We get sent all kinds of press releases each day, so have decided to publish all of them on our blog with a voting option for readers to choose the most boring, tedious and utterly irrelevant press release of the year! At the end of each year we will shortlist the top 5 for our readers to vote on.

How to Spot Addiction in the Workplace

Workplace substance abuse is a rising concern within the UK with the business industry losing billions due to employees’ misuse of drugs and alcohol. Businesses are hit hard in terms of absenteeism, loss in productivity, healthcare costs and employee turnover. So, what should employers be doing to tackle this problem and how can they spot addiction in the workplace?

Addiction does not only affect personal life. It affects every aspect of a person’s functioning, including work. Indeed, most addicts are gainfully employed, so understanding how to respond to addiction in the workplace is essential for managers and co-workers. And for those who are suffering from addiction, understanding how others may respond to you at work can be an aid to your recovery process.

 How to handle an employee with addiction problems:

• Your role is not to give diagnosis or to provide counselling for your employee, and in fact it is unethical for you to do so if you are in a managerial relationship with your employee.
• In your discussions of work, stay focused on performance objectives and do not open discussions of character or personality. Focus on their behaviour and performance in their work role.
• Listening is different from counselling, and listening is an essential skill for maintaining a positive relationship. However, steer clear from offering advice about their personal life.
• You yourself may need support when managing employees with addiction or other personal issues. Be sure to seek confidential and appropriate support for yourself.
• You are not expected to solve your employee’s addiction or other personal problems yourself, but you can direct them to appropriate resources.
• Having a list of resources available, both within and outside of your organisation, can help employees make any decisions about where to seek assistance.

Andrew Leach, Counsellor and Clinical Lead at The Cabin Chiang Mai, a leading addiction treatment facility in Thailand comments: “Despite their addiction – many employees are still high-functioning and valuable contributors to their workplace and more and more organisations are realising this and find it more cost effective to rehabilitate than to dismiss and hire a replacement.  Many companies hire an EAP or Employee Assistance Program to deal with such issues as sourcing suitable addiction treatment options.” The aim of Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), is to help employees, not to discipline them.

In addition to these tips, you can also make organisational practices that support healthy responses to addiction:

• Have clear, written policies about alcohol and substance use in the workplace.
• Objectively document any behaviours in the workplace, including substance and alcohol abuse.
• Discuss any issues related to alcohol and substance use in connection to work performance with employees
• For employees whose workplace performance is affect by addiction, develop a written set of expectations in conjunction with the employee.
• In the case of continued infractions which affect workplace performance, consider seeking legal advice.
• Be mindful of work functions at which alcohol is present and seek to provide functions which are alcohol-free.

These recommendations are designed to help employees and managerial staff. The important thing is for employers to realise that addictions can be overcome, and valuable employees can be restored to their full health and potential. It is up to the employer to put in place measures that will most benefit the organisation.

Successfully tackling alcohol/drug misuse can benefit both your business and your employees and treatment is a better solution than new recruitment. The Cabin Chiang Mai is working to increase productivity and wellbeing within UK businesses, limiting the damage caused by substance misuse.

For further information, please contact Natalie Clarke at Love PR on natalie@loveprlondon.com or call 07796675950

ENDS

EDITOR’S NOTES

• The Cabin Chiang Mai is part of The Cabin Addiction Services Group.
• Launched in 2010, The Cabin Chiang Mai currently comprises of 120 rooms with four specialty treatment programs. The Cabin has outpatient clinics in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia plus a network of professional partners across the globe.

Jonathan Fagan

Jonathan Fagan is MD of Ten-Percent.co.uk Limited and TP Recruitment Limited, a set of websites involved in a range of recruitment work. Jonathan has been running small businesses for over 20 years and has a number of interests and investments in companies as diverse as transcription, legal recruitment and a bit of marketing. He is an author of a number of guides and books, together with a children’s novel. In his spare time he enjoys playing golf, cricket, coaching girls’ football, operating a parent taxi, lots of running and paddleboarding on Bala Lake and the River Dee. He is a strong believer in a good work-life balance and regular blogs on making money vs enjoying life. Jonathan’s website is https://www.jonathanfagan.co.uk

www.jonathanfagan.co.uk