Alcoholism is considered a disease over which most alcoholics lack control and there are factors relating to a person becoming an alcoholic such as genetics, environmental and psychological factors. It has been estimated that about one in every 13 adults use or abuse alcohol and while the decision to consume alcohol is a personal choice, when the choice is made to use alcohol in the workplace it not only affects the individual’s ability to perform their assigned duties, it also interferes with the health and safety of others.[1] Often the conduct of an alcoholic in the workplace can be a distraction to many other people.
Is Your Supervisor Fully Educated?
Supervisors, managers and business owners have the responsibility to keep an eye of what goes on in their area of responsibility. While the production and conduct of employees are directly part of the job, many can still tend to believe that monitoring alcoholism at work is not part of their job duties. This is a socio-cultural perception that is currently shifting within business and industry as wellbeing and OH&S issues become more mainstream.
However, when alcohol or drug abuse affects performance and productivity, it becomes important to understand the supervisor’s role. In the United States for example, the responsibilities typically include:
- Monitoring work performance
- Establishing schedules and reviewing time off requests
- Using correct disciplinary measures when required
- Notifying employer or those in managerial roles of problem issues
Seeing signs of alcoholism
Supervisors rarely have the expertise to accurately diagnose an alcoholic, but some of the signs can be blatantly obvious. When monitoring employees’ job performance and relationships at work, signs of a problem can include:
- Being absent from work without authorization
- Calling off sick frequently
- Mood swings,
- Sluggish hangover behaviour
- Poor work performance
- Anger outbursts
- Several absences due to home emergencies
- Missing work-related deadlines
- Unable to get along with co-workers
Responsibilities of job supervisor
The Drug and Alcohol Policies and procedures of an organisation as well as current legislative restrictions and guidelines will together dictate the kind of responsibilities the supervisor has in terms of monitoring drug and alcohol issues in the workplace. Usually however, once suspicions have been raised and documented, many companies will initiate alcohol testing to either confirm or disprove the suspicions. They may also have used a quality onsite screening programme or their own screening programmes and devices such as breathalysers to monitor the drug and alcohol usage of employees. If the employee tests positive during drug alcohol testing company programs, under no circumstances should they be allowed to return to duty in a safety-sensitive position in which themselves or others could be hurt due to their registering positive.
Utilize employee assistance programs
Many companies have established steps that can be used to help an employee receive help with their addiction. In an event of an affected employee refusing a company’s offer of assistance, established and written procedural steps should be adhered to in order to hold the employee accountable for their behaviour.
If they are amenable to help, counselling as well as monitoring their progress with drug alcohol testing can be beneficial in returning them to work as a productive member of the team. Remember, they will not be “cured” of their addiction overnight and you may want to follow their progress and their return to work with a degree of diligence and awareness concerning the possibilities of relapse.
Onsite screening programmes such as those offered by Mediscreen are valuable strategies that can help to maintain workplace safety and security for all. Consider onsite screening as part of your drug and alcohol programme. Telephone Mediscreen on 1300 797040
Resources:
[1] http://www.govita.com.au/library/Health%20Conditions/HealthConditionsAlcoholism.pdf
