Health Society of South Africa

CREATING A COCAINE-FREE WORKPLACE

A fatal attraction
Breaking the spell
Worthwhile results

Your Employer's Policy and the Law
In response to growing public concern about drug use, the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 (USA) requires employers to educate their employees about cocaine and other illegal drugs. Your employer upholds this law by informing you of the dangers of drug use and establishing a policy to create and maintain a drug-free workplace.

A Spell over the Workplace
Whether you smoke it, shoot it, snort it, sell it or simply see it, cocaine casts a spell on everyone at work. A user thinks he's working faster. A co-worker assumes it's none of her business to interfere. A supervisor hopes the problem will go away. But cocaine's evil spell won't just disappear. Cocaine kills. It's illegal. It can cost you your job. And it hurts everyone at all levels of an organisation. But you can help break cocaine's spell. Understand the dangers and act now to help create a cocaine-free workplace.

A Fatal Attraction
Even occasional use of any form of cocaine can enchant you with its attractive but deadly spell. Though cocaine may give you a temporary rush of energy and boost of self-confidence, it leaves you low, leads to addiction and damages your health and your life.

Casting a spell on your health
You can become addicted to cocaine. This powerful drug also causes heart attacks and sudden death. Sharing needles with other cocaine users can lead to AIDS. Pregnant women who use cocaine may give birth prematurely and their babies may be born addicted.

Casting a spell on your life
Cocaine's "high" is short-lived, leaving you depressed, paranoid, anxious, guilty, angry and fearful. You may find yourself less able to enjoy life and may react to people or problems with hostility or even violence. Others may react to your use by feeling isolated, fearful, angry or suspicious.

Impact on the Workplace
Cocaine can harm more than just the health and life of the user. It can decrease performance, cause accidents, and strain work relationships. As a co-worker or supervisor, you may try to "help" the user in ways that actually keep him or her from confronting consequences.

More accidents
Impaired judgment and carelessness cause more frequent accidents. Cocaine users risk the safety and lives of themselves and everyone else they come in contact with.

Decreased performance
A cocaine user's performance swings erratically from bursts of energy to depression. Co-workers find their work affected, too, as they are unable to depend on the user.

Increased "enabling"
Co-workers may become frustrated when their enabling ("helpful") actions, such as covering up, taking on extra work or lending money, support rather than stop drug use.

Lower morale
Morale decreases, frustration increases, and distrust grows as co-workers become tired of trying to help and supervisors become suspicious of increased absences and theft.

Breaking the Spell
Using cocaine - whether regularly or "just now and then" - means you're breaking the law, risking your job and jeopardising everyone's safety. After you recognise cocaine's deadly grip on you and those around you, you can begin to break its spell by taking responsibility for your actions, seeking help and making changes.

It's your responsibility
You are the only person who can help yourself stop using cocaine. Ask yourself if cocaine is becoming an important part of your life. If so, make a commitment to do something about it.

Seek help
After you've decided to stop using cocaine, use your resources to help you follow through. A good place to start is with your employer's employee assistance programme (EAP), medical department or human resources office. They may refer you to a counsellor or programme specialising in chemical dependency.

Make changes
To stay cocaine-free, you need to develop new relationships with people who don't use or sell the drug. Get involved in self-help groups. Discover new ways to relax and build your self-confidence, such as hobbies, regular exercise (like walking or biking) or time spent with family and friends.

Confronting the Spell at Work
You can take steps to keep your workplace drug-free, even if you've never used cocaine. While you can't diagnose or treat cocaine problems, as a co-worker or supervisor you can recognise signs of cocaine use and help break its spell.

Recognize signs
Patterns of behaviour that may be clues to a cocaine problem include:

Bursts of energy followed by fatigue or depression,
Unpredictability, wide mood swings, nervousness or hyperactivity, or
Brief, unexplained disappearances.

Express concerns
If you suspect cocaine use, don't ignore it - it won't go away. Express your concerns to the cocaine user, your supervisor and a member of your EAP or human resources staff.

Stop enabling
Don't rescue the cocaine user by covering up or filling in. When you force someone to deal with the consequences of drug use, you've increased the possibility that he or she will seek help.

A Supervisor's Responsibility
Your role as supervisor gives you both the responsibility to act and an opportunity to help. You have many resources to use in getting a cocaine user to stop. And remember, you're not immune to cocaine problems either. You can take advantage of the same resources available to your employees.

Know the policy
Know your employer's policy and the law concerning workplace drug use. The EAP, medical department, human resources office or your manager can give you details.

Keep records
Document in writing all observations of safety and performance problems. Also note when you discussed the problem and consequences for continued behaviour with the
employee.

Focus on the job
Leave diagnosing and treating drug addiction to professionals trained in chemical dependency. Rather, focus on specific performance and safety problems such as frequent absences and accidents.

Refer for help
Be ready to provide a referral to the EAP, medical department, human resources office, or outside resources. Use performance-based job security to motivate a cocaine user to seek help.

Worthwhile Results

A cocaine-free workplace - what's in it for you? Keeping your job, working in a safer and more pleasant environment, feeling like you're really part of a team effort, and being able to trust your co-workers are all great payoffs. Everyone benefits from a workplace free from the spell of cocaine.

Higher performance
Rather that a cycle of frenzied activity and depression, cocaine-free workers think more clearly, make better decisions and actually complete more work.

A safer workplace
Clear-headed, cocaine-free thinking leads to better judgment and fewer accidents. And when accidents do occur, everyone is able to respond more quickly.

More teamwork
Co-workers feel less frustrated and concerned about others' competence. Everyone is able to work together to accomplish their common goal: getting the job done right.

Greater trust
All employees can trust each other and leave behind their concerns about absences or theft. And cocaine-free workers no longer have to worry about "getting caught."