title: Alcohol- and drug-related absenteeism: a costly problem.
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.
  
  
  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.
  
  
  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.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  AOD-related absenteeism represents a significant and preventable impost upon Australian businesses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Workplaces should implement evidence-based interventions to promote healthy employee behaviour and reduce AOD-related absenteeism.
authors.affiliation: National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction, Flinders University, South Australia.
authors.forename: Ann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Roche
authors.affiliation: National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction, Flinders University, South Australia.
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pidd
authors.affiliation: National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction, Flinders University, South Australia.
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kostadinov
mesh_terms: D000041:Absenteeism; D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology; D014495:Universities; D014937:Work / Q000191:economics; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: absenteeism; substance use; workplace