Creating employee support program for addicts

Creating employee support program for addicts is very important as it salvage dying careers

Creating employee support program for addicts: What can be done at the workplace?

With the prevalence of workplace alcoholism and drug addiction, there is need to find solutions for the restoration of human resource. While the state will be formulating policies, individual organizations also need to be proactive in putting mechanisms in place that will defend them from preventable loses as a result of alcoholism and drug addiction. One of the most effective ways of doing this is by creating employee support programs. According to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) before 1950’s it was established that workplace was ideally suited to address alcoholism through a focus on employee job performance and access to treatment. And to this effectively, NCADD founded the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) concept as a joint labor-management program. In fact at that time NCADD for the first time documented the very first EAP Manual and the first EAP Standards formally known as Occupational Alcoholism Programs and later evolved into what are now called, EAP’s.

And now according to the experts from AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under the able leadership of doctor Dalal Akoury MD, addressing the problem of drug and alcoholism can be dealt with effectively at the work stations. This can be done by promoting programs like EAP. Through this, employees and their family members are able to give the much needed support to their loved ones and to the organization as well. In her opinion (doctor Akoury), whenever individuals and families are faced with a host of difficulties which are closely associated with drinking problems, in many instances these problems often spill into the workplace. Take for instance a husband and wife working in different organizations and if the husband drinks, the wife is likely to be stressed at work owing to her husband’s drinking habits thereby causing her to miss on her targets.

Therefore by offering encouragement, support and treatment, employers can dramatically assist in reducing the negative impact of alcoholism in the workplace, while reducing their costs. Research has demonstrated that alcohol treatment pays for itself in reduced healthcare costs that begin as soon as people begin treatment. Alcohol treatment also improves an individual’s functioning, leading to increased productivity at work. It is important to embrace some of these workplace-based programs like EAP programs which have actually helped millions of individuals and family members affected by alcohol problems. Some facts about alcohol in the workplace may include:

• Workers with alcohol problems are 2.7 times more likely than workers without drinking problems to have injury-related absences.
• A hospital emergency department study showed that 35 percent of patients with an occupational injury were at-risk drinkers.
• Breathalyzer tests detected alcohol in 16% of emergency room patients injured at work.
• Analysis of workplace fatalities has showed that at least 11% of the victims had been drinking.
• Large federal surveys show that 24% of workers report drinking during the workday least once in the past year.
• One-fifth of workers and managers across a wide range of industries and company sizes report that a coworker’s on- or off-the-job drinking jeopardized their own productivity and safety.

As employers, this is to your benefits and calling on doctor Akoury to address your staff on addiction will be very essential for your organization and to your staff and their loved ones.

Creating employee support program for addicts: What can be done at the workplace?

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