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Do You Know How to Spot Drug & Alcohol Misuse in the Workplace & Are You Using the Latest Highly Accurate, Instant Result, Multi-Panel Testing Kits On Your Staff?
Issues You Should Be Looking Out For
In the first instance, let's define the terminology, 'drug misuse:'
"Misuse is not the same thing as dependence. Drug & alcohol misuse is the use of illegal drugs & misuse of alcohol, medicines, & substances such as solvents" [1]
So now that this has been established, let's look at the warning signs which often mean that your employees are misusing alcohol or drugs. These include:
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Changes in an employee's mood and behaviour
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Strained relationships with fellow workers
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A lack of work ethic
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Conduct issues
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Frequent or unexplained absences
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Excessive level of sick leave
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Common tardiness, such as arriving late for work, and coming back late from lunch breaks
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Napping during work time
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Inability to concentrate or focus
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Lower levels of productivity
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Performance issues
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Unfulfilled quotas
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Missed deadlines
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Almost causing accidents
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Having more accidents than would be normal
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Tremors
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Unsteady gait
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Bloodshot eyes
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Looking drained [1,2].
Of note: these aforementioned signs could also be the result of illness, personal trauma, or stress. To that end, it is crucial to give the employee a drug and alcohol test. Drug Testing Kits UK, offer an approved, state-of-the-art, all-in-one, highly accurate, alcohol and multiple-drug testing kit. - This gives instant results, and can be administered by someone in HR, or other appointed member of staff. This simple-to-use kit has proved highly popular with countless businesses, organisations and institutions, across the length and breath of the UK and Southern Ireland.
If Staff Have Signs or Drug & Alcohol Misuse, What Should I Do?
Ideally, supervisors, managers, and human resource staff, should be able to detect growing drug or alcohol issues before they get out of hand, and pose a danger.
Alcohol Issues in the Workplace
The UK Health & Safety Executive states that you should encourage a member of staff with a drnking issue, to: "get help from their GP or a specialist drug or alcohol agency, and refer them to your organisation's occupational health service (if you have one). Consider allowing the employee time off to get expert help. Often the cost of recruiting and training a new employee may be more than the cost of time off" [1].
Choosing a High Grade Breathalyser
The approved Alco-Sensor FST Breathalyser is the top-of-the-range for Preliminary Breath Testing (PBT) instruments. Being a high tech direct breath alcohol tester, it generates accurate, exact, and repeatable results. Moreover, it provides a simple passive breath testing procedure for the rapid screening of multiple employees.
The Alco-Sensor FST’s advance design with its heads-up display at 90 degrees from the base of the instrument, enables the dedicated member of staff (administrator), to use either hand to easily operate the breathalyser, while simultaneously keeping the employee being tested, in a secure, controlled position. The mouthpiece of the breathalyser targets the breath flow away from the administrator; and the lighted mouthpiece channel, together with the “lever and click” mouthpiece, ensures that testing your employees is quick, highly professional, and super easy. Moreover, the Alco-Sensor FST provides highly accurate and immediate results.
Illegal Drug Issues in the Workplace
"Illegal activities at work do not just include taking banned drugs; they also involve selling illicit drugs to other employees, and psychological or stress-related effects due to substance use by a co-worker that affects another person's job performance" [3]
It is important for companies and organisations to understand the basics about illicit drug abuse, and even the misuse of certain prescription drugs. In some instances, when people take such substances on a regular basis, it can change their brain function structure and function, to the point that they become addicted, regardless of the danger. This is medically known as substance use disorder [3].
As Drug Testing Kits UK's Health Science advisor notes: substance use disorder is highly complex, and even long-serving members of staff can suddenly become addicted for a number of reasons. These include:
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Genetics and biology
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Mental well-being (mental illness, feelings, thoughts and emotions, etc.)
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Life events (particularly long-term stress and trauma)
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Environmental factors [2].In many instances, the team at Drug Testing Kits UK, has been told that the all-in-one multiple drug testing kits we offer, have had an incredibly positive effect on employees who have been shown to have a drug abuse issue. So by providing both scheduled an unannounced illegal drug tests in the workplace, it is possible to ascertain which members of staff have an issue. And in quite a few cases, the management of various companies have been very surprised at the employees who have had a positive drug test result. And the good news is that a good percentage of these people receive the help they need. Moreover, by running unannounced drug (and alcohol) tests, you are playing a wonderful role in helping employees keep on track. And of course, this means that you do not suffer from any loss of productivity, unacceptable staff absence, or issues with staff behaviour due to illegal drugs
Have You Taken a Recent Risk Assessment?
If the answer to this is no, then in order to compile your risk assessment:
"Consider the type of of work your employees do, & look at any safety-critical elements where drug or alcohol misuse could have a serious outcome, for example: using machinery, electrical equipment or ladders; or driving or operating heavy lifting equipment.
Where employees in safety-critical jobs seek help for alcohol or drug misuse, it may be necessary to transfer them to other work, at least temporarily [2]
References
[1]. Health & Safety Executive (2023). "Managing Drug and Alcohol Misuse at Work
https://www.hse.gov.uk/alcoholdrugs/index.htm
[2]. Drug Abuse (2023). "Alcohol Misuse in the Workplace." https://drugabuse.com/alcohol/workplace/
[3]. Canadian Centre For Occupational Health & Safety (2023). "Substance Use in the Workplace."
