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Addiction and adequate family support are big concerns for oil and gas industry, report says
August 14, 2009
TORONTO – Alcohol addiction and family support mechanisms to treat it are major issues in Canada’s oil and gas industry, according to a report just released by Shepell·fgi, Canada's leading provider of workplace health and productivity solutions. The report examined employee access of Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) from 2006 through 2008, and showed that substance abuse, alcohol in particular, is a chronic challenge in the industry’s labour force. The report pointed to a 481% increase in EAP access for alcohol abuse over the three-year period.
The report, called Health and Wellness Trends in the Oil and Gas Sector, examined EAP data for 36 upstream petroleum industry organizations from January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2008, and compared the results to national norms. The report was prepared by the Shepell·fgi Research Group.
According to the report:
- Employees in the oiland gas industry accessed their EAP at a rate 34% higher than the Canadian norm in 2006, and 40% higher in both 2007 and 2008
- EAP utilization increased almost 5% per year over the three-year period
- EAP utilization by the spouses of workers employed in the oil and gas industry was 33% higher than the national norm in 2006, 56% higher in 2007, and 75% higher in 2008.
“Working in stressful jobs in remote locations, combined with distance or long periods of time away from family, is a prime cause for such problems as addiction,” said Rod Phillips, CEO of Shepell·fgi.
“Employees in the oil and gas industry, and their dependents, are primarily looking to the EAP for assistance with work-life issues, including family support services and substance abuse intervention. Workplace health and safety, including substance abuse policies and programs, is of critical concern where heavy industrial construction and technical competency are fundamental components of the work environment.”
The oil and gas sector employs over 500,000 people, 58% of them in Alberta. The industry is Canada’s largest single private investor and has invested $50 billion in the past two years. It holds 25% of the value on the TSX, and paid $24 billion to federal and provincial governments in the past year alone.
Looking at data for 2008, oil and gas employees and their dependents utilized their EAP at greater rates than the national norm for eldercare services (120% higher), childcare services (43% higher), addiction counselling (35% higher), nutritional counselling (21% higher), and family counselling (18% higher).
“Oil and gas workers face socio-economic stressors involved in locating suitable resources to support family who accompany them to a new city, but have no social infrastructure to rely on,” said Phillips. “The current economic crisis may also contribute to a higher incidence of EAP access for family support services.”
Phillips said that substance abuse can impact the job in terms of lateness, absence, job function, work relationships, family welfare, financial risk management, and legal risk management.
The report also looked at trends in employee health, and highlighted reasons why EAP access for family support issues have increased year over year. The reasons include:
- Expansion of the Oil Sands and growth of the industry to support an increasing global demand for petroleum and energy products
- Increased worker mobility for skilled trades
- Worker absence from the family
- Limited social network or difficulty in resourcing local infrastructure to support family members
- Relationship issues between parents and children, and increasing prevalence of the ‘sandwich’ generation
- Return to the workforce for spouses of employees.
“As the industry continues to develop in remote sites, it will be necessary to address the social infrastructure, services and resources for retraining the existing workforce and attracting new hires to the industry,” said Karen Seward, Senior Vice President of Business Development and Marketing, Shepell·fgi.
“The EAP can be utilized as a resource for referrals to community and private programs, information, and consultation towards addressing immediate issues or longer-term solutions.”
Seward said that accessing the EAP is a self-declaration for help. She says organizations should:
- Reinforce the value of EAP as a consultative tool for supervisors to use in addressing performance and behaviour issues.
- Promote a healthy workplace culture.
- Offer supervisors training and education to help them recognize signs of substance abuse.
- Provide supervisors with management training to help them build a culture of open exchange.
- Recognize that addiction is a health issue that can have long-term implications.
- Make use of Workplace Support Programs offered through the EAP to provide more specialized interventions.
Download the full version of the Report
For more information please contact:
Jerry Amernic
Phone: (416) 284-0838
Email: jamernic@rogers.com
Vicky Zeldin
Manager, Marketing
Shepell·fgi
Phone: (416) 355-5424
Email: vzeldin@shepellfgi.com
About Shepell·fgi
Shepell·fgi is Canada's leading provider of workplace health and productivity solutions, including prevention-focused Employee Assistance Programs, Health and Disability Management, Organizational Solutions, and Training. The company serves over eight million employees and their families across Canada, the United States, and internationally. Shepell·fgi helps organizations maintain healthy employees and healthy workplaces.
The Shepell·fgi Research group, a division of Shepell·fgi, has a mandate to educate employers and business leaders on physical, mental and social health issues as these factors impact employees, their families, and their workplaces. The Shepell·fgi Research Group offers a precise understanding of health and wellness trends by conducting sector and issue-based analysis. Since 2002, the Shepell·fgi Research Group has published 18 issue-based reports and eight sector-based reports.
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