...Substance abuse in the workplace can seriously impair proper judgment and on-the-job performance. The use of alcohol, prescription drugs, and even over-the-counter medications can affect decision making abilities and motor skills. It is very common in the workplace and considerably increases. Alcohol and drugs in the workplace affect everyone, not just the substance abuser. Substance abuse increases the probability of the risk of serious work-related accidents. It raises insurance costs. It reduces productivity and lowers the profit. Using drugs impairs decision-making abilities as well as physically impairs people. This is a deadly concoction when on the job. Substance abusers also cost employers money and hurt them financially. Inconsistent work quality, poor concentration and lack of focus, lowered productivity or erratic work patterns, increased absenteeism on the job, unexplained disappearances from the job, carelessness, mistakes, or errors in judgment, needless risk taking, the disregard for safety for self and others on and off the job, files for workers’ compensation claims and benefits, and extended lunch periods and early departures are indications that there is a possible workplace drug or alcohol problem. Prevention of such problems occurs by implementing an effective workplace drug program that deals with drug testing before hiring, drug testing during employment and consequences for violating the rules. Drug testing and educational programs have been proven to...
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...Substance Abuse Theresa Hicks HCA/ 250 February 3,2012 Susan Hudson Substance Abuse There has been a number of studies done to understand why individuals turn to substance abuse but there has not any success in the studies. There are some studies that say that it is a personality issue that leads to substance abuse which has not been proven. Personality research continues to be a factor in the study of alcoholics and drug abusers. The results suggest that such use is more common among adolescents who show pre-drug use signs of one or more of the following: rebelliousness, other adjustment problems, depression, sensation seeking (Kandel& Yamaguchi, 1985;Stein et al., 1987; Shelder & Block, 1990). None of these factors have been proven to account for the abuse of drugs and alcohol. Studies have had the evidence to show that pre-drinking personality traits are in those that have had a drinking problem since an early age. Evidence also suggest that such people have a genetically determined brain disorder involving the prefrontal lobes (Tarter et al., 1988). These disturbances lead to deficit disorders, pre-alcoholic essential tremor, emotional instability, and aggressiveness not excluding others. When dealing with substance abuse in the workplace individuals do not leave these problems at home. Of the 17.2 million illicit drug users aged 18 or older in 2005, 12.9 million (74.8 percent) were employed either full or part time (OSHA). There has been many who have had...
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...With the need to perform at an all time high in the workplace, more employers are beginning to look at the possibility of stimulant abuse within their own company. Illicit drug abuse such as cocaine, adderrall, etc, seems to lend itself to a trend of increased worker’s comp claims involving incident and injury. One study shows that nearly 75% of all drug users are employed, as are most binge drinkers. “Alcoholism causes 500 million lost workdays each year (National Association of Treatment Providers, 1991).” Another study shows that seventy-three percent of all current drug users aged 18 and older (8.3 million adults) were employed in 1997. This includes 6.7 million full-time workers and 1.6 million part-time workers (United States Department of Health and Human Services, 1998). More surprising than this data set is the data collected during a national survey conducted by the Hazelden Foundation, more than sixty percent of adults know people who have gone to work under the influence of drugs or alcohol (Hazelden Foundation, 1996). There are two major categories of drugs: those that speed up bodily and mental functions, and those that slow them down. Stimulants such as caffeine, amphetamines, crack, ephedrine, etc; all speed up heart rate, metabolic rate and cognitive abilities. Depressants such as alcohol, and many times anti-anxiety medicines slow down motor skills, and prevent an over active central nervous system. Both used within the context of the original prescription...
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...The Corporate War on Drug Abuse Presented to Wendy Keller Concordia University John Molson School of Business Comm 212 Section E Prepared by Bilal Sirhan Human Resource Specialist 6355099 November 24th, 2014 MEMORANDUM To: Human resources manager From: Bilal Sirhan, Human resource specialist Subject: Analysis of different policies for alcohol and drug abuse in the workplace Date: November 24th 2014 Here is the report, which was to be completed by November 24th 2014, concerning leading companies’ exemplary policies on substance abuse within the workplace. The study involved analyzing the different substances used by workers and evaluating different approaches that companies across North America take to help these individuals. Although the results presented show that a small percentage of people are actually considered as substance abusers in the workforce, there is evidence that the corporations succumbing to employees abusing drugs and alcohol suffer heavy losses. This even directly affects the economy as a whole in significant numbers. Therefore, we must establish a strong policy and different programs to help these workers overcome this issue. It is my hope that this report will allow our company to have the necessary information to establish the right strategies and support groups to anyone suffering from substance abuse. Please let me know if there are any further questions...
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...Substance Abuse Just like many disease or mental illness, substance abuse does not discriminate. Substance abuse can result from sociocultural, due to stress of environmental factors, social economics and unemployment’s. The use of substance abuse whether it is alcohol, prescription drugs, or other method it is a stress reliever for the abuser, helping them escape. The addiction to substance abuse makes it hard to function and work in the real world because the abuser becomes dependent and develop higher tolerance. Those suffering from substance abuse may have genetic been given through it through an addict mother, or suffering through a life crises of depression, stress and anxiety. Psychological Factors There is several reason one would try drugs that may turn into substance abuse, it could be the mere fact of stress and unemployment, abusing alcohol or substance abuse allows the person to be able to relieve the stress and feel at peace. Substance abuse can result from social economics and surrounds, whether it is something we see on television or dealing with peer pressures of friends, family and coworkers. The void drugs fill in your life will take part of you life making it hard to accomplish any tasks. Effects The effect of substance abuse can result in changes in the brain interfering with the ability to think clearly, exercise good judgment, controlling our behavior, and this results in poor work performance. You frequently call out of work, running late, struggles...
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...High Times in the Workplace High Times in the Workplace Substance abuse in the workplace is an issue with far-reaching effects across America that can drive up employer costs, and increase occupational hazards in many industries. While results of recent studies appear to be showing a decline in the overall drug use of American workers, the use of harder drugs such as heroin and prescription painkillers in the workplace is growing rapidly (Fisher, 2011). As employees everywhere are faced with this dilemma, many are looking at ways to address, prevent, and reduce its impact on operations and employee productivity. Positivity Results of Workplace Drug Tests It has been shown that over the last 25 years, drug use among American workers has steadily declined. The Quest Diagnostics Drug Testing Index analysis examined over 125 million urine drug tests as a service for government and private employers from 1988 to 2012. This examined the positivity rates for employers across the United States workforce in both the public and private sector. Since 1988, the positivity rate for the combined U.S. Workforce declined 74% from 13.6% in 1988 to 3.5% in 2012. This result is encouraging for employers; however, the study also revealed some findings that are cause for concern. The positivity rates for amphetamines and methamphetamines have more than tripled over the last decade. As of 2012, this was at its highest level since 1997. Also concerning is that the positivity...
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...Identifying the risks C).Factors In Employee Drinking D) Solutions and Statistics ll. Alcohol in the workplace has become a problem for many businesses. A).Problem areas that workers have under the influence B) Cause and effects being under the influence. C). EAP Employee Assistance Program. lll. Why do we work under the influence? A). Disciplinary procedures, accidents, death, poor decision making B) Sleeping on the job, loss of production, hang over effect, stress C). How EAP can help the employee and the worker under the influence. llll. Random testing A) Protecting the employers assets B) Approaching the worker under the influence C) Information and educational training lV.Conclusion Businesses today need to realize that there is a growing problem with alcohol and substance abuse in the work place. In the business world today there is a very common problem that occurs with workers in the work place. Alcohol and substance abuse. You wouldn’t think that this is a serious problem, but do you know if the person that’s working next to you is under the influence? Drinking among workers can threaten public safety, impair your job performance and also cause injury to yourself or others. Absenteeism, lost production, lateness are other impaired factors when it comes to drinking or being under the influence at work. Alcohol and other substances can damage you physically and mental. Risk management is a process of recognizing situations which...
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...Political Viewpoint on Substance Abuse in Today’s Society Substance abuse in the United States dates back to the excess use of morphine during the American Civil War. Morphine was used as a “wonder drug”, taking away the pain of soldier’s injuries as well as avoiding health hazards such as diarrhea. These soldiers ended up going home addicted, taking morphine even though they no longer needed it, and had to fuel their addictions just to keep their sanity. Present day United States is not free from substance abuse either, and it has started to escalate at an even bigger scale. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, over 570,000 die annually due to drug abuse (NIH, 2014). Due to an excess amount of people dying due to drug abuse,...
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...Impact of Drug-Testing Programs in the Workplace Paul DiLorenzo Marquette University Americans are concerned about drugs, and employers are no exception. They have been told that drug use in the workforce is common and that workers who use drugs will harm their businesses through increased accidents and absenteeism, or through more subtle, but serious effects of decreased efficiency and productivity. It is certainly true that the abuse of drugs, both licit and illicit, is a problem in America today. A company of any size is, over time, likely to encounter employees or applicants with drug problems. How to respond to this problem however, is anything but clear. Most employers are not experts on drug use or abuse and in the absence of personal knowledge, may turn to others for information they need to make decisions. However, much of the information thus far that has been made available to employers is not helpful and one-sided, with the majority of the information coming from the drug testing industry. This misinformation has lead to the majority of major companies now requiring drug analysis as a condition for hire. Most employers now utilize a urinalysis, hair sample or oral swab as detection for substance abuse. The Drug Free Workplace Act was passed in 1988 with the intentions on providing a safe and healthy workplace for all employees. The Federal Registers (1988, 2000) report release...
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...Drug-Free Workplace Amazon.com The Drug-Free Workplace Policy enacted in 1988 to keep drug users out of the workplace and already hired employees off of drugs. At Amazon.com there is a well defined policy against illegal drugs, prescription drugs and alcoholic beverages. The writer believes that the Amazon.com policy has implemented a comprehensive drug awareness and education program. The supervisors at Amazon.com are given the proper information to reasonably suspect someone of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Once confirmation is made that a person is under the influence Amazon.com does offer a form of employee assistance program, to help the person, if addicted, to remove the use of drugs or alcohol from his or her professional life. This policy is well presented in its entirety let us take a closer look at keep factors. “By publishing a statement to all employees that possession, use, sales or unlawful manufacturing of controlled substances in the work place is prohibited and the actions that will be taken against violators of such statement”(National Drug-Free Workplace Alliance, n.d.). For legal purposes it is smart to abide by this statement from the Drug-Free Workforce Act of 1988, and Amazon.com has done this. Amazon.com (2005) Drug and Alcohol Abuse Policy states, “Open alcoholic beverages, illegal drugs and prescription drugs are not used while at work, in a work status or on company premises. Exceptions for prescription drugs are onsite medical provider...
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...In today’s modern society, businesses need to do everything that they can to ensure that they have a stable and productive workforce. One of the most common methods for producing a stable, productive workforce in recent years has been drug testing/screening. Many believe that drug testing is a valid and useful tool available to businesses to promote a workplace culture the business prefers. Others feel that drug testing is a violation of privacy and has no place at a business. Almost everyone knows of someone that has abused drugs before, during, or after work. Not many know of how drug abuse actually affects performance and safety on the job. Determining if there is a correlation between drugs and poor performance and safety will help to validate drug testing’s presence. Ever since the technology was available, drug testing at the workplace has existed in some form or another. When Reagan became President in 1986, he began to push drug testing in the workplace, schools, and those applying for free benefits as part of the escalating war on drugs. (Butler, 2007) Since then, drug testing has proliferated to the rest of society and become almost a norm. For some businesses, it has become a major hiring tool, while for others it does not exist. For those that do use drug testing, it comes on many forms. Tests range from urine based to hair based to “Drug Recognition Experts,” (Butler, 2007) and each test has its own strengths and weaknesses. The easiest and cheapest tests to...
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...Research shows that substance abuse affects 11 percent of the workforce. Companies lose billions ach year in lost productivity and accidents by employees. Research also shows that substance abuse greatly contributes to the increase of workplace violence (Ivancevich, 2010). In order to prevent loss of productivity and provide a safe environment for employees, it would be in Castulon Corporation’s best interest to establish a drug and alcohol testing program. Due to the nature of work and the type of product produced at Castulon Corporation, any mistake made by drug impaired employees in the design or production of a system could be catastrophic for users. For this reason, Castulon Corporation should us a random drug testing program for its employees. There is no absolute "model" substance abuse program that is right for all companies. The program should be tailored to the needs and circumstances of the individual company. There are, however, five standard components of a comprehensive workplace substance abuse program. The five components include a written policy statement, supervisor training, employee education and awareness, employee assistance for providing help, and the actual drug testing. In Castulon’s program, employees are subjected to a standard five panel test for “street drugs”, which include marijuana, cocaine, PCP, opiates and amphetamines from a urine sample. A breath test for alcohol can also be administered. Employees who do not comply with a drug test...
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...develop as a popular strategy to control substance abuse in the workplace; the incidence of testing is partially based on the type of worksite, characteristics of employees, and policies of the company. The concept of a Drug Free Workplace began in 1914. It was at this time that the Ford Motor Company established sobriety programs in the company's plants. The next step from here was when Ronald Reagan signed the Executive Order 12564. This banned the use of drugs both on and off duty for federal government employees. This order resulted in the Drug-free Workplace Act of 1988. It was in 1986 that the government recognized that drug use was having a serious adverse effect on the workforce and the billions of dollar that was lost in productivity each year. It was estimated that even at this time that there were billions of dollars being lost each year on due to a loss of productivity. Additionally substance abuse statistics confirm that there are greater percentages of absenteeism and negative work behaviors. The statistics indicate that substances abusers will also have a greater likelihood of injury on the job or a compensation claim, while 50% to 80% of loss due to theft is directly correlated to substance abusing employees. It was at this time that the federal government, as an employer, decided to make a step towards becoming a drug-free workplace. This executive order led to the Drug-Free Workplace Act, which defined a "drug-free workplace" as a site where work is done and an...
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...Questions Click Link Below To Buy: http://hwaid.com/shop/chemical-dependency-in-the-workplace/ Week Four Discussion Questions Week 1 DQ 1 How does drug abuse affect the work place? Substance abuse affects the workplace in a variety of ways. Whether it be illegal narcotics, prescription drugs, or alcohol the affects are all similar. These types of substances can impair an individual’s judgment and can cause serious safety issues among other things. These are some of the problems inherent from substance abuse in the workplace: 1. More absenteeism and tardiness can be expected along with job-related accidents. 2. Businesses lose money each year because of substance abuse. 3. Employees who use drugs in the workplace are less productive than non-users. 4. Thefts rise along with damaged equipment and other unnecessary costs. 5. Non-users may have to work harder to make up for the problem employees (Dfaf, 2008). Larger corporations have a better handle on drug issues as they have established drug policies in effect and many of these corporations implement random drug tests. Smaller businesses are affected the most as they do not have established drug policies, usually do not require drug testing, and do not have the financial reserves to cover company related accidents. I have personally seen a few individuals lose their jobs because of drug abuse. One recently was an employee in his mid 20’s. Someone called and said his truck was driving...
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...Cocaine is extracted from the coca plant, which grows in Central and South America. The substance is processed into many forms for use as an illegal drug of abuse. Cocaine is dangerously addictive, and users of the drug experience a "high"—a feeling of euphoria or intense happiness, along with hypervigilance, increased sensitivity, irritablity or anger, impaired judgment, and anxiety. COCAINE ABUSE. For the cocaine abuser, the use of the substance leads to maladaptive behavior over a 12-month period. The person may fail to meet responsibilities at school, work, or home. The cocaine abuse impairs the affected person's judgment, and he or she puts him- or herself in physical danger to use the substance. For example, the individual may use cocaine in an unsafe environment. The person who abuses cocaine may be arrested or charged with possession of the substance, yet will continue to use cocaine despite all of the personal and legal problems that may result. COCAINE INTOXICATION. Cocaine intoxication occurs after recent cocaine use. The person experiences a feeling of intense happiness, hypervigilance, increased sensitivity, irritability or anger, with impaired judgment, and anxiety. The intoxication impairs the person's ability to function at work, school, or in social situations. Two or more of the following symptoms are present immediately after the use of the cocaine: What are the underlying causes of Cocaine addiction? When we take drugs, either for medical purposes or...
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