We all know that drug and alcohol take a toll on workplaces with employees who use or abuse them, but do you know to what extent? An article written by James A. Pitts for Business Insider Australia gives us an idea, and it’s staggering.
Accidents can happen anywhere, to anybody, at any time. While they can never be 100% prevented, we can reduce the risks of an accident, particularly in the workplace. Preventing accidents in the workplace is primarily the responsibility of the employer, but it will also require the cooperation of the people in the workforce. After all, workplace health and safety or WHS is built around mutual support, and that employees should also take an active role in maintaining safety.
Here are some tips that can help reduce accidents in the workplace.
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There are illicit drugs that have adverse effects on a human being, and then there’s alcohol, whose effects are just as bad—or even worse—but is actually legal and easily obtained. Illegal drugs and alcohol both cause problems in the workplace, but according to an estimate by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), up to 40% of accidents at work involve or are related to alcohol use, and that should be a major cause for concern among employers.
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.
Your best defence against drug-related problems in the workplace is to nip it in the bud. You need to immediately take action once you detect signs of drug abuse in the workplace. While that may sound easier said than done, it is possible when you are in touch with your workforce.
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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. (more…)