[Un article de The Conversation écrit par Céline Diaz – Doctorante en psychologie du travail et des organisations au sein des unités QualiPsy (UR 1901; Université de Tours) et C2S (UR 6291; Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne), Université de Tours, Fabien Gierski – Professeur des Universités en neuropsychologie et psychopathologie cognitive (URCA), Chercheur associé au sein de l’INSERM 1247 (Université de Picardie Jules-Verne) et Directeur de l’UR 6291 (Laboratoire C2S), Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne (URCA), Nicolas Gillet – Membre de l”Institut Universitaire de France (IUF) et Professeur en psychologie du travail et des organisations au sein de l’UR 1901 (QualiPsy), Université de Tours & Tiphaine Huyghebaert-Zouaghi – Maitre de conférences en psychologie sociale, du travail et des organisations (Laboratoire C2S, UR 6291), Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne (URCA)]
In France, consumption of alcohol and tobacco are the first two causes of avoidable mortality, but they remain widespread.
In 2020, in mainland France, 23.7 % of 18 to 75 years exceeded alcohol consumption benchmarks recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). In 2022, 31.8 % of them declared smoking and 7.3 % declared vaping.
Tobacco and alcohol, causing serious health consequences
These consumption behaviors, however, have many health risks of individuals. Smoking is at the origin of many pathologies such as cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory diseases and, more frequently, certain cancers.
Alternatives considered to be safer for health have emerged, the most common being the electronic cigarette. The WHO, however, warned the population in the face of health risks that these new products could cause.
Alcohol consumption, on the other hand, is directly or indirectly responsible for a variety of health damage (for example, cancers, cardiovascular diseases, liver cirrhoses).
Socio -demographic, psychological … and professionals factors
Faced with this major public health problem, researchers were interested in the factors behind these consumptions, in an attempt to prevent them. Thus, many socio -demographic factors have been identified as playing a role in the explanation of alcohol and tobacco consumption, such as gender, age, economic status, level of diploma and marital status.
Certain psychological factors are also involved in these consumption behaviors, such as impulsiveness, low self -esteem or even anxiodepressive symptoms.
Beyond these determinants, work suggests that professional factors could also explain the consumption of alcohol and tobacco. Indeed, although having a job seems to be protective in the face of the consumption of tobacco and alcohol (the prevalence being more important among job seekers), working conditions could impact workers' consumption behavior.
Jobs under constraint conducive to consumption
Scientific data concerning the link between professional activity and tobacco consumption have highlighted that changes in working hours (the passage of conventional schedules at prolonged hours), the monotony of tasks, repetitive tasks and, more generally, jobs with strong constraints are associated with an increase in smoking.
Regarding alcohol consumption, a recent review of the literature has identified four main categories of determinants of consumption behaviors related to work:
- Social norms relating to alcohol at work (acceptability and practices at work),
- low social control at work (for example, low regulation by organization),
- access to alcohol and ease of consumption in the workplace,
- And, finally, professional constraints (for example, stressful events at work, royalty conflicts, abusive supervision).
“Alcohol and tobacco self -medication”: a response to professional constraints
Researchers wondered about the motivational processes underlying the effects of professional constraints on consumption behavior: for what reasons do people drink or smoke after being exposed to professional constraints?
In response to this question, the motivational model of consumption of substances and its adaptation to the professional context (that is to say the biphasic model of FRONE self-medication) suggest that people develop beliefs regarding the effects of alcohol and tobacco on their internal states.
With alcohol, an attempt to reduce tension or fatigue induced through work
In its biphasic model of self -medication, Frone explains that individuals develop expectations as to the beneficial effects of alcohol to deal with fatigue or negative affects (such as anger or anxiety) caused by work.
This model is qualified as “biphasic” due to the double effect of alcohol: stimulating effect (when its level of concentration in the blood increases) and sedative (when its concentration rate in the blood decreases).
More specifically, according to FRONE, two motivations push individuals to consume alcohol after being exposed to professional constraints:
- expectations to reduce fatigue through the stimulating effect of alcohol,
- expectations to reduce tension through the sedative effect of alcohol.
Bringing support to these hypotheses, Frone has shown that professional constraints (for example, charge and pace of work) could cause negative affects and fatigue. The negative affects linked to work were in turn correlated with an increase in general alcohol consumption, but only in people with high expectations of reducing tension through alcohol consumption.
These affects were also linked to more alcohol consumption after work, but, again, only in men with high expectations to reduce tension.
Work -related fatigue was associated with an increase in general alcohol consumption and alcohol consumption during work, but only in men with strong beliefs of reduction in fatigue by alcohol consumption.
These works have shown that the expectations that individuals have vis-à-vis alcohol can explain their alcohol consumption behaviors in the face of professional constraints. In short, a binding professional context can constitute a terrain conducive to the search for “self -medication” solutions through the consumption of substances.
Regarding tobacco consumption, although the links between professional constraints and smoking behavior has not yet been tested by the prism of the biphasic self -medication model, it seems possible that this model can also apply, tobacco also having effects both sedative and stimulating.
Telework and consumption behaviors: links that remain to be explored
It therefore appears essential that research is continuing in order to deepen the understanding of the motivations underlying the consumption of alcohol and tobacco in connection with the professional environment, by paying particular attention to the methods of organization of work.
Indeed, with the boom in telework, many experts in the fields of occupational health and addictology suggest that the context of telework, characterized by easy access to alcohol and tobacco and by a lower visibility of consumption behavior, could constitute an environment favorable to the development of these risk behaviors.
Understanding these consumption phenomena more finely constitutes a public health issue, in order to be able to more effectively prevent risky uses and their consequences on workers' health.
With an unwavering passion for local news, Christopher leads our editorial team with integrity and dedication. With over 20 years’ experience, he is the backbone of Wouldsayso, ensuring that we stay true to our mission to inform.
