Needless to say, some people are stressed for personal reasons, infecting an otherwise stable team with their tension. Without dwelling on a strict definition or on the origin of stress, however, I'd like to talk about some of its indicators.
Let us consider substance abuse for this week. In the next few instalments, we will talk about other anti-social behaviours related to stress, examples of which are aggression and violence, misuse of company property, theft and malicious damage to property.
One of the most harmful, yet persistent and socially acceptable habits in Botswana, is the use of recreational drugs, such as nicotine and alcohol.
Many organisations have a prohibition against arriving at work drunk, or consuming alcohol on the premises, or smoking in non-smoking areas, for instance. And yet, exceptions are made for events that are sponsored by the company, such as Board lunches, Christmas parties and other 'official' staff get-togethers.
Such ease of access to and glamourised use of drugs at work in the name of celebration undermines campaigns against substance abuse.
Though some employees have a habit of going out for a 'drink' after work, there are those whose 'drinks' are a lifeline that they literally depend on to get through the day. These are people who are stressed and lack the mechanisms necessary to survive challenging times.
According to published data in South Africa (I couldn't find any relevant material on Botswana), between 5 and 35 percent of all South African workers are alcoholic, and, the alcoholic worker has more work-related problems than a non-alcoholic worker.
We have similar tendencies in many respects. We look to South Africa on many issues, so I'd guess it is safe to estimate that our figures are not very different from these.
Although some alcoholic workers perform their duties satisfactorily and meet job expectations, many do not because they cannot. Observations indicate that alcoholics are absent from work up to four times as much as their teetotaller colleagues, and that on-the-job accidents/mistakes/incidents are more frequent for alcoholic staff.
The alcoholic employee may disregard job details, exercise poor judgement, and make bad decisions. Apart from productivity related concerns, such a person tends to withdraw from colleagues and generally displays anti-social behaviour. For any organisation, whatever its size, this type of employee represents a real cost risk.
According to experts, it is almost impossible to predict who will become an alcoholic, and who will not. But based on trends, the disease can target anyone - from senior management to the shop floor.
The point here is not to analyse the disease and profile alcoholics as much as it is to raise the point and ask: What should the employer do about alcoholism? Dismiss offenders, in accordance with company regulations, or provide guidance and counselling? Is this an issue for the staff welfare officer, or will you regard it as too much of a (despicable and immoral) social/personal choice type of condition?
Another type of drug in regular use across the corporate landscape is, well yes, nicotine is very popular, and I'd say a rough estimate is about 60 percent of our workers take a smoke break every now and then, but that is not what I wanted to say.
I want to talk about the misuse of, and dependence on, everything from prescription painkillers to specifically illegal drugs such as dagga, mandrax and cocaine. Of course, there are probably some more fashionable drugs out there.
Employers cannot afford to turn a blind eye and pretend these don't happen, nor is it prudent to pretend that these habits will not hurt your team.
Apart from the impact of continued displays of substance dependence, you must realise that much of the time there are other implications than the addicts' health. How do you suppose they finance the habit?
An employee will start to borrow money from friends and colleagues, s/he will buy cigarettes from the cleaning ladies (didn't you know they run a roaring trade) on credit, take money from petty cash, find ways to make claims for perhaps overtime or expenditure on behalf of the company, anything at all to get some extra cash.
They may even go to the extent of claiming to have a family emergency, like a fabricated death, in order to qualify for a salary advance.
Finally, affected staff may begin to steal whatever they can to sell or swop outside in exchange for drugs. Imagine the levels of mistrust and tension that result when the addict can't pay back his creditors!
What impact will this have on the work flow? At which point should the employer act? Should you start to show concern when productivity and work attendance drop, or should you wait and rather address the number of sick leave applications that are submitted especially on Mondays and Fridays? Should you wait for an accident/incident or will you wait to dismiss for theft?
Finally, there are many people who abuse something in order to ease or manage the stress in their lives. You probably couldn't point them out in a crowd if you tried because they have their 'habits' under control.
This means then that by the time a person cannot hide their habit, they have lost all control and are on the very brink of life, literally.
Colleagues who choose to ignore the warning signs put on a show of stunned devastation when such a person finally commits suicide, usually the weekend before a scheduled disciplinary hearing.
I'm not really sure what I am saying here. Look, we all talk about corporate social investments, or corporate social responsibility, or social upliftment, or whatever. I think it would be a great show of genuine and very useful 'social responsibility' if you would look out for the people right under your nose. Charity begins at home. Happy Holidays.
Shameela Winston is a human resource consultant in private practice. She is available to readers on [email protected]
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