Peters and Firth’s Employee Assistance Programs – Their Development and Benefit notes that the “wellbeing of employees is a subject of fundamental importance to all businesses, companies and public services…and EAP’s have proven to be one of the most successful approaches in assisting troubled employees.” [1]
Very often we think of the troubled and addicted employee as someone who is identifiably affected and obviously “out of it” or affected by substances. But this view is not really that accurate and many employees are not obviously affected and yet may indeed be addicted to a substance or range of substance that affects their work world, but not in ways that have yet reached fever pitch.
How to Help
You may in fact have a valued and reliable employee who has been working onsite for several years. He or she works well and knows his or her job well. He/she is able to turn up to work on time and perform duties in accordance with the job description and although looking a little unhealthy or pale of late, remains fairly stable in their work role.
If you have put years of training into this individual and he/she eventually screens positive for cocaine or heroin, what do you do?
This employee is not a temporary or casual member of your team. This individual is a tried and true part of your organisation. You value them. You like them. You respect their views and their contributions to your organisation.
Do you fire them?
That is one possibility, but doing so can lead to loss of money, loss of trained employee, and disruption to the workplace with staff ing alterations.
The CRS (Commonwealth Rehabilitation Service) offers a few simple suggestions that can help you and your employee face the issue of drug dependence once it has been identified by a drug test. The Employee Assistance Programme is a programme that can help your employee to find his or her way back to freedom from drug addcition and to gainful and fully functioning employment.[2]
Here are a few simple suggestions:
- Develop an EAP that is tailored to your employees’ needs
- Offer counselling
- Offer external referral and even rehabilitation if required
- Suggest leave or time off if required
- Ensure smooth or graded transition back to work
- Ensure confidentiality for the affected employee
- Find out whether any job-related stresses are impacting the employee
- Allow employee to work at reduced capacity while undertaking an EAP.
You may well need to move beyond old style punitive measures and adopt an approach that helps you and your valuable employee get back on track.
Onsite testing and the use of quality testing technologies such as those supplied by CMM Technology[3] can help turn your workplace into an environment conducive to worker wellbeing and high productivity.
Specialist staff from Mediscreen can assist with your enquiries and also advise you on the programme best suited to your needs Telephone Mediscreen on 1300 797040.
[1] http://www.heas.com.au/publications/eap.htm
[2] http://www.crsaustralia.gov.au/employee_assistance_programmes.htm
