The Role of Colleagues in Workplace Drug Safety
There was a time when drug and alcohol abuse was closely associated with unemployment, that those who regularly abuse alcohol and illegal drugs typically have no stable jobs to speak of. These days, however, that is no longer the case. Many of today’s substance abusers are gainfully employed. Their substance abuse problems, however, can cause problems in the workplace.
While many employers already have programs in place to deal with alcohol and drugs in the workplace, many colleagues are often at a loss on what to do or even say when faced with signs and symptoms of substance abuse among employees. If you’re one of those workers, here are some things you can do about alcohol and drugs in the workplace.
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Many employers and HR managers often fall into complacency when it comes to dealing with drug abuse in the workplace. As long as the matter doesn’t give the company any problem, they tend to keep their hands off the issue. However, what they should realise is that all it takes is one individual to give the company a drug-related problem, and before they know it, that drug problem in the workplace has become widespread.
As an employer, the safety and well-being of your workforce is part of your ethical responsibility. That alone should be enough reason for you to establish a workplace safety policy. If you look at it from the business side of things, there are the financial repercussions of workplace accidents brought about by lack of a solid workplace safety policy. Workplace accidents that lead to injury or death makes you liable for stiff fines, not to mention that your business could be shut down. Therefore, establishing a workplace safety policy is in your interest as much as your employees’, and that’s why you have to do it as soon as you can.
The concept of mindfulness has been around for a long time, and has been used for therapeutic purposes in a number of fields. Now, experts are throwing around the idea that mindfulness, which involves cultivating moment-to-moment, non-judgmental awareness of thoughts, feelings, and surroundings, could also be used to help stop substance abuse, according to an article by Emily Nauman for the Greater Good.
A national survey has revealed that more than one in twenty Australian workers admit to being intoxicated at work, and more than one in fifty say they have taken drugs during or before working hours, according to a report by Sacha Strebe for Safety Snippets. 
A recent poll has revealed that one out of 10 Victorian workers have either gone working while on drugs or have opted to take a day off because of it, according to an article in Pro Bono Australia.
Australia has one of the highest price tags for alcoholic drinks, and this fact drives higher demand for illicit drugs, which tend to be much cheaper than alcohol, according to an article written by Inga Ting for The Sydney Morning Herald.
In all fairness, many employers are actually doing their best to comply with work health and safety regimes. The problem, however, lies in the fact that they have to comply with up to eight different work health and safety regulations, especially when they have operations in various jurisdictions across Australia.