Drug & Alcohol Awareness Programme

Channah Thailand, Asia’s leading drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre, is once again expanding its services to include Drug and Alcohol Awareness Programmes for businesses and corporations.

After several enquires and an obvious need for the service Channah has developed a pro-active drug and alcohol awareness and education programme for businesses.  This is currently being delivered to one of the largest aviation companies in SE Asia. Many businesses spend a great deal of their budget, training and recruiting employees.  It can sometimes be a huge loss to the company, in financial outlay and morale, if there is a need to terminate the employee due to a failed drug or alcohol test.  Unfortunately most companies feel there is little choice.  In high risk environments such as aviation, oil and gas, mining, etc. many companies have to have a zero tolerance policy on failed drug and alcohol tests.

When an employee fails a random or scheduled test it has many negative effects on the company, including but not limited to.

• Corporate image;
  

• Replacing human resources, thus increasing recruitment as well as new employee training costs;
  

• Time consuming;
  

• A decrease in company moral should the employee be terminated; and
  

• An increase in workers' compensation and healthcare premiums;

It is a fact of life that many people living in a foreign country get involved in the drinking or drug culture.  Being so far away from friends, family, and with no normal support network expatriates tend to congregate in the drinking establishments.  This can very easily become a problem for the employee and company.

In response, Channah has developed several seminars to offer to corporations tailored to the specific needs of the business.  Due to the wide range of experience of the staff at Channah it is possible to put a tailor made programme together for the needs of the corporation.  Generally the process starts with a meeting between Channah’s team and the companies health and safety or human resources department to evaluate the needs and decide on a plan of action.

The programmes can include drug and alcohol awareness lectures to staff as well as separate training programmes for senior managers on identifying potential problems with staff before they become a possible health and safety issue. The programmes can also include regular training as well as treatment for problem or potential problem staff. Channah operates on the premise that each corporation is different and therefore their drug and alcohol awareness programme needs to be suitable for them.  One size does not fit all.

The cost savings to companies of implementing drug and alcohol awareness training are undeniable with many large corporations saving hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars. Even smaller companies have reported saving a considerable amount on Workers Compensation claims, lower absenteeism, reduced recruitment and training costs due to less employee turnover, and higher productivity, shortly after implementing drug and alcohol awareness and treatment policies. It is not good enough to just to write a policy, it requires actual attainable goals and transparent action on the management’s part.

Channah is offering this service globally in English and Thai, there is a possibility of other languages through translators.

Up to 40% of industrial fatalities and 47% of industrial injuries can be linked to alcohol consumption and alcoholism (M Bernstein & JJ Mahoney, "Management Perspectives on Alcoholism: The Employer's Stake in Alcoholism Treatment," Occupational Medicine, Vol 4, No. 2, 1989, pp. 223-232).

60% of alcohol-related work performance problems can be attributed to employees who are not alcohol dependent, but who occasionally drink too much on a work night or drink during a weekday lunch (TW Mangione, et. al, "New Perspectives for Worksite Alcohol Strategies: Results from a Corporate Drinking Study," JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc., Boston, MA, 12/98, p. 1).

21% of workers reported being injured or put in danger, having to re-do work or to cover for a co-worker, or needing to work harder due to others' drinking (Ibid, p. 2).

63% of firms responding to a 1991 survey were engaged in some sort of drug testing, a 200% increase since 1987 (American Management Association {AMA} Research Reports, E Greenberg, ed., "1991 AMA Survey on Workplace Drug Testing and Drug Abuse Policies," p. 1).

Absenteeism among alcoholics or problem drinkers is 3.8 to 8.3 times greater than normal (Bernstein & Mahoney, op. cit.) and up to 16 times greater among all employees with alcohol and other drug-related problems (US Department of Labor {USDL} , What Works: Workplaces Without Drugs, 8/90, p. 3).

Drug-using employees take three times as many sick benefits as other workers. They are five times more likely to file a worker's compensation claim (TE Backer, Strategic Planning for Workplace Drug Abuse Programs, NIDA , 1987, p. 4).

43% of CEOs responding to one survey estimated that use of alcohol and other drugs cost them 1% to 10% of payroll ( National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers {NAATP} , "Treatment Is the Answer: A White Paper on the Cost Effectiveness of Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Treatment, 3/91, p. 1).

For every dollar they invest in an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), employers generally save anywhere from $5 to $16. The average annual cost for an EAP ranges from $12 to $20 per employee ( US Department of Labor {USDL} , op.cit., p. 17).

General Motors Corporation's EAP saves the company $37 million per year -- $3,700 for each of the 10,000 employees enrolled in the program (ASIS OP Norton Information Resources Center, Substance Abuse: A Guide to Workplace Issues, 8/90, p. 23).

United Airlines estimates that it has a $16.95 return for every dollar invested in employee assistance (Ibid.).

Northrop Corporation saw a 43% increase in the productivity of each of its first 100 employees to enter an alcohol treatment program. After three years' sobriety, the average savings for each was nearly $20,000 (D Campbell & M Graham, Drugs and Alcohol in the Workplace: A Guide for Managers, New York: Facts on File Publications, 1988).

Philadelphia Police Department employees undergoing treatment reduced their sick days by an average of 38% and their injured days by 62% (Ibid.).

Oldsmobile's Lansing, Michigan plant saw the following results in the year after it’s Alcoholic employees underwent treatment: lost man-hours declined by 49%, health care benefits by 29%, leaves by 56%, grievances by 78%, disciplinary problems by 63% and accidents by 82% (Ibid.).