Pubdate: Sun, 26 Jan 2003
Source: Times-Standard (CA)
Copyright: 2003 MediaNews Group, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.times-standard.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1051
Author: Jennifer Morey, The Times-Standard

WORKING UNDER THE INFLUENCE: DRUGS AND ALCOHOL IN THE WORKPLACE

How many of your co-workers went out and got stoned or had a beer on
their breaks last week, or came in hung over one morning after a night
on the town?

Other than smelling liquor on their breath or marijuana smoke on their
clothing, would you know how to recognize the signs of a substance
abuse problem in a co-worker? Even if you did, what, if anything,
would or could you do about it?

The answers are complicated, touchy and fraught with doubts for many
employees and their supervisors. On the one hand, you don't want to
invade someone's privacy and you think it's probably not your business
what they do in their non-work time.

"Co-workers get put in a tough place, afraid to report a problem but
angry at how it affects them," said Michael Goldsby, formerly the
director of St. Joseph Hospital's Family Recovery Services program
(now closed) and currently a service provider in the hospital's Human
Resources department. "Some workers silently suffer through a
co-worker's addiction, doing more than their share of work."

On the other hand, regardless of whether they're jeopardizing safety
or their continued employment, workers with a substance abuse problem
are no different from a family member with a substance abuse problem.
It affects everyone around them, and needs to be addressed in some
way.

Indeed, many people think of their co-workers as part of their
extended family. We certainly don't want to see them lose their jobs,
health, families or yes, sometimes their lives, yet we hesitate to
interfere.

"Just like a dysfunctional family, the dysfunctional workplace rewards
silence and punishes vocal honesty," said Goldsby.

Regardless of who takes the first step in confronting someone who
appears to have a problem, it behooves their employers and co-workers
alike to do something. Americans consume 60 percent of the world's
illegal drugs, but the vast majority of those users are not lying
somewhere in a trashed-out apartment, oblivious for weeks on end.
Almost three-fourths of the country's substance abusers are employed.

But that doesn't mean they're contributing all they could to the
country's bottom line. Substance abuse costs the United States an
estimated $100 billion a year in lost productivity. Health-care costs
are three times higher, and the chances of having an on-the-job
accident four times higher, for those who abuse alcohol or drugs.

When Is It a Problem?

Let's say you are the one who had that beer at lunch, or you smoke an
occasional joint on the weekends. Does this necessarily mean you have
a substance abuse problem?

Most would say "No." And let's face it, many a deal has been clinched
with the help of a martini to grease the skids, and a frazzled
supervisor might have a glass of merlot with lunch hoping it just
might keep her from walking off the job when she gets back. With
workplace stress and pressure to perform being what it is these days,
there are few among us who haven't sat back in our chairs and
muttered, "God, I need a drink."

The time to suspect there's a problem is when the occasional drink at
lunch turns into a daily occurrence, or your assistant falls asleep at
his desk after getting stoned in the parking lot on his break, or your
supervisor shows up late Monday mornings with bloodshot eyes and
looking like she lost five pounds in two days. Or doesn't show up at
all.

"You may smoke or drink once a week or so, and you may continue to do
your job for a time, but sooner or later it's going to have an
effect," said Paula Nedelcoff, director of the Humboldt Family Service
Center. "Somebody might think to themselves, 'If nobody holds me
accountable and I'm still going to get a paycheck, then maybe I might
take that a little farther and farther.'"

The problem, said Nedelcoff, comes when the occasional user keeps
taking it that little bit farther, and soon they've gone too far.

Substance abusers who progress to the point of actual addiction tend
to show a gradual loss in productivity, Goldsby said.

"The addiction makes them less efficient, less productive, making
more mistakes and not caring about quality or quantity," he said.
"And a surprising number of addicts use during work hours. But,
typically, with late-stage addiction, work becomes less and less
important as the drug becomes more and more important. I saw a
baseball cap at a liquor store with the slogan, 'Work: The curse of
the drinking class.' That sums it up."

Absenteeism is the most obvious problem in the workplace caused by
substance abuse. A typical pattern includes people who call in sick
often on Monday mornings, or people who miss work around payday.

However, Goldsby said, some alcoholics think they don't have a problem
because they haven't missed a day of work in years. And that's where
careful observation comes in. Supervisors and co-workers may start to
notice a difference in performance. One place it can be noticeable is
in jobs that involve physical labor or working with machinery, such as
at a lumber company.

"What happens is, if the onshift supervisor suspects a problem,
they'll get a witness," said Randy Robertson, labor relations/employee
development administrator at Simpson Timber Co. "If that person
confirms it, says 'Yes, something doesn't look right,' they'll
confront the person."

How Do You Handle It?

Two words sum up the rules for confrontation: Diplomacy and
consistency. Seasoned professionals know that compassion goes farther
than provocation. It's part of management training at Simpson.

"They've been trained how to confront in a caring, honest manner
that's not threatening," said Robertson. "What they say first is,
'You've got a problem. Your job may be in jeopardy. You've been
consistently late. We need to talk about what's going on in your life.'"

According to Goldsby, one element of a comprehensive workplace drug
policy is that it should be clear and consistent. Like many employers,
Humboldt Bank has done its homework in this area.

"We have a formal drug and alcohol abuse employee policy," said Dave
Turner, human resources director for Humboldt Bank. "It prohibits
employees from possessing, distributing or being under the influence
while on company premises, and provides for disciplinary action. It's
a 'zero tolerance' policy."

Consistency means managers need to keep track of every incident and
changes in appearance or behavior. "Supervisors need to keep some
notes on past problems to determine if a pattern is developing,"
Goldsby said. "Failure to document is a big problem."

Nedelcoff concurs on the importance of note-taking.

"You don't have to be the Gestapo to hold people accountable," she
said. "If Mary is constantly late on Mondays and always looks unkempt,
you want to really document that appearance."

Knowing how to confront someone who might have a substance abuse
problem is not necessarily intuitive. This is especially true for a
supervisor who has come up through the ranks and has never had any
formal management training.

Training can take the form of in-house seminars or might be obtained
from an outside service such as Humboldt Family Service Center.
Another local resource is the Northcoast Employer Advisory Council,
which holds monthly lunch seminars for its 120 local
employer-members.

At a meeting last fall, Goldsby presented an overview of "Alcohol and
Other Drugs in the Workplace." One of his handouts lists possible
symptoms of drug or alcohol problems:

* Lack of alertness

* Impaired judgment

* Memory lapses

* Inability to stay on task

* Abuse of break times

* Inattention to details

* Extreme sensitivity to criticism

* Anger, or the reverse, apathy

Focusing on performance avoids the appearance of passing judgment,
making a diagnosis of substance dependence or psychiatric
determinations. Goldsby recommends looking at how work and attendance
are affected and whether customers or co-workers have complained.

What happens if the employee is confronted but doesn't want to talk
about the problem? The best course of action is referral to either a
health-care provider or other professional who is trained and equipped
to deal with the problem. In Simpson's case, Robertson said, the
employee is told to contact the company's employee assistance program.

EAPs Can Help

Many large employers offer these confidential programs to their
employees, and smaller companies are starting to offer them more and
more. Humboldt Family Service Center is one local program provider.

The center's counselors are mostly interns or graduate students in
psychology. They take the self-referred cases -- that is, employees
who decide on their own to seek help -- and Nedelcoff, as a licensed
clinician, handles the employer-referral cases as well as reviewing
all the interns' cases. Employers can contract with the nonprofit
agency for services in several ways.

"We provide a retainer rate beginning at $20 per employee per year,"
said Nedelcoff. "We also provide services on a fee-for-service or
hourly basis."

Another local agency offering an employee assistance program is the
Community Health Alliance of Humboldt-Del Norte. The program was
introduced last fall and came out of the Speed Prevention & Awareness
Network. It's offered to employers with 10 or more employees for $4.60
per employee per month.

"We have a very generous plan," said program coordinator Caryn Lowe.
"The mental health plus the alcohol and other drug benefit can work
together."

Employees, their families and partners are eligible every six months
for an initial interview plus three sessions with a drug and alcohol
counselor, and/or three sessions with a licensed mental health
clinician. Lowe said the plan is client-driven.

"We want to give clients as many choices as possible," she said. "We
want them to feel like they're in an emotionally safe place for them."

It is estimated that for every $1 invested in employee assistance
services, employers save $3 to $15 from increased productivity. A
study conducted at Chevron in 1998 showed that employees' performance
improved 50 percent after supervisors referred them to the program.

"The EAP really helps bridge the gap, and identifies for the employee
and the employer where they are in the substance abuse process," said
Nedelcoff.

Sometimes substance abuse problems will come to light when an employee
sees a counselor for some other reason.

"Somebody came in recently for marital issues, and 15 minutes into it
I asked, 'How much pot are you using?'" Nedelcoff said. "One is using
every day, the other occasionally but drinks frequently. Well, they're
having marital issues, yes, but they also have a substance abuse problem."

Co-dependency and depression also come up a lot.

"You have a depressed 50-year-old," she said. "Well, gee, she's been
living with a drunk all her life, and she's menopausal, no wonder
she's depressed."

That's why mental health counseling and substance abuse counseling
often go hand in hand. "They work in tandem," said Lowe.

If an employee needs further treatment, case managers work with them
to identify options, such as outpatient or inpatient programs. Some of
the local programs include Humboldt Recovery Center, Crossroads and
the Humboldt County Alcohol and Other Drug program.

Abuse of prescription medications is also something employers and
counselors should look for. The person may have a prescription for
Xanax or Vicodin, but do they need to use it every day?

What About Drug Testing?

Prescription drugs as well as illicit ones show up in drug tests, a
procedure that is still controversial many years after becoming common
in the workplace. Pre-employment testing is now done by most large
companies, and many smaller ones are starting to test as well.

"We have smaller organizations that require it because either they
drive trucks, or they just want a clean and sober organization," said
Randy Hansen, co-owner of Express Personnel Service.

Random testing of employees after they're hired is most often limited
to those required by the Department of Transportation to pass such
tests. Health Screening Services, owned by Dr. Lawrence Staton, is the
local DOT tester and also does testing for local companies.

"I run the consortium in this area for truck drivers, the
randomization program for the federal government," Staton said. The
law mandates that 50 percent of truck drivers have to be tested for
drugs every year and 10 percent for alcohol. A computer program
randomly picks the names and he sends notices to their employers. For
independent owner-operators, he sends the notice to their homes.

"I've never had an owner-operator test positive," he said. "Why would
they take a chance? They won't even eat a poppy seed bagel."

Any drivers that do test positive are required to go to the Humboldt
Family Service Center, which contracts with the DOT to provide
assessment services.

"The truck driver who has a 'dirty' has to come see me," said
Nedelcoff. "My job is to do an overall assessment, and look at the
resources. Under the DOT I have to refer them to something, even if
it's a couple of 12-step meetings. Most of the time those that I have
seen have failed for marijuana, and some for meth."

Those are the two drugs that seem to cause most of the problems in
Humboldt County workplaces.

"Marijuana stays in the system about 30 days when you're smoking it
quite a bit," said Staton. "There's also quite a bit of amphetamines
around."

One striking example of drug-related workplace disasters may in part
explain why drug screening and random testing are more commonplace
these days. In 1987, in Chase, Md., a Conrail engineer admitted
smoking marijuana just before his train was involved in a collision
with an Amtrak train which resulted in 16 deaths and scores of injuries.

Staton said some local companies tell him that about one in four
applicants fail their drug screens. Other companies, Simpson included,
have improved that ratio in recent years.

"We're probably down to one out of 10," said Robertson. "About five to
10 years ago it was about one in four." He credits the company's focus
on safety as one reason for the improvement. Accidents are way down,
as well.

"You just don't have people coming to work loaded, or going off on
break and grabbing a quick one anymore," he said.

When test results come back positive, they list street drugs,
over-the-counter medicines and prescription drugs. That's one reason
labs ask applicants if they take any prescriptions.

"Especially painkillers, because many of them are opiates," Staton
said. "Some over-the-counter drugs show up as amphetamines."

Labs also test for chemicals contained in products that supposedly
eliminate drugs from the system.

"When you go to the health food store and buy that stuff, take a good
look at the label," said Staton. "Many say 'Mix with one gallon of
water and drink.' You might as well just drink the water."

A specific gravity test tells the lab if the applicant has recently
drunk copious amounts of water. It's called a "dilute sample," and
Staton said most companies treat them as positives.

The End Result

Sometimes no matter how hard you try, someone just doesn't want to be
helped. Then what? Employers must be extremely careful where they
tread. Substance abusers have some protections under the Americans
with Disabilities Act. Alcoholics are specifically named as disabled
by the ADA, but those engaged in "current use of illegal drugs" are
not, until they successfully complete a treatment program.

Protections for employers mainly stem from consistent application of
workplace policies, and common sense should prevail. In San Diego
County, a sheriff's deputy was fired for having one beer at lunch. He
filed a complaint and was later reinstated because there is no law
against having a beer on your lunch hour. His employer could not show
that he was "under the influence" at work.

Aside from applying company policies consistently, focusing on job
performance is the best strategy. If performance has suffered, it's
been documented and they've been warned, then you're probably covered
if you have to terminate them.

When performance suffers enough so that it costs someone their job,
that may be when they realize they've "hit bottom."

"Some addicts have told me that losing their job convinced them to get
help," Goldsby said.

Some say that addiction is like an elevator going down. You can get
off at any floor, or you can take it all the way to the basement. Even
at that level, there may still be a chance for help.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake