Hidden hazard in the workplace

Our guest blogger today is Dan Zarletti, who recently joined FDRsafety as a senior advisor specializing in construction safety, scaffolding and systems safety management.

For more than four decades, safety experts have tried and tested numerous ways to create a workplace culture that strives for zero accidents while improving safety equipment and working conditions. The tireless efforts of thousands of our colleagues and peers have significantly reduced the frequency and severity of workplace incidents and illnesses across all business sectors.

Unfortunately, one “hidden hazard” continues to go little noticed while remaining an underlying cause of work related accidents and material theft. It undermines employee morale and the entire corporate business culture.  It is Substance Abuse!  Even OSHA has remained silent to the extent of relying on the General Duty Clause to cover this social epidemic.

If you still reside in the “State of Denial” over this issue, it’s time to stop worrying about hurting someone’s feelings or infringing on their personal life choices.  You are paying for their expertise and counting on quality work in turn for very substantial compensation.  When it comes to drug abuse in the workplace, the tolerance level must be set at zero.

That means testing, communication and accountability, from those attending employment orientations to the most tenured employee in the company.  And, senior management should lead the way!

It is estimated that a third of our workforce is experimenting with some form of “social” drug while the National Safety Council just announced that “death by accidental overdose of prescription drugs has now surpassed deaths by motor vehicles in America” with more than 42,000 cases reported annually.

It’s time to relocate to the “State of Reality” and expose substance abuse for what it really is; a social and workplace disease.  Users graduate from “Dabbler to Dealer” in a very short time.  Don’t get caught underwriting this “hidden hazard.”