Agricultural Safety Break

Agricultural Safety Program
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Chemical Dependency - Confronting the Problem
(Summary of Safety Breakfast Meeting held Wednesday, Feb. 11, 1998)

THE CHEMICAL DEPENDENCY PROBLEM

Imagine that 10 percent of the employees at your business or organization had a chemical dependency problem. Imagine that it involved over-consumption of alcohol, abuse of legal prescription drugs, or abuse of illegal, highly-addictive drugs.

Imagine that these workers functioned at about two-thirds normal productivity, were late for or missed work three times as often than the average worker, were three times as likely to be involved in on-the-job accidents, were five times as likely to file a workers' compensation claim, and were more likely to steal from the company.

Now stop imagining.

The current estimate of worker chemical dependency by two U.S. medical institutes is exactly as stated above. The National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism both estimate that 10 percent, and that's of those in the workforce, have some kind of chemical dependency problem. The statistics were reported at a recent agricultural safety breakfast meeting hosted by the Center for Agricultural Business (CAB) at California State University, Fresno.

Speaker was Dr. John Franz, director of the university's Employee Assistance and Development Program. In his morning talk, Franz emphasized that chemical dependency cuts across virtually all social, ethnic, economic and gender barriers, that anyone at virtually any level in your company could have a problem.

HOW TO SPOT PROBLEMS

But Franz did not stop with the dismal statistics. The purpose of the safety breakfast meetings is to better equip agricultural employers and supervisors to deal with these problems before they cause serious injury or death to workers and millions of dollars in production and liability losses to businesses.

As part of his presentation, Franz offered worksheets, a video and a question/answer session. Following is a brief outline of identification and intervention procedures supervisors may take in addressing an employee's poor work performance.

The first step is recognizing symptoms of chemical dependency, Franz said. The following symptoms are not necessarily related to a chemical dependency problem, but can be, and they should be noted on a consistent basis or in a pattern rather than just occasionally:

Excessive tardiness and absenteeism
"On-the-job" absenteeism
High accident rate
Difficulty concentrating
Confusion
Spasmodic work patterns
Resistance to change
Arriving or returning to work in obviously abnormal condition
Generally lowered job efficiency
Friction in work relationships
Remember, all employees exhibit some of these job performance problems occasionally. It is a pattern of job performance problems over a period of time (several weeks or months) that you should note or document, Franz said.

HOW TO INTERVENE AND MOTIVATE THE EMPLOYEE TO GET HELP

Confronting a subordinate with a charge that he or she has an alcohol of other drug problem is only bound to drive the user into a defensive posture and make positive intervention all but impossible, Franz said. The key to a successful intervention and motivation effort is to stick to the facts as they affect job performance. Following is a list of steps a supervisor might take in confronting an employee about poor performance possibly resulting from a chemical dependency:

Maintain control of the conversation and stick to what you know and can document: instances of unacceptable behavior such as absenteeism, accidents, mistakes, failure to meet objectives and deadlines.
Have the documentation in front of you so you are sure of the facts and are not likely to be dissuaded. Do not rely on your memory.
Stay clear of discussing the alcohol or other drug use per se. This only shifts the focus to the user's area of expertise, and you risk losing control of the interview.
Follow normal disciplinary procedures. Avoid meaningless threats. If there is a threat, there must also be a commitment to follow through.
Remain objective. Avoid emotional involvement.
Keep the first interview or evaluation relatively low-key, pointing out areas of deficiency and offering to help in solving problems. Avoid being over-sympathetic.
Do not demand a "confession" from the individual. It could be there are other things in addition to or instead of chemicals that are causing the work problems.
Simply make the employee fully aware of the policies respecting treatment and the consequences of unacceptable performance of violations of regulations. In some cases the threat of one's job and career may be enough to motivate action.
Offer a time frame for improvement. Explain all consequences if performance expectations are not met.
Be supportive, honest, and above all, firm.

FOR MORE DETAILS - RESOURCE INFORMATION

Franz' presentation gave a framework for agricultural employers to use in addressing the real problem of chemical dependency among workers. Much more information on this subject is available for study before serious confrontation with an employee. Those in supervisory positions at Fresno State may contact Franz at (559) 278-4357. For those outside the California State University System, the following three agencies offer aid and resources in dealing with chemical dependency problems:

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fresno office may be contacted at (559) 221-6907.
The Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Council - Fresno office at (559) 248-1548.
Fresno County Hispanic Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services - may be contacted at (559) 268-6475.

UPCOMING SAFETY BREAKFAST MEETING

The next Safety Breakfast Meeting hosted by the Center for Agricultural Business will be Wednesday, March 11, 1998, from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. in the CATI Conference Room at the California Agricultural Technology Institute, 2910 E. Barstow Ave., Fresno. Discussion topic will be "Handling the Injured Worker: Maximizing Results, Minimizing Costs." Speaker is Martin Acree, A.R.M., of Acree Business Services. Persons planning to attend are asked to RSVP to CAB at (559) 278-4405.

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