Duraclean Journal of Marketing, Management and Technical Topics

Recognizing and Preventing Alcohol Abuse











The following article is a condensation from the "Safety News Alert" newsletter from BLR (http://www.blr.com).

One in five workers says they have been put in danger or injured because of a co-worker’s substance abuse. To keep your workplace safe, you have to recognize alcohol abuse that affects job performance and take steps to correct the problem.

Recognizing alcohol abuse is the first step in preventing it in your workplace. A number of signs can tell you if a worker is abusing alcohol.

Performance issues indicating an alcohol abuse problem include:

• Inconsistent work quality
• Poor concentration
• Reduced productivity
• Increased absenteeism (particularly on Mondays)
• Extended lunch breaks
• Early departures
• Carelessness and mistakes
• Errors in judgment
• Risk-taking and disregard for safety

Behavior problems that warn of a possible alcohol problem include:

• Blaming others for problems
• Making excuses for mistakes and accidents
• Mood swings
• Deterioration of personal appearance
• Complaining to co-workers about problems at home
• Complaints about a vaguely defined illness
• Avoiding friends and co-workers
• Frequent financial problems (although you might not learn about this until the company gets a garnishment order or you start hearing things through the grapevine)
  

Of course, an employee who displays any, or even a number, of these symptoms doesn’t necessarily have a drinking problem. There might be other explanations. But when an employee’s performance deteriorates, and especially when safety is an issue, it doesn’t matter what the reason is—you have to take action.

Intervention and Prevention
When you or a supervisor recognizes a possible problem, or when a co-worker reports signs of impairment, the supervisor has to sit down with the employee right away and turn the situation around. Here are some tips for successful interventions and the prevention of future problems.

• Focus on job performance, not personal issues. Use performance documentation or incident records to support your case.
• Be clear and firm. Talk about required standards of performance and consequences if expectations are not met.
• Review your substance abuse policy without making any accusations of alcohol abuse.
• Be supportive. Offer help in resolving performance problems.
• Identify local resources. If the employee admits a drinking problem and your organization has an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), refer the employee for treatment. If an EAP is not available, check with HR and get a list of alcohol abuse treatment resources in your area.
• Continue to monitor performance. If job performance continues to decline, apply progressive discipline, as necessary.

Labels: Alcohol Abuse, employees, Training