Do Substance Abuse and Corporate Stress Go Hand In Hand?
TO DO LIST
The list is endless and the stresses insurmountable. To cope many people resort to substances.
Psychiatrist Dr Sanjay Chugh. shares scary facts that the use of alcohol and drugs is definitely on the rise, with the age of onset being as low as 12 or 13 years.
He says, “By the time, we step into the world of corporate life and its demands; we could be completely dependent on one form of substance or another without realizing the effects of it on our occupational life.”
Abuse of drugs and alcohol is becoming a growing concern in today’s time. The effects of which are not just limited to creating havoc in one’s ‘personal’ life.
Chugh highlights, “The web of addiction slowly and steadily tends to spread in different quarters of a person’s life, be it work, relationships or recreation”.
He emphasizes that “The problem of addiction has profound negative effects on the workplace. There are issues related to, but not limited, increased absenteeism, loss of productivity, efficiency, increased incidents of accidents, injuries and increased medical costs. The suffering parties are both, the employer and the employee”.
People using substances – alcohol, drugs, or even prescription medicines are not something new.
What has hugely grown is the conversation and acceptance of the reciprocal relationship between the workplace and substance usage.
Many aspects of the workplace require alertness and accurate and quick reflexes. An impairment of these qualities can cause incidents, and interfere with the accuracy and efficiency of work.
Hence it is important for the workplace to look at problematic substance use issues.
UK based Life-coaching Facilitator Anupam Srivastava, Founder, Insight Life Counselling Services shares that, “Companies are increasingly becoming aware that the workplace mirrors the community and that community problem will indeed be workplace problems. Waiting until serious problems set in for the substance user and then terminating them will prove costly to the company.”
He elaborated that, “Alcohol and substance abuse negatively impact the enterprise through accidents, absenteeism, lost productivity and health costs. It also affects the workers and their families by affecting physical wellbeing, destroying relationships, reducing job performance and causing health, family, legal and financial problems. Many of the problems caused by substance use at the workplace are due to intoxication and post-use impact (hangover effect), in addition to the other effects of addiction. Such accidents of human error are often compounded by behaviours such as drinking at work can cause devastating accidents and financial losses in billions to companies.”
Stressing that, “Substance abuse is a coping mechanism to deal with the uncontrollable stress experienced by employee and counselling, in its various formats, is a well-established mechanism to help employees recover out of this compulsive and unproductive state of being.”
Chugh points out the ease of access, “Accessibility of alcohol and some drugs, especially like marijuana and prescription medicines is so common that it is extremely easy to get dependent on them, hence, that much more difficult to break out of it. Those dependent on it are seen to struggle with it on a daily basis. While employees may manage to come to work, their work efficiency might be seriously compromised. They may have difficulty concentrating on work due to poor attention span, increased distractibility and/or sleepiness.”
“Mood swings are a big issue in these cases,” he tells.
Where abusers could either become aggressive in the office with colleagues and run into disciplinary complaints or alienate themselves.
“This poor tolerance to stress, resulting in irritability or anger outbursts on peers, clients or seniors could impact the office environment for everyone. Sometimes, it can affect the morale of the other employees, which can prove expensive to the organization at large. Managers may have difficulty comprehending the issue at hand and feel at a loss in their attempts to help. This can be frustrating and upsetting for them,” he underlines.
What a huge price to pay.
“A bigger worry is always how one user could instigate another into the drug habit. Alcohol, being socially more acceptable, is even more dangerous,” he warns.
Sharing that, “Studies have shown how the work culture plays a major role in encouraging and accepting or discouraging and inhibiting such habits. Male dominated work industries such as those related to repairs, maintenance, food and beverage, often create a heavy drinking culture as collective drinking promotes the idea of solidarity and team spirit.”
The nature of work makes a huge difference as well he explains,
“Work that is not challenging or stimulating enough may leave a person feeling bored and uninspired. This could push the person into doing drugs as a way to seek excitement or thrill or simply kill time. At other times, it is the stress of a high-pressure job that makes someone gravitate towards drugs, as a way to de-stress”.
On dealing with the issue Chugh says, “Given the scale of problems associated with substance abuse, providing treatment becomes absolutely necessary. While termination is always an easy option, it is not always considered wise to do so as it may mean losing high rank or high performing employees who are unable to get out of the menace on their own. Providing help options instead create an image of care and empathy towards the employees. This builds good will and an attitude of giving back to the company in the mind of its employees”.
Another perspective he shares is the importance of spreading awareness through wellness programs as a great place, to begin with.
“Regular sessions that focus on educating workers about psychosocial aspects of substance abuse and informing them about sources of help can often become the ray of hope that someone could be looking for. Workshops and training sessions for managers who can be taught on how to handle such problems in a sensitive and empathetic manner, the do’s and don’ts of it, common signs and symptoms to look out for, also proves effective as they can be the first point of contact to suggest help”, he says.
On employee assistance, he shares that, “Many companies offer help in the form of having an in house counsellor or an offsite counsellor who can help them with psychological problems that might be affecting their occupational and interpersonal life. This provides them with a safe environment where confidentiality is assured and they can discuss issues ranging from marital concerns to health or mental illness.”
He stresses though that, “While the company can install these benefits for their employees, we must remember that help/treatment cannot be forced. However, for the employees to know that their organization is taking that extra step forward, shows that they are well - being matters to them and this perception of care and understanding can go a long way to build trust and a strong professional relationship.”
