The development of effective methods of engaging with workplaces, and their workforces, to raise awareness and bring about organizational and individual change that lead to safer alcohol consumption, and thus a reduction in alcohol-related absenteeism, presenteeism and injuries. This will be achieved through the development and dissemination of a practical and robust cross-cultural tool-kit able to support the delivery of workplace-based interventions that will bring about safer alcohol consumption amongst the European workforce. The project will produce a report identifying best practice and recommendations for European, national, regional and local policy-makers. The project will improve the health and well-being of European citizens, contribute to the objectives of the Lisbon agenda, and enable workplaces to mitigate the potential negative consequences of the economic recession on alcohol-related harm.

The European workplace and alcohol project will bring new and added value to existing knowledge of work place policies that reduce alcohol-related harm, ensuring widespread and practical implementation of this knowledge throughout workplaces, large and global companies, as well as small and medium enterprises. By collecting and documenting information on relevant laws and infrastructures on work place and employment polices across Europe as they relate to alcohol, the project should inform opportunities for harmonization of relevant work place laws, enabling a common work space for a supportive environment to promote wellness at work. By identifying and bringing together good practice for effective actions, and by developing possibilities of how to implement good practice on a wider scale through the involvement of employers and their organizations, trade unions and health professionals, the project is fully consistent with the 2009 Work Plan. By contributing to the reduction of alcohol-related harm at the workplace, and by promoting workplace related actions, the project directly su

The project comprises a series of integrated activities structured around five sequential phases: following a common protocol, all associated partners will prepare at least two workplace case studies that demonstrate good practice from their own country; based on developed guidelines for pilot interventions, each pilot intervention partner will prepare a pilot work plan; pilot interventions will be carried out in twelve countries, each engaging at least 5 companies and at least 750 employees over a period of 12 months; analyses of each pilot intervention to assess the effectiveness of the process of workplace engagement, identify outputs, assess impact and health outcomes and highlight good practice; based on previous phases, development of a tool-kit and policy recommendations.

A cross-cultural tool-kit that will provide a Europe-wide resource to support the implementation of alcohol-focused interventions that involve workplaces and their workforces; a project report that will provide evidence-based recommendations, derived from the project’s experience and findings, to influence alcohol and workplace policies at European, national, regional and local levels; increased number of workplaces with comprehensive alcohol policies; increased number of workplace managers trained in good practice for supporting workplaces and workforces to address alcohol-related health issues; reduced alcohol-related absenteeism, presenteeism and work site accidents and injuries; improved health and well-being of European citizens; and contribution to the goals of the Lisbon agenda.