Alcohol Abuse Advice

5 Identifiers of Alcohol Abuse in the Workplace

Alcohol is known to be the most destructive of all the abused drugs in Australia. Alcohol abuse in the workplace is typically related to serious health issues and alcoholism.

The risks of alcohol abuse in the workplace

The sheer amount of damage alcohol abuse can do to people, their jobs and their lives is almost unbelievable. It can also cause catastrophic incidents affecting their fellow staff and employers.

Alcoholism and alcohol abuse creates risks for both individuals and other staff. These are some of the more common effect in the workplace:

Deaths and serious injuries through drunken behavior
Damage and destruction of property and equipment
Assaults, bullying and threatening behavior
Loss of business
Abusive behavior

Signs of alcohol abuse

The only real solution to alcohol abuse is prevention. The drug and alcohol testing program is the best, most comprehensive method of finding and rectifying situations before they become crises.

Alcohol abuse is a situation in which early recognition of issues is of paramount importance. There are various signs which indicate alcohol abuse, and they’re not all as obvious as one might think:

Dehydration
Smell of alcohol on breath
Belligerence and offensive behavior
Inability to concentrate
Poor dress standards on a regular basis
Nausea
Poor performance of basic physical tasks
Incomprehension of verbal conversation
Poor attendance, regularly coming back late from lunch
Absenteeism patterns
Erratic work performance

The combination of several of these issues is the most likely scenario, although all cases are individual and there’s not necessarily a fixed pattern.

Organizational and workplace relationship problems

Alcohol abuse, like any form of addiction, overrides normal behavior. The effects in the workplace can be horrific. In many instances it’s also a disaster for other staff:

Previously good relationships are destroyed in apparently inexplicable incidents.
Alcohol abusers become “problem employees”.
Other staff resent and complain about behavior and rudeness.
Managers are frequently left in the unenviable position of trying to deal with sometimes petty, unnecessary situations which seem to be out of proportion to actual problems.
Personality clashes turn vicious, even violent.

These types of incidents can make the workplace intolerable. They can even cause staff to resign or take legal action if abused. Managers cannot allow these situations to develop.

Dealing with alcoholism and related issues

There are some comparatively simple methods of identifying and controlling alcohol abuse in the workplace. The drug and alcohol test program can be used to prevent development of alcohol issues and to help staff overcome their problems.

The process is straightforward:

By the use of an approved Breathalyzer, persons at risk can easily be identified and suitable action can be taken.
Counseling can be arranged in accordance with the drug and alcohol testing policy’s built in provisions.
Depending on the policy provisions, the staff member may be stood down, suspended, disciplined, or in some cases given formal notice of dismissal.

 

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