Impact of addictive behaviors on productivity at work among employees working on an onshore oil field

INTRODUCTION: Addictive behaviors on the workplace are a real public health problem because of its consequences not only on workers but also on productivity at work. OBJECTIVES: To explore the relationship between addictive behaviors and productivity at work among employees of a Tunisian oil rig. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the first half of 2018. The assessment of work productivity was done using the validated WPAI-GH questionnaire. Smoking dependence was assessed via the Fagerström score and alcohol abuse by the FACE questionnaire. RESULTS: It was 94 employees working in an onshore oil field with an average age of 41.1 years. Average job seniority was 14.3 years. Active smoking was noted in 34.7% of cases. Alcohol consumption was noted in 19.1% of cases. In the 7 days preceding the survey, the average percentage of absenteeism was 3.64 ± 21.7% and the presenteeism was 17.66 ± 25.58%. The average decline in productivity was 14.8 ± 43.7% and the average decline in daily activities was 20.21 ± 31.45%. These parameters were not correlated with smoking and alcoholism. CONCLUSIONS: Addictive behaviors in the workplace still a denied reality.Increasing awareness and clarifying expectations can be a good first step in order to ameliorate employee functioning and decrease productivity problems.