How to deal with substance abuse in the workplace
1. Research Says
A major US survey showed that employees were taking drugs in one in six firms, and of the 1,500 personnel professionals surveyed, nearly one-third reported alcohol and drug problems in their organisations.
2. Don't Forget
About drug testing:
Drug testing pits two competing sets of rights squarely against each other - the employee’s right to privacy and the employer’s right to a safe, productive work-place. Your right to use drug testing will depend on your industry, current legislation, your promulgated policy, and on your seeking appropriate legal advice.
3. Research Says
In the United States, an approximate cost to industry from productivity loss and absenteeism is about $30 billion per annum.
In Australia, the amount is considered to be in excess of $600 million.
4. Don't Forget
If you’re discussing an alcohol problem:
- Don’t apologise for raising the matter. Make it clear that job performance is the focus.
- Encourage the staff member to explain why behaviour or performance has deteriorated. The issue of substance abuse may be raised.
- Don’t discuss the person’s right to drink or make a moral issue of it.
- Don’t you counsel that the person change or moderate drinking habits. Alcoholics Anonymous claims that alcoholics usually need professional help.
- Don’t be distracted by excuses. Your focus is the drinking itself, and how it affects the work scene.
- Stress that the primary concern is the employee’s work performance. Advise that if behaviour does not improve, disciplinary action will result.
- Indicate that the decision to seek help is ultimately the staff member’s responsibility.
5. Here's An Idea
If you have to send an employee home under the influence of a drug or alcohol, don’t let them drive - you or your company may be liable if the employee has an accident. Don’t ask another staff member to do the driving either - call a taxi.
6. Startling Statistics
Do you know how much drug and alcohol abuse by your staff is costing you?
A national survey in 2001 found that 1.25 million Australians went to work under the influence of drugs or alcohol. What this figure does not tell us, however, is how many times these people went to work under the influence and what their productivity, or lack of, was on each occasion.
We know from other surveys that people who take drugs and alcohol heavily are 10 times more likely to miss work. When they are present, it has been suggested that they have a 33% lower productivity when under the influence.
7. Detecting Substance Abuse
Uncovering a drug problem in the workplace:
- Keep an eye on performance and output.
- Look out for absenteeism: not just a higher incidence, but for patterns such as frequent absences on Mondays, regularly coming to work late, seeming drowsy in the afternoons, or frequent visits to the toilet/bathroom.
- Look for changes in relationship patterns in a workgroup. Is there less co-operation, more arguments, a general air of friction?
If you discover a problem, the first thing is not to rush in and dismiss the person involved. For starters, substance abuse may not be the root cause; but these are useful signs.
8. Tackle The Issue With Dignity
The main point to keep in mind when fronting an employee suspected of drug abuse is that the issue needs to be tackled as a work performance issue and not as a substance abuse problem. You are not qualified to make medical or psychological assessments and, in some cases, what might seem obvious turns out not to be the case. Sometimes abuse problems are hiding other physical or emotional issues. Keeping the focus on work performance, maintaining privacy and confidentiality, and respecting the dignity of the individual are far more likely to lead to a positive outcome.
9. Dealing With An Employee
The following tips, from Denzil Griffiths, co-author of 'Living Leadership', will help you when dealing with an employee whom you believe is suffering from substance abuse:
- Keep an open mind. The employee's problems may not be drug related. Don't accuse the employee of using drugs or having a substance-abuse problem. Focus on behavior in the workplace that is of concern, not on your suspicions.
- Be specific. Document all absenteeism and have specific examples of poor job performance in writing. State the problem behaviour in concrete terms and show how the behaviour affects co-workers and the company. Do not be put off by initial denials or get into arguments.
- Define expectations. Describe specifically the expected changes in behavior/job performance. Set out milestones and timeframes. Put it all in writing.
- Emphasise the consequences. The consequences of expectations not being met should be made clear to the employee, again in writing.
- Follow through. Monitor progress against the milestones and timeframes you have set. This will allow the individual and other employees to see that you are serious and determined.
- Remember the employer's role. It is the employee's responsibility to resolve the problem. Diagnosis and treatment is a job for a qualified professional, and referral to a counsellor may be advisable. The employer needs to focus on correcting poor performance on the job.
Dealing sensibly with substance abuse problems in these ways, says Griffiths, will generally lead to a win-win outcome - for your employee and your company and its bottom line.
