How to tackle drink & drug problems at work

Businesses across Europe are being offered a new set of guidelines to help deal with employees whose drink or drug intake is affecting their work.

Representatives from seven countries have united on a British-led project to produce a comprehensive information and training resource.

With most Euro nations continuing to report a rise in workplace problems resulting from employees’ leisure time drink and drug use, the new guidance aims to treat workers with fairness while letting managers know what they can do about it, including awareness of their country’s laws. The Leonardo Foundation, part of the EC’s Lifelong Learning Programme, funded a project called Mepmis – Maximising Employee Potential by Minimising the Impact of Substances – to provide managers with the knowledge, skills and confidence to take appropriate action.

The result is a dedicated website, an electronic learning package and a new face-to-face training course geared to addressing a culture which is globally costing organisations and economies many millions in absenteeism, under-performance and workplace accidents.

The Mepmis project brought together seven partners - a university, a research agency, three consultancies and a web design IT company - based in the UK, Ireland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland. They include specialists in organisational and employee performance.

Over the last two years, they have looked at legislation, literature, company policies and practices and what support is currently available to organisations in different countries and have distilled best practice into an e-learning and on-site training resource for managers. It is principally aimed at SMEs, although they say many larger enterprises are also looking for such guidance. The package has been trialled among companies in Britain and in each project member state.

In the UK, according to Alcohol Concern, between 11 and 17 million working days are lost because of excessive drinking, costing the British economy £1.8bn every year and 10% of a typical workforce is said to have an alcohol or drug problem.

John Griffiths of specialist consultants work2health Ltd, the project leaders, said “We spoke to managers and occupational health and safety professionals in each country and asked them what they perceived as their main challenges in this area and what they felt they needed in terms of information and support. It is one of the key personnel issues they feel least equipped to deal with.

“They are aware that this problem - and associated issues such as testing – can be a legal and social minefield and they want to know what actions are open to them, what’s expected of them and what the sensitivities are.” He added “This is a complex issue; the problem cannot be ignored but employers who think they can simply dismiss workers or force them to undergo tests without developing and implementing proper policies, procedures and training are likely to face a host of problems.

“One of the main aims is to build skills; many companies do not possess the tools to enable their managers to deal with substance use at a corporate level. That’s the value of this new resource.”

Full details can be found at www.alcoholdrugsandwork.eu

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