Chronic drug addiction during the holidays: how to recognise and address the problem
After the holiday season, many people return to work feeling relaxed, but for some, a long holiday may have triggered a budding addiction. This can make it challenging to break away from substance abuse as everyday life takes its toll. Anita Riipinen, senior occupational health physician at Terveystalo, lists the warning signs that should be discussed with the employee and gives tips on how to talk to them.
Drinking problems are relatively common, with studies showing that up to half of working-age men and a quarter of women drink too much alcohol. As many as 70% of people who are dependent on alcohol are in employment.
– The addicted person is usually good at hiding it, especially in the early stages. It may even seem that work performance increases and things go more smoothly than usual, because people at work are willing to go the extra mile to cover up the addiction," says Riipinen.
Irritability and mood swings, or emotional swings, are present in everyone from time to time, but if, for example, an employee repeatedly gets into conflict situations easily, withdraws or seems unusually tired, it is entirely reasonable to be concerned about the employee's behaviour. Frequent sickness absences linked to weekends and holidays are also a red flag. Changes in behaviour and/or increased absenteeism are early signals of substance dependence.
– Of course, it is not always substance abuse, but these signals can also indicate other health problems or stress related to work or leisure. In any case, it is a good idea to find out as soon as possible after detecting changes," says Riipinen.
The effects of the last amendment to the Alcohol Act on people's health were examined in the report on the ex-post evaluation of the Alcohol Act by the National Institute for Health and Welfare. By liberalising the sale of alcohol in 2018, the ex-post evaluation found that it increased health problems and mortality due to substance abuse. With the recent amendment to the Alcohol Act, which will come into force in June 2024, the risk of an increase in substance abuse is again present, so to avoid a similar development to the previous law change, it is important to raise any concerns at a low threshold.
– Early support is a sign of caring, and so should not be shied away from. Speaking up is part of the culture and safety net of a well-functioning workplace," says Riipinen.
Tips for the supervisors - how do I raise a concern?
- Express your concerns directly and explain, in a constructive spirit, what the issue is.
- Allow a quiet space and enough time for the discussion, and give the employee time to prepare.
- During the conversation, be empathetic, empathise with the other person's feelings and express your willingness to help. Remember to remain calm, as emotions are contagious, and pay attention to non-verbal communication.
- Keep the conversation focused on the future and agree together on a follow-up plan.
- Refer the employee to occupational health so that the addiction does not deepen, causing unnecessary harm to both the employee and the team.
As a first point of contact, you can also make use of an early warning checklist to support the decision to raise the suspected problem. The higher the score on the checklist, the more important it is to address the issue. Nevertheless, even if the score is low, it is always worth raising the suspicion.
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