Virulent Diseases in the Workplace

Some jobs require direct contact with viruses, such as jobs in hospitals and nursing care clinics, and some are just part of the job, such as virology studies and disease control. Some diseases can be spread through the exchange of bodily fluids, such as the HIV and AIDS viruses, and some diseases are in the mind, such as emotional alcoholism or self cutting and masochism. Whether the focus is to get attention, crave help for suffering, or to just survive another day, people handle different types of virulent diseases in very different ways.

In the workplace, people enjoy talking behind each others’ backs. Office politics are quite common because they are, in essence, enjoyable for the participants. On the jobsite, employees enjoy complaining about how they are being put upon by “the man,” even if they enjoy their job, because it instigates a feeling of camaraderie between them and their coworkers. It is, in essence, a form of bonding.

Disease is not something to just be avoided or to be fearful of. Disease, all disease, which begins in the mental and emotional states, becomes social and physical as time goes on. The trick is to be aware of what disease looks like in others so that you can avoid it, and in yourself so that you can rip it out of yourself.

As far as other diseases and issues go, they are far more likely to occur in substance abusers than in any other people. For that reason, Mediscreen provides onsite drug and alcohol testing for companies throughout Australia which desire to keep their workplaces as healthy as possible, both physically and otherwise. Professionalism demands that employee safety be made top priority at all time. Mediscreen offers drug and alcohol testing on your jobsite or in your place of business, we store your employee testing records at your site, and we take any questionable tests results back to the lab for you. No commute and less money. Workplace drug testing can be as easy as that. Don’t over think it.

Technical Malfunctions

Technical malfunctions are so annoying, aren’t they? Computer glitches, software crashes, and a variety of other things regularly screw up your nice even workflow that you’d like to maintain all day long.

Here are some tips to help keep your temper even when technical malfunctions are not even.

Keep backups ready. This means backing up files and it means having back up computer equipment and/or power sources so that you can continue working while your technical problems are being fixed.

Be very warm and appreciative of technical crews. They may have made this their job of choice, but there is nothing more likely to make them work slow than an irritated and frustrated client. Be very warm and appreciative and nice and grateful and helpful. Ask them if there is anything you can get them and, if all else is politely rejected, at least bring them a cup of iced tea.

Be willing to help out. Do not attempt to take control of the situation, but instead tell them that you are their gopher and if they need anything, to just ask you, and then be sure to stand by to help them, just in case. When they are finishing up and after their work is complete, be very appreciative and offer them some more tea. Make their job pleasant and, next time you have an issue, they are far more likely to help you out first, even if you were at the end of the line when you phoned them.

Check their work. Be sure that you will not have to call them back right away, albeit politely. A good way to do this without seeming to be too insulting is to “have them show you what you can do now.” This way, it is appearing as if they are demonstrating something to you, when in fact you both know that you are just checking on their work.

Lastly, make sure that your workplace drug testing program is up to date. Workplace drug testing laws require that every employee of some industries to be tested on a regular basis, no matter what their job is. Mediscreen effectively implements your drug testing equipment to do the greatest good.

Defensive and Offensive Game Plays

Mediscreen offers onsite drug and alcohol screening for businesses throughout Australia. Our services are especially valuable for international and local large companies, which may or may not already have an employee drug screening program already in place. We can take care of that part of your business, thoroughly. As for the rest of your operations, business can be competitive, and it is always best to have both defensive and offensive game play strategies for your company and its competitive edge.

Define your business. Yes, yes, we know that this is a basic strategy step, but it is important to have a clearly defined goal when you set up operations. Most businesses fail BECAUSE they lack this step. When asked what they do, they are unable to give a clearly defined account of their proceedings, and when asked to perform any of these services, they are unable to do so with a clearly defined set of instructions. There is no definitiveness to the process or even the goal itself.

Study your competition. See what they are doing and evaluate whether or not your business should likewise change. This is NOT an urge to change every time the competition does. This is a way to monitor and keep track of the progress your industry makes and the changes and morphs that it goes through, and it’s a way to decide how you want to position your company in the morph and post-morph.

Finally, there is definitely something to be said for sticking to your guns. In these times of social change and constant fluctuation, it is sometimes comforting to certain client bases to simply know that you do not change and that you are always strong and reliable and up-to-date. This is something which can be highly beneficial to you, and it is always something which you, as their leader, should believe in if they are to believe in it as well.
We return to Mediscreen, where we provide stellar onsite drug and alcohol testing for your business. Some workplace drug testing laws even require that you implement this for your employees, depending upon the industry in which you operate.

Continued Drug Abuse and Volatile Emotional Reactions

Unfortunately, many people continue drug abuse across substances and never actually rid themselves of their addiction. Drug addicts quit their drugs to become alcoholics, and vice versa. Since so many of your employees have most likely toyed with substance abuse in their earlier years, it is important to be able to pick out the ones who are still doing it, either from desire or necessity. Workplace drug testing helps you to ascertain what is at the bottom of the abuse cycle and who is working for you because they actually enjoy their jobs.

Volatile emotional reactions are the number two indicator for drug or alcohol abuse and if any of your employees are especially testy, that might be the option for you. Emotional reactions stem from the need to feel in better control of your own environment and, while this is a very basic and normal human need, it can spiral out of control very fast when your inhibitions are compromised. Don’t get us wrong. We know that that is the precise reason why you may be abusing the substances in the first place. However, this is not appropriate in a professional environment, and can cause a lot of harm among coworkers. While not every employee would like to think of their coworkers as members of their own families, the truth is that a professional working environment is very similar to that of a household, where organization and cooperation are sorely needed. Employee drug and alcohol testing is one way to really cinch the deal. With onsite drug and alcohol screening, you can determine who is cooperating with the others, and who is slack and unprofessional, essentially making themselves no longer a part of the family.

Continued drug abuse shows a perpetual unwillingness to turn one’s life around, and that is destructive in and of itself. This unwillingness to grow or to improve one’s lifestyle will…WILL…manifest itself in your own company. This would be a good time to think about eradicating the problem. Mediscreen provides drug screening, and this is what is needed in order to make sure that your company’s assets are protected.

Company Policies for New Drug Testing Methods

When you are switching over your company policies from lab testing to onsite drug and alcohol screening, you will have to make some changes to your business plan. However, you will fortunately not have to change things so much as you will just have to make some additions to the business plan. What are some things which you should add to the company business plan and how can you alter them to specifically apply to onsite drug and alcohol screening?

Begin with a standard drug screening plan. This written procedure should include a basic, standard guide on both drug and alcohol testing, as well as both types of drug tests, urine and saliva. This can be a simple copy from standard sheets which are available for business use, or it can be specifically tailored to your organization, especially if you have non-standard business plan or if your organization is very large. Make sure that the basic foundation of your employee testing plan is in place first and that it is strong and flexible.

Interact with Mediscreen. Next, call our offices and obtain thorough and exhaustive information about our specialized onsite drug and alcohol testing which is available through our company. This way, you know what to expect from onsite screening procedures, and you can then take the next step in adding this information to your existing drug and alcohol screening plan. Be sure to include any details which will replace (rather than simply add on to) standard employee laboratory testing.

Add the details after experiencing onsite testing a few times. This gives you some firsthand experience with the procedures involved, including storing your own employee records on your jobsite, and helps you to understand what to expect and various details you will need to add to the company plan. There is nothing quite like real life experience to refine written detail.

Mediscreen offers onsite drug and alcohol testing to companies all over Australia. We are based in Perth, and our phone lines are always manned by informed operators who will be able to answer any questions which you may have about the procedures, even just a quick, “What is it exactly that you can do for me?” Call Mediscreen today

Alcohol and Drug Testing as Component of OWIP

In many cases, organisations approach alcohol and drug testing as a program primarily in place to “catch” violators. The testing program becomes a tool for punishment rather than a means of promoting workplace safety. Though workplace drug testing programs can certainly identify workers using illicit substances or alcohol, focusing only on catching individual workers can ignore many factors that influence worker substance abuse. By concentrating on detecting violators, a prime opportunity is missed to promote a positive and healthy organisation wide environment.

In other words, instead of viewing the alcohol and drug testing program as punitive, it can become an integral component of a workplace health initiative. This approach promotes a drug and alcohol free workplace, while also helping employees understand that substance abuse is a lifestyle, and not just a workplace, issue. People do not have clear lines between their work and personal lives, meaning they overlap. While prohibiting drugs and alcohol in the workplace is important for workplace safety, it does not educate people on the harm that they cause themselves and others when using the substances.

One Link in the Healthy Living Campaign

An organisation wide improvement program benefits the business and the workers.  Developing an alcohol and drug workplace policy should be one link in a campaign to educate and train workers in best practices for developing and maintaining healthy lifestyles. Instead of focusing only on the impact of drugs on the body or alcohol on the brain, an improvement program will address many lifestyle factors that impact workers. For example, some companies incorporate training on the dangers of alcohol and drug use in a program focused on healthy diets and exercise. People who are concerned with taking care of their bodies through diet and exercise are much less likely to use drugs and alcohol.

Focusing on harm minimisation rather than punishment is also more likely to garner compliance. Employee assistance programs (EAPS) and health promotion programs (HPPs) can include a number of components of which drug and alcohol abuse education is just one. For example, employers may:

• Offer stress management workshops
• Provide employee access to counselling for substance abuse, family issues, stress etc.
• Provide safety training
• Hold supervisor-employee sessions to facilitate conversations about workplace concerns
• Conduct  regular review of workplace factors that may create employee stress, i.e. schedules, production schedules, staffing etc
• Pay for employee memberships at a gym or fitness centre
• Train supervisors on alcohol and drug policy while also giving supervisors a role in the organisation wide health initiative
• Contract with an outside medical agency to provide occupational health services and health screening

Healthy Lifestyles

By developing a companywide culture that promotes healthy lifestyles, the Onsite Drug and Alcohol Screening is not viewed as a way for the employer to catch and punish workers who violate company rules. Instead it is seen as a natural component of a healthy living program. Employers accrue a number of benefits from this approach. These benefits include increased productivity, fewer missed days of work, lower medical expenses, and improved workplace safety.

Onsite Drug and Alcohol Screening Today

Today, Drug Testing Australia is part of normal practice, but you are still likely to hear some complaints from your employees for having to do it, either because they occasionally abuse substances themselves, or because they are insecure enough that they believe that drug testing is a threat to their job somehow, even if they could not possible be fired for it. While you may have been implementing employee drug and alcohol testing long enough to know to ignore such complaints, there IS a level of complaining which you should not ignore. It is the social norm to feel put upon and dissension can spread among people rather quickly. Do NOT take someone aside and lecture them about their verbal complaints on the jobsite. Rather, pick out several people publicly, in front of everyone else, and ask them their concerns with the Onsite Drug and Alcohol Screening policies of the business, and most importantly, INTERACT with them on this. Do not keep them from knowing your thoughts or from knowing how open to their ideas you are. Take what they say very seriously and discuss it with them, always interacting, in order to absolutely positively make sure that they understand that they have been heard.

If you have experienced high employee complaining and high employee turnover in the past, you may find it emotionally less taxing to simply put a barrier or space or separation between yourself and your employees, but in the long run this is unwise. Your coworkers and employees work for you, not for themselves. They need to feel that their work has value, and not that they are just another drone worker employed in the line of hard labor. They need to feel that they themselves, as people, are needed, and that you yourself, as a person, are invested in them specifically and in their interests as a whole.

Mediscreen provides onsite drug and alcohol testing services to businesses all over Australia. Onsite drug testing helps employees feel even further appreciated, because it saves them time and money and effort that they would normally have to take in going to a laboratory.