Tips to support employees

Employee Assistance Programmes and other health and social services can help people identify what is happening and come up with a plan. Building positive relationships in advance, and clearly communicating your processes, will enable quicker and easier access to these programmes when they are needed.

Different situations require flexibility. Impaired performance can have serious consequences in some roles where safety and fast reaction times are paramount. However, be clear about the actual impact of drug and alcohol use on work performance, because the fact that someone has used alcohol or other drugs at some point does not necessarily mean they are currently impaired, or that they have an addictive pattern of use. 

Employees perform well when they feel supported and trusted. This could involve:

• having an employee wellness programme, including health benefits such as coverage for substance use problems;
• having regular conversations with employees about their wellbeing;
• providing education and clear messages about how substance use can impact wellbeing and productivity at work.

Clear and supportive conversations early in the piece can help to engage employees and prevent a difficult situation from getting worse. Support your line managers to recognise issues before they become a problem, and help or train them to know how to have clear and supportive conversations with their teams.

Recruitment, orientation, and training take time and resources - so it makes sense to work with existing employees to support them. Policies can be written in a way that promotes early identification of issues and flexible responses that are appropriate for the situation, while prioritising keeping your staff members employed.