Archive for October, 2011

How Drugs and Alcohol Can impact work

Saturday, October 15th, 2011

As well as an adverse affect on society, alcohol and drugs also modify the workplace. There are employees who turn up to operate impacted by either alcohol or drugs, or even both. As an employer there are ways to cope with these problems, and getting the recommendation from Safety Management Consulting is a good start.

Absences

An employee who is having issues with either alcohol or drugs will often be absent from work. This can be a problem for both them and the company. Through missing many days of work they will use up any sick leave benefits, then when they have to take leave for genuinely being unwell they will not be paid, and eventually an employer will be instructed to let them go. For the company a worker being absent too often includes a negative impact simply because they need to pay sick leave or any other benefits for days where jobs are not done, and the degree of productivity decreases, therefore effecting profits.

Accidents

Those that are afflicted by substance abuse come with an increased risk of workplace accidents. They are not only a risk to themselves but additionally to other staff. Someone who is affected by drugs or alcohol isn’t in a fit condition to make use of machinery of any kind, and many workplaces involve the use of hazardous equipment which should only be used whenever a body’s fully aware.

Reduced productivity

Somebody that is affected by alcohol or drugs won’t have the ability to work on their full capacity and if this continues you will see a decrease in overall productivity leading to a reduction in company profits. An inefficient employee may have a flow on effect through the whole company. If any personnel are waiting about the completing a part of a task which an individual can not perform, it may reduce the whole job, which might in fact not get completed promptly or at all.

Erratic behaviour

A person who is affected by alcohol or drugs might be experiencing erratic or even violent behaviour towards other personnel or managers. In this instance it may become dangerous to have them at work and management is offered no option apart from to transmit them home as well as fire them. An affected person is going to be unpredictable, unreliable, will often be late or absent and in this state won’t be of any benefit to the organization.

Staff feeling unsafe

Other personnel may feel unsafe or uncomfortable around an intoxicated person, which is certainly not fair on staff to need to operate in these kinds of conditions where they think threatened or uneasy. Staff may feel that they have to get the slack with this person which can lead to job dissatisfaction and dysfunction inside the workplace. Management has a responsibility for their staff and cannot have employees feeling unsafe. Identifying and dealing with staff with drug abuse is something that cannot be ignored.

Methamphetamine Use – Should Employers Test for Meth?

Saturday, October 15th, 2011

Many employers who are considering drug testing for their businesses often think of marijuana use, particularly in states with legalized medical marijuana. Oftentimes, marijuana is more plentiful during these areas than elsewhere. The overflow from medicinal marijuana distribution centers is bound to hit the streets, and care takers who enhance the plants themselves may just raise a few extra plants for friends and acquaintances.

Methamphetamine use is extremely common over the U.S., and contains side effects that are far worse than those of marijuana. Meth users can become paranoid, aggressive, and violent like a side effect of the drug. No employer really wants to deal with an employee with attitude problems a treadmill who is prepared to argue or fight during the job. Yet, meth is instantly available everywhere. Lab busts have happened all over the country – in Adams County and in Denver, Colorado, in Arkansas, as well as Chicago where meth continues to be greatly overpowered by marijuana, heroin, and other drugs. Recently, the largest bust ever took place Sacramento, California where $200 million dollars of crystal meth was discovered. Meth labs have been located all over the U.S.

A standard 5-panel urine drug test will easily detect methamphetamine within an employee’s urine. By doing random testing four times a year, employers are able to discover whether any employees are using methamphetamine. Meth will show on a urine test for 3-7 days after its use, and is extremely addictive. Most likely if the employee is really a regular meth user, she or he will have smoked, snorted, or ingested it recently allowing for it to exhibit up on a test. A street reputation for methamphetamine is “working man’s cocaine,” so there are lots of workers in the country who apparently abuse this drug.

The use of methamphetamine doesn’t just affect the employee who works in a business. Additionally, it affects other employees who must cover for that individual who is at the top of drugs if he or she includes a bad attitude and decelerates production. Meth users can cheat their employers in other ways. They may steal in the company and take items that could be sold to buy more meth. Although methamphetamine provides energy towards the person taking it, their rational thinking is affected. If an individual inside a supervisory or management position is using the drug, they could make poor decisions that may cost the business thousands of dollars.

Meth affects everyone locally and over the U.S. When meth labs are busted and turn off by police, it takes special procedures to clean in the area. The home or building should be roped off and signs posted warning others to remain from the area. Touching any of the equipment or remnants from the drugs could be extremely harmful.

Another matter of concern to communities is the disposal from the meth byproducts or waste that is produced when “cooking” meth. Based on a study by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, illegal producers often dump this waste about the curb where any child or animal may come by and touch it or eat it.

The negative effects of methamphetamine use in the country are widespread and deeply rooted, affecting lots of people. If more employers require random drug tests at work, you will see less meth users.