Energy workers use addiction counselling more: study
Posted 5 months ago
ROLAND CILLIERS
Today staff
Upstream oil and gas workers were 43% more likely to make use of company addiction counselling services in 2008 than Canadians in other industries, according to a study released Tuesday.
The report, prepared by the Shepell-fgi research group, looked at use of employee assistance programs in 36 upstream petroleum industry organizations in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Michael Kennedy, regional director of Western Canada for Shepell-fgi, said the three-year study seems to indicate two important things about addiction in the oil and gas industry.
“The good news that we see from these numbers is that employees are reaching out and getting help,” said Kennedy. “So I think we need to be careful to assume necessarily that the issue is getting larger, although certainly data from other sources supports that, what we're seeing that employees and family members are accessing help at a higher rate.”
Workers in the industry accessed all employee assistance programs, which can include services for elder care, child care, nutrition and addiction, 34% more than employees in other sectors in 2006 and 40% more in both 2007 and 2008.
Spouses of workers in the oil and gas industry were also found to make use of these programs 33% more than the national average in 2006, 56% more in 2007 and 75% more in 2008.
“No question, addiction issues are a concern for employers in the oil and gas sector due to the safety sensitive nature due to the fact that the business itself can create an environment where people make less than healthy decisions. Isolation is always a factor,” Kennedy said. “Often the work is done in communities where there are fewer social supports like family.”
The oil and gas sector employs close to half-a-million people in Canada, with 58% of them in Alberta. The study looked at about 14,000 users of employee assistance programs within the oil and gas sector and compared them to workers in other industries. Employers from across the country were looked at, the majority of which were in Western Canada however some Atlantic producers were also assessed.
During the three-year duration of the study, there was a year-over-year increase in use of these programs. One of the factors the report points to for being the cause of the increase is the, “Expansion of the Oil Sands.”
Cheryl Robb, spokeswoman for Syncrude Canada, said the company does offer addiction counselling services but she is not sure whether the report’s numbers reflect what the company is experiencing.
“I can't tell you our numbers for the situation, but we have this program in place so that we can address some of these issues and now that this report has been released, we're going to have a look at the report and see the situation at Syncrude. I'm not sure even if that report reflects what's happening at Syncrude,” said Robb.
She said the company offers several programs and that the health of workers is important.
“One of our key priorities is making sure we offer a caring and compassionate workplace so that employees that are in need of counselling, (for) a death in the family or a financial difficulty or addiction, that they have it. We provide assistance for those issues,” said Robb.
Shawn Davis, a spokeswoman with Suncor said she couldn't comment on whether addiction was a problem at Suncor.
“I can tell you that at Suncor we do offer employee assistance programs that we encourage employees, if they do have some sort of an addiction or an issue, that they seek assistance from the employee assistance program and we encourage our employees to get the help they need,” said Davis.
Suncor also recently banned alcohol at its work camps.
Davis said no one from the employee assistance program department to comment on whether the report reflects what their company sees.
Paul Hagel, Shell Canada spokesman, said Albian Sands’ Expansion One village doesn’t have a problem with employee addictions. He credits the facility’s wide array of available activities and the large variety of opportunities to socialize for keeping it that way.
“Thinking of addictions broadl,y we offer support for our workers but we also offer nutrition counselling. We also offer them training in different sports and things of that nature,” said Hagel.
Albian Village, which houses close to 3,000 people, does have programs to assist employees who may be suffering from alcohol addiction. Alcoholics Anonymous has regular meetings at the site, and through the medical clinic a number is available for people who may be dealing with addiction issues.
“There's just so many ways to socialize at Albian Village, and we have done this to promote healthy living. There's a number of different issues,” said Hagel. “We're looking at all these different things but if workers reach out there's all these programs available.”
The report also provides suggestions to oil and gas employers on how they can continue to promote employee wellness. The recommendations include targeting the promotion of services to at-risk groups and including employees in the process of identifying areas where support is required.
“I think oil and gas sector employers have to be congratulated for promoting access to supports like employee assistance programs, because we see that they consistently run at a higher rate of access then the national norm,” said Kennedy.
Employees at oil and gas companies were more likely to access care for things like family counselling, nutritional counselling and elder-care counselling as well.
rcilliers@fortmcmurraytoday.com
