What can you do to develop a good approach to safety in relation to drugs and alcohol?
You can develop a more comprehensive approach using the tried and true managerial approach of change by example. This is perhaps one of the most effective ways to establish a new approach to safety in your workplace. And it all starts with management.
The most important attributes that can contribute to leadership are identified by Zeffane in “Patterns of Organisational Commitment and Perceived Management Style: a Comparison of Private and Public Health Sector Employees.” [1]
These are:
- Participatory management style –openly invites employees into decision-making ideas and processes
- Flexibility– while also maintaining organisational consistency and continuity.
- Decentralised Control – regarding work organisation, structuring of tasks.
- Communication – frequent and informal throughout the workplace by leadership
- Trust – interpersonal, between leaders and employers
The aim is to engender in employees a sense of self-motivation when it comes to drug and alcohol issues, including drug alcohol testing and addressing drug abuse. Inviting your employees into the decision-making process can be an invaluable tool in this regard, and gives them a sense of meaningful contribution to the process.
In fact, “research clearly indicates the importance of leadership, and employees’ perceptions of their leaders, in the formation and maintenance of a positive safety culture and reduction of accidents.[2]
So try to develop a participatory management style in your workplace. Incorporate the 5 attributes outlined by Zeffane and reap the rewards in terms of activating a drug and alcohol policy that makes is effective and inclusive.
Understand the distinct benefits of leading by example and perpetuate a culture of zero tolerance regarding drugs and alcohol, particularly if you are in heavy industry, mining or the transport sector. If you are a member of management this is an important step in the process of transforming a workplace so that safety and occupational health flow down from the top to all levels of an organisation.
Mediscreen offers full support and advice with regards to onsite screening programmes. Quality devices, random onsite testing, the use of clear and thorough chain of custody paperwork are all part of the Mediscreen service.
For more information about on-screen testing and how this adds to safe leadership approaches, telephone Mediscreen on 1300 797040 .
[1] http://hum.sagepub.com/content/47/8/977.short Zeffane R (1994), “Patterns of organisational commitment and perceived management style: a comparison of private and public sector employees”
[2] http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrhtm/rr044.htm .O’Dea A and Flin R (2003). The role of managerial leadership in determining workplace safety outcomes, p.13, at: Cited in Safe and Sound: A discussion paper on safety leadership in government workplaces. Australian Safety and Compensation Council, 2005.
