Concerns About Drug Abuse in the Workplace
Whether you know someone well and share a friendship or a person is just a work colleague, seeing someone abusing drugs and knowing that it can become something far worse is heartbreaking. You may want to offer them help but drug abuse can be a sensitive topic to approach the wrong way.
Depending on the type of work that they do, it can not only place their lives at risk but also the lives of their co-workers and even the public and customers. The problems that are created are not only costly to employers but to employees, too. There may be company property or cash theft, morale problems, job performance issues, poor decision making, increased tension between co-workers and supervisors, and illegal activities that may result in job termination and legal action.
Click here for job protection & behavioral health, call Union First today at (855) 215-2023.
Signs a Co-Worker May Have a Drug Abuse Problem
Identifying a drug problem in a colleague can help you to be in a position where you can caringly share your concern so that they may get the mental health care that they need to overcome it. However, it’s important to realize that these signs are just potential signs and that a professional diagnosis of substance use disorder is required.
Some of the common signs a co-worker may have a drug abuse problem include:
- Changes in behavior such as isolation, mood swings, and changes in work habits
- Regular extended trips to the restroom or any unusual absences that are frequent
- General poor hygiene and appearance
- Poor work performance with frequent mistakes
- Financial issues
- Coming to work with a “hangover” including headaches, mood swings, and fatigue among other withdrawal symptoms
- Paranoia
- Finding drug paraphernalia
Noticing these signs of addiction can be an indicator of drug addiction and reveal the need for help from accredited drug rehab.
How To Help Someone with Drug Addiction
It’s important to remember that the goal is to be helpful and if that means talking to your co-worker in private or seeking professional help through an interventionalist, the goal should always be to help them overcome and heal from their addiction. As a co-worker, there are boundaries that you should respect, and while you may know a great deal about a person, you don’t always know what trauma or hardships they’ve had to face in their life and should always be respectful of that.
Keep track of the behaviors that may indicate drug addiction and abuse which may help in the intervention process. If there are dangerous situations being caused by the drug user, then you may want to speak to your employer so that the right steps can be taken and the person can get the help they need from behavioral health facilities.
One of the best pieces of advice that you can give your drug-abusing co-worker is that there are employee assistance programs (EAPs) that can help them with every step of their recovery including job protection and rehab placement services such as Union First. Being a drug addict isn’t a direct cause for termination and with professional help, they can get back on track with their life.
How Union First Can Help with Drug Abuse in the Workplace
Union First is an employee assistance program that has everything that a person needs to get help for alcohol or drug addiction in the workplace. Among the key services that Union First offers include job protection while receiving drug addiction treatment, rehab placement services, case management, advocacy, access to telehealth, and various training modules to help not only employees but employers, too.
Get in touch with Union First today to help your colleague in the right way to find the help they need for substance use disorder while protecting their job, giving them a life to come back to after behavioral therapy and addiction treatment.
Click here for job protection & behavioral health, call Union First today at (855) 215-2023.