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| drug testing program |
Roy Morgan Research found during a study that 3 out of 5 Australians
are now over eight or obese, despite smoking less and reducing alcohol
consumption. What’s an employer to do? Sometimes it seems like it is
impossible to win at times. One thing improves, and the situation gets
worse in another area. It can be difficult to interpret the mixed
signals that statistics deliver, but the message is clear that workplace
drug and alcohol education should be integrated with wellness programs.
The Chief Executive of Roy Morgan, Michele Levine, explained the
study conducted on the status of the nation’s healthy. The study found
that less alcohol is being consumed (good news), the number of people
smoking has declined (good news), but more Australians are overweight
(bad news) and experiencing anxiety (bad news). The three out of five
Australians who are overweight with a body mass index of over 25 are
more likely to suffer health effects like high blood pressure, heart
disease, and diabetes.
Health AND Safety Go Hand-in-Han
Maintaining a safe workplace is an excellent principle, but it
requires the ability to balance all the factors that influence health
and safety. Drugs and alcohol in the workplace are dangerous for many
obvious reasons. For example, approximately 10 percent of workplace
deaths and 20-25 percent of workplace accidents are related to drug and
alcohol use. However, drugs and alcohol also increase the chances of one
worker verbally or physically abusing one or more coworkers. General
statistics show that 1 in 4 Australian employees have been verbally
abused by an alcohol user, and 1 out of 50 have been physically abused
by someone using illicit drugs.
Drug and alcohol users and smokers are more likely to experience
medical problems and call in sick. They drive up health care costs which
directly impacts the employer. When people are overweight, some of the
same issues are at play. People who are overweight are more likely to
take sick days or develop expensive health conditions or get fatigued
easier. They tend to have less flexibility, which can impact their
ability to do their job. It was estimated that the 2010 cost to
Australia associated with people being overweight and obese was $21
billion, a number likely to have grown by now.
Fit For Duty Includes Fitness
What is an employer to do to balance all the factors that go into a
safe workplace? Testing for drugs and alcohol is one strategy for
maintaining a healthy and safe workplace. But being overweight and
developing associated problems like high blood pressure and lack of
flexibility impact worker safety too. Fit for work is influenced by
multiple factors that includes drug/alcohol use, physical fitness,
emotional distress, and fatigue.
Mediscreen can help employees better understand the consequences of
lifestyle choices by providing them with health snapshots of their
health status in critical areas like blood pressure, cholesterol level,
lung airflow, and BMI. A wellness program coupled with a random drug and alcohol testing program gives employers the assurance they are going the extra step to maintain safe and more productive workplaces.
This article has been taken from : http://www.mediscreen.net.au/employer-balancing-act-australians-smoke-drink-less-but/
