Masonry Magazine February 1999 Page. 17
Substance Abuse in the Workplace part II
by Carol Brzozowski-Gardner
Once your company has established a written substance abuse policy, the next step is to train supervisors to implement it and educate your employees about it. The U.S. Department of Labor outlines several steps in meeting those goals.
A company's supervisors are the key players in implementing the substance abuse policy. Company managers must ensure that supervisors understand the policy, are able to articulate it to the employees, and can take necessary action.
One of the responsibilities of a supervisor is to take corrective actions when a worker's performance begins to decline. If the failing performance appears to be rooted in personal problems, including potential substance abuse, the use of constructive confrontation is one of the most effective ways known to get an employee to seek help.
This method employs a caring but firm attitude on the part of the supervisor coupled with a referral to an appropriate source from which the employee can receive help for any personal problem. However, the supervisor's responsibilities do not include diagnosing and resolving the personal problem.
A company should offer supervisors training that will enable them to:
* Develop and communicate objective job performance standards so that deteriorating performance can be documented.
* Observe and document incidents and examples of unsatisfactory work performance or behavior.
* Talk with employees about work problems, understand whether inadequate equipment or training are contributing to the problems, and explain what needs to be done to correct the problems.
* Set appropriate time limits for improvement and emphasize that lack of improvement in job performance or behavior could lead to corrective action that may result in termination.
* Inform the employee of the availability of assistance for personal problems and encourage the use of these resources, making clear to the worker that if the problem is personal, it is the employee's responsibility to take care of it.
* Initiate procedures to have employees tested if your company has a drug testing program.
* Help workers reenter the workplace after treatment for an alcohol or other drug problem.
Other topics that may be included in a supervisor training program include:
* Prevention and education strategies.
* Background on drug testing issues and how the drug testing program is separate from and does not adversely affect the confidentiality of an employee assistance program.
* Information on specific drugs.
* Physiological and psychological aspects of drug and alcohol addiction.
* Methods of detecting drug and alcohol use.
* Laws regarding drug possession, use, and trafficking.
The supervisor training may include seminars, films, videotapes, lectures or printed materials. The sessions may be conducted by top management, an outside consultant, another qualified person such as a healthcare or law enforcement professional or any combination of these. Training is best offered to all supervisors. As with a substance abuse policy, a supervisor training program must be designed to meet the specific needs of each individual workplace.
(Note: This is the second of a three-part series helping companies deal with substance abuse problems in the workplace. Last month's article addressed the statistics of abuse and how companies can set up a substance abuse policy. This article addresses education of employees and training of supervisors.)
Can your company afford a substance abuse problem?