Many people associate the cause of psychological issues to the work-related stress in their workplace. However, as a matter of fact, the modern workplace can hold solutions to provide relief from several psychological and stress related issues rather than aggravating them. For example, the misuse of alcohol and drugs are known to be triggers for depression or other mental issues. But with a drug and alcohol awareness programme in your organisation, it can lead to a better quality of life allowing individuals to work to their full potential by reducing their dependency on drugs and alcohol.
In some sectors, it has become compulsory for employers to conduct a drug and alcohol awareness programme in their organisation. Although it may be becoming the norm for larger companies to hire therapists and counsellors for this purpose, experts believe that a continuous and effective program for drug and health awareness can result in high productivity level of employees.
Suggestions for a Drug and Alcohol Awareness Programme
The following is a short list of effective strategies that an organisation can incorporate when developing an effective drug and alcohol awareness program.
Engage with the workforce
Involve employees and representatives in the early phases of planning regarding health programmes. Allowing employees input while forming policies will make them feel more empowered and ensure they are more likely to follow the rules. If someone is involved in this process, the theory is that they are more likely to work with you if for example, someone else in the workplace is violating the rules.
Encourage interaction with HR
Make sure that all the employees of the organisation are aware of the policies and that they are able to discuss the issues pertaining to drug and alcohol freely with the HR staff without repercussion.
Promote the Programme
Employ various channels to raise awareness of issues related to alcohol and drug abuse with your employees. This can include training sessions, staff discussions, posters in staff areas and regular items such as notices on newsletters.
Train Management to Identify Addictive Behaviour before it becomes a greater problem
Provide training to managers so that they can identify the behavioural signs among employees that may be addicted to any substance abuse. These signs can include arriving late at work, frequent absences, mood swings in the workplace, irrational behaviour, disagreements with peers, or a decrease in their work productivity.
Training the management staff for this purpose will help to provide the solutions even before the problem goes out of hand.
Implementing an effective drug and alcohol awareness programme in your company will not only enhance the performance and productivity of your employees but will also help them to stay safe. The long-term benefits include a reduction in the number of absences and a greater level of trust between peers. If an employee feels valued, they are much more likely to come forward if they have a problem. Raising awareness and allowing them access to support without the additional threat of disciplinary action for their actions outside of work can make all the difference in helping someone beat addiction.
At Online Care Courses we offer courses that are specifically tailored to the care sector that cover topics such as drug and alcohol awareness.
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