three risk categories (moderate risk: scores 8–15, high risk: scores 16–19, and dependence likely risk: scores 20–40). The association between sociodemographic variables and risky drinking were explored with chi square tests for independence and adjusted logistic regression. The risk groups were then examined according to the WHO intervention recommendations. Results: 11.0% of the total sample reported risky drinking. Risky drinking was associated with male gender (OR=2.97, p

AIMS – There are many grey zones between work and leisure time, where colleagues drink together. Managers are more often involved in grey-zone situations than other employees, and the managerial arena is dominated by men. What is the significance of female managers’ visibility in their understanding of their own consumption of alcohol? What leads female managers to moderate their work-related alcohol consumption? DATA AND METHODS – To capture the female managers’ perspectives, we conducted 13 in-depth interviews. The female managers represented various kinds of work within care or nursing, media or publishing, public administration and commodity trading. RESULTS – The female managers’ reflections and experiences of consuming alcohol in grey zones explain how their heightened visibility as women leads them to moderate their alcohol consumption. Three themes were especially salient: (1) need to be in control, (2) concern about stigmatisation, and (3) life stages marked with caring tasks. CONCLUSIONS – The results show the importance of external factors in work-related drinking. Women’s visibility is significant in relation to cultural dimensions, moderating work-related drinking even when women are managers. The women place demands upon themselves based on their own conceptions of others’ expectations of female managers. Kontrollbehov, bekymringer om stigmatisering og omsorgsoppgaver hjemme gjør at kvinnelige ledere reduserer alkoholinntaket sitt når de drikker med kolleger. Det er mange gråsoner mellom arbeid og fritid hvor kolleger drikker sammen. Før i tiden drakk folk i arbeidstiden. Nå er det vanligere å drikke i situasjoner av mer sosial art, gjerne relatert til kollegialitet på arbeidsplassen. Tidligere forskning har vist at ledere har et mer risikofylt alkoholforbruk enn andre ansatte, men at kvinnelige ledere drikker alkohol sjeldnere enn mannlige ledere gjør. I denne studien var ønsket å se videre på dette funnet, og å finne ut hva som påvirket kvinnelige lederes arbeidsrelaterte drikking. Kontrollbehov, stigmatisering og omsorgsoppgaver Resultatene fra 13 dybdeintervjuer med kvinnelige ledere i forskjellige bransjer og lederroller viser at det er tre ting som i særlig grad påvirker drikkingen deres: 1. Behovet for å ha kontroll De kvinnelige lederne opplevde at de var spesielt synlige, da de ofte inngikk i ledergrupper bestående av menn. Synligheten resulterte i et kontrollbehov. Flere av kvinnene forklarte at deres moderate alkoholforbruk var resultat av et behov for å ha kontroll. Noen koblet kontroll til lederrollen generelt. Andre følte at de som kvinne hadde større behov for å ha kontroll siden de var mer utsatt for kritikk av drikkeatferd enn mannlige ledere. 2. Bekymring om å bli stigmatisert Det virket som organisasjoner skaper en alkoholkultur som stiller spesielle forventninger til kvinnelige ledere. Kvinnene følte dermed at de måtte oppføre seg i henhold til andre verdier og normer enn menn. De opplevde også at det var strengere sosial kontroll med kvinner enn menn. Det så altså ut til at uformelle, normative regler på arbeidsplassen, her uttrykt som en bekymring om stigmatisering, var en viktig faktor for å forklare hvorfor kvinnelige ledere drakk relativt moderat. 3. Livsfaser med omsorgsoppgaver hjemme Å ha ansvar for små barn hadde en klar effekt på drikkevaner generelt, og på arbeidsrelaterte drikkesituasjoner spesielt. Omsorgsoppgaver hjemme førte til lavere alkoholforbruk. Alderen på barna hadde en betydelig effekt på alkoholforbruket. Yngre barn førte til lavere alkoholforbruk.