Implicit Cognition for Alcohol in the Workplace: An Essay Review Article for Health Promotion and Human Resources Management

Abstract

Alcohol misuse is an occupational risk factor and, therefore, a regular theme in health-promotion programs in the workplace. However, Human Resources Management could expand the effectiveness of these programs, especially if implicit measures, such as attentional bias for alcohol cues were assessed. Attentional bias is an automatic behavior, which is the tendency to direct attention to emotionally relevant stimuli (e.g., pleasure, reward, danger). It was previously observed in alcohol-dependent (and non-dependent) adults and appointed as a risk marker to alcohol misuse. Thus, the aim of this paper is to theoretically address possible relationships between frequency of participation in alcohol-prevention programs in the workplace and attentional bias to alcohol cues related to drinking. We suggest that implicit measures of risk for alcohol misuse could be assessed by the organizations and that lower results could be found in employees with frequent participation in alcohol-prevention programs at work. This discussion can contribute to definitions about frequency schedules for preventive actions at work and can support the development of cognitive-oriented technologies to identify employees’ implicit motivational states in relation to health goals.