Help staff kick the habit

Drug issues can be dealt with through coaching meetings, disciplinary action or referral to support agencies. Photo / Thinkstock

The thing about New Zealand is that it is a big cannabis country, one of the top five users of the drug in the world. It grows well here and has become socially acceptable.

"It's also the No1 drug that people seek help in getting free of. Fortunately most people don't go to work after smoking it," says Cam Stokes from Drugscene, a company that specialises in offering advice and training to businesses.

"It follows that our workplaces are a reflection of this common use, as the vast majority of drug users are employed."

The 2007-08 New Zealand Alcohol and Drug Use Survey, released last year, found that one in six adults used some type of illegal drug in the last 12 months and one in seven adults smoked cannabis in the last year.

"While almost every company will have drug users working for them, some companies have more serious problems than others," says Stokes.

The key is culture, he says. "Developing a positive workplace culture can play an important part in keeping drugs away from the workplace. An employee who uses drugs outside the workplace may put themselves, their co-workers or others at risk if their judgment, co-ordination or concentration is impaired."

The Health and Safety in Employment Act was amended in 2002 to include drugs and alcohol as workplace hazards. Under the act, employers must monitor their employees to see whether they come to work in an impaired condition.

Developing a drug- and alcohol-free culture has been a priority for the management at Vero Insurance NZ for several years.

Alison Shackell, Vero's executive general manager of people and development, says Vero has put in place alcohol- and drug-related guidelines so managers and HR personnel can address any issues. These can be followed up with appropriate action which may include coaching meetings with managers, disciplinary action or referral to support agencies.

Shackell says staff are informed of these guidelines annually and they are listed on the staff intranet as a reminder of expected workplace behaviour.

Stokes and business partner Mike Simmons provide high-quality workplace education and training about drug and alcohol awareness.

Stokes and Simmons are examples of what career theorists such as Douglas Hall call "boundary-free career actors" who use competencies gained in an organisational context to benefit multiple companies through training and teaching.

Both men have worked in the police force as detectives, in drug squads, the Organised Crime Unit and the Motorcycle Gang Unit, have each specialised in the drug field for more than 20 years and have given evidence in many major drug trials. "Our police background helped us gain a huge amount of knowledge about methamphetamine and other drugs," says Simmons.

"We dealt with many people involved in the drug scene from casual users to heroin addicts, meth cooks as well as some of New Zealand's biggest drug dealers. As detectives, we used a range of techniques to investigate serious drug offences and this has equipped us to be able to utilise a variety of methods to address workplace drug problems.

"Rather than a big-stick approach, we prefer a carrot approach with education and training at the forefront to encourage a positive drug-free workplace culture coupled with proactive measures to address serious workplace drug issues," Simmons says.

"There's no point getting up in front of a group of employees and preaching to them saying, 'You have to give up smoking dope or whatever.' Rather we say, 'Keep it away from the workplace and be upfront about talking about it'."

Stokes cautions that risk comes not just from the frequency with which an employee or manager uses drugs: "Some regular cannabis users can function quite well as they develop a tolerance to the drug, whereas someone else who only smokes once or twice a year can be absolutely useless at work the next day and can be potentially as big a risk to workplace health and safety.

"Employee education about the nature of alcohol and drug problems and treatment options will improve the chances of an affected person or a co-worker identifying that a problem exists. Also, there are really simple things that employers can do to monitor employees.

"There is the old saying 'eyes tell lies' when an employee who turns up at work after a big weekend on the booze has a real case of Monday-itis.

"Keeping on the lookout for frequent Monday absences is also a good idea."

At Vero there is no formalised workplace drug testing, rather "we believe that any unusual behaviour will be easily identified and addressed given the close working relationships between our people," says Shackell.

Shackell says that an employee assistance programme (EAP) is offered to all Vero staff so that employees can obtain confidential counselling if required.

Vero also offers an employee well-being allowance, which is aimed at supporting staff in achieving wellness and work-life balance, and Vero belongs to Working Well, a division of the Mental Health Foundation which provides services to help manage problems associated with alcohol and drug misuse.

"Supervisor training teaches supervisors how to recognise signs of drug and alcohol use and abuse, as well as what to do if they suspect that a worker is misusing drugs or alcohol and how to refer employees who require assistance," says Stokes.

However, it's not just ground-level employees who can wreak havoc in a business, Stokes warns: "Ground-floor testing isn't enough. There needs to be monitoring at the management level as well.

There have been numerous cases of a manager paying for a P habit by the exploitation of corporate money; someone who knows the system at all levels and is therefore exposing the business to much more risk."

Employees with drug or alcohol problems can damage a business in many ways, by causing serious injury to themselves or others, by theft, misuse of company property, lowering of staff morale and damaging of relationships both internally and externally, as well as lowering productivity.

Then there is the cost of increased sickness and absenteeism plus increased rates of staff turnover.

"A company's workplace drug and alcohol policy should clearly state the procedure to be followed in respect of drug testing and action to be taken following a failed drug test. An employee whose test is positive must be given a fair hearing and proper opportunity to provide a defence," Simmons says.

"Employees who fail a drug test are usually required to undertake counselling and rehabilitation treatment. A subsequent failed drug test usually involves disciplinary action.

"So it's not a strike-one-and-you're-out procedure that most companies use when dealing with workers with drug or alcohol problems. An employee shouldn't be afraid to seek help when they know they have a drug problem.

"Most companies will encourage a good call when an employee puts their hand up and says, 'Hey, I need help."'