Synthetic drug abuse in the workplace is a serious problem, but sadly it’s not being discussed enough. Drug users are typically very good at hiding their habits, especially if they’re at work. And as a society, we’re generally taught not to tell on our coworkers. This makes it harder to address the situation. However, as…
Every business leader needs to be familiar with the different workplace safety acronyms. Depending on where your business is located, you might see WHS, OHS or OSH in your company’s occupational safety policy. Most of these terms have practically the same meaning. However, some states and organisations prefer to use certain acronyms in their legal…
Victoria health officials have uncovered a new synthetic drug cocktail possibly more potent than anything they’ve seen before. A coronial inquest last week revealed the truth behind the mysterious death of five young men between 2016 and 2017. All victims had taken an illegal drug initially thought to have been a bad ecstasy. However, an…
So your employee has refused a drug test. You are probably thinking — is this even possible? You’ve seen the figures: employee drug and alcohol use costs Australian businesses $6 billion per year in lost productivity. As an employer, you have every reason to perform drug and alcohol testing. This is true not just in high-risk…
The strength of your company drug and alcohol policy lies in its proper application. Effective enforcement requires training, and lack of proper training is just as harmful as inconsistency. You can have the most well-written drug and alcohol policy guidelines, but if your managers and supervisors lack the proper training to effectively implement it, it’s…
Fentanyl — brand names include Durogesic and Actiq — and Oxycodone — brand names include OxyContin and Endone — are prescription-only drugs in Australia. Both have an effect similar to codeine but are much more powerful and potentially dangerous pain relievers than Codeine. Consequently, they are prescribed much less. And unlike codeine, routine drug screens…
Not all addictions that impact the workplace are drug related. Whenever the word “addiction” comes up, most people automatically mentally conjure images of a person sticking a needle into a vein and getting high on some drug. While it’s true that the word is most closely associated with drugs, ingesting a substance is not the…