WORKPLACES URGED TO ADOPT POLICY FOR ADDICTS

Confronting people with addiction problems in work should be done "gently,
gently, gently", a counsellor said at a seminar on "Addiction in the
Workplace" yesterday.

Mr Jimmy McCabe, the founding president of the Association of Welfare and
Employee Assistance Counsellors, said that addiction often showed up last
in the workplace because addicts needed money, power and respect. "That is
why we see the house may be gone, the yacht may be gone, the family may be
gone. But he or she is holding onto the job."

He was speaking on "Enabling - How addiction shows up last in the Workplace".

Quoting Alcoholics Anonymous, Mr McCabe said an enabler was someone who
reacts in such a way "as to shield the alcoholic from the full impact of
the harmful consequences of his behaviour".

Enabling could occur at work through colleagues covering up for the addict
or through a fear of confrontation by management. But a confrontation at
work should only occur if work or relations with colleagues were affected.
"The first stop is the coffee talk," he said.

Addiction embraced many of the "pleasures and dangers" of modern living.
Alcohol, prescription and illegal drugs, food, sex, gambling, money, power,
shopping, the Internet and TV were all possible addiction sources. The
decline of an employee's performance represented a negative return on
investment.

"No matter how good an employee is, when the employee becomes addicted, the
addiction becomes the focal and central point of existence." Workplace
addiction contributed to illness, loss in production and sales, customer
and supplier dissatisfaction, missed deadlines, absenteeism, and
"presenteeism", where employees felt under pressure to remain at work
beyond normal working hours.

Dependability, responsibility, pride, ambition and camaraderie could all
fall victim to the addict's obsession, he said, and the organisation's
responsibility included giving employees a chance before they were fired.

"Nowadays people go for referral, assessment and rehabilitation, rather
than the old days of denunciation and dismissal," he said.

Mr Rolande Anderson, the assistant director at the addiction treatment
institution the Rutland Centre, which organised the conference, said the
vast majority of alcohol or drug-dependent individuals were employed and
that companies with high numbers of young employees may need to be
particularly vigilant. He said companies should have a policy document on
addiction, which should include the assurance to employees of the offer of
help, the right to absence from work for treatment regarded in the same way
as other absences and the right to have a friend or trade union
representative present at any discussions.

Ms Maura Harte, occupational health manager at Ericsson Ireland, told
delegates that establishing Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) was
cost-effective as a performance management measure, but their success
depended on how professionally the policy was carried out. An EAP offered
assistance to employees experiencing either personal or work problems.

"The policy has to be written, confidential, agreed between unions and
management, and it has to be accepted by all, across the board, in the
organisation."

The Institute of Personnel and Development in Britain has reported an
increase in the incidence of businesses reporting drink and drugs cases
among staff in a survey of 1,800 people working in companies.

According to the institute, 46 of the firms questioned had received reports
of alcohol misuse among employees over the past year, compared to 35 per
cent in 1996, while reports of drug-taking increased by three percentage
points to 18 per cent.