Workplace Substance Abuse Prevention Concepts, Research, an

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Workplace Substance Abuse Prevention Concepts,
Research, and Innovation of a Team Awareness
Training
The TCU Drugs in the Workplace Project
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Workplace Substance Abuse Prevention An
Integrated Research Model
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Introduction Social Factors at Work
The great majority of jobs and occupations
require that people work together to get the job
done
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Workers rely on each other to provide
information, tools, and support in all
kinds of work
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Many jobs require attention to security or
safety to help protect coworkers, customers, and
the general public
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• These examples indicate that
• many jobs include one or more of these factors
• Tasks require that we work together
• Jobs require we rely on each other
• Our actions have effects on others
• Sometimes these effects involve safety and
  security

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Even when employees work in isolation, they
will sometimes get together just to talk or
socialize
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Our research team has studied how employee
misuse of alcohol or drugs can be, and often
is, influenced by these workplace social factors
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Substance abuse rarely occurs in
isolation coworkers can be affected and they can
play a role in enabling the problem or
encouraging their peers to get help
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P o l i c y
In recent years the federal government has
required businesses to have a drug free workplace
policy. As a rule, these policies focus on
dealing with workers as individually susceptible
to substance use problems, rather than on the
social context that may surround substance use.
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The research described in this presentation is in
three parts.
P o l i c y
The first part describes an Integrated Research
Model, and reviews ten years of psychological
and organizational research.
W o r k E n v i r o n m e n t
Research covers employee attitudes toward drugs
and policy, effects of substance use on employees
and coworkers, and the role of the work
environment and the work group.
Work Groups
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The second part briefly shows how we developed an
interactive substance abuse prevention training
for workplaces.
This Innovative Training Model is based upon
the following 1 ideas and concepts from
the Integrated Research Model 2 -
ideas about Social Factors at Work, as
described earlier 3 - research summarized in
the Abstracts Presentation (see
Workplace Abstracts Poster)
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The third part is a separate presentation of
Research Abstracts from over 20 different
research studies.
These research abstracts are summaries of papers
that have been published in scientific journals.
Much of this research was used to build the
Integrated Research Model. These abstracts are
shown in the Workplace Abstracts Poster on this
website.
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Integrated Research Model
This section of slides describes the different
elements in the full model that seeks to
understand job-related risks and strengths
associated with employee substance abuse.
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Employee Substance Abuse Misuse of alcohol
or Prescription drugs Illicit Drug use
Performance Concerns
The model described here assumes that employee
substance abuse can potentially or eventually
lead to performance problems.
Potential Performance Problems Unscheduled
Absences Accidents Psychological
Withdrawal Antagonism Violence Risk
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Policy Formation

• Over the past twenty years, an increasing number
  of workplaces have developed substance use
  policies.
• This model shows a standard view of how policy is
  formed.

Individual Problematic Substance Use
Policy Testing Education Discipline EAP
First, the possibility of substance use leads to
the development of policy, which can include
testing, education, discipline, and access to
help, usually through an Employee Assistance
Program or EAP.
These policy components are designed to regulate
individual and problematic substance use.
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Policy Testing Education Discipline EAP
Individual Problematic Substance Use
Workplace Context
The Workplace Context
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Policy Testing Education Discipline EAP
Individual Problematic Substance Use
The Workplace Context

• The current model is sensitive to these factors
  but focuses more on reaching and understanding
  employees once they are in the work setting.

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Risks Strengths
Policy Testing Education Discipline EAP
Individual Problematic Substance Use
The workplace contains two types of factors that
relate to employee substance use.
The Workplace Context
Factors associated with decreased substance use
are considered strengths.
Factors associated with increased substance use
are considered risks.
Risks
Strengths
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Policy Testing Education Discipline EAP
Individual Problematic Substance Use
Risks Strengths
Risks
Strengths
Strength factors include socially healthy work
settings, wellness policies, an an atmosphere of
team cohesiveness, and employee knowledge and
support of policy.
Risk factors include working in safety sensitive
occupations, coworkers who drink together
socially, and employees who enable, ignore, or
tolerate coworker use.
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Policy Testing Education Discipline EAP
Individual Problematic Substance Use
Three Levels In the Work Context
Risk and Strengths exist at three levels
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Organizational
Policy Testing Education Discipline EAP
Individual Problematic Substance Use
The overall work environment or culture of an
organization can contain factors associated with
alcohol or drug use.
Strengths
Risks
Conversely, healthy work cultures that emphasize
employee involvement, family friendly policies,
and good communication may show lower levels of
abuse.
For example, occupations involving safety risk
(machinery use, toxic chemicals, vehicles)
tend to have higher use levels.
Workplace Environment
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Policy Testing Education Discipline EAP
Individual Problematic Substance Use
Group or Team
Social and psychological processes within work
groups can also influence employee attitudes and
behaviors toward alcohol and drugs.
Strengths
Risks
Conversely, alcohol and drug use is less when
employees report working in positive team
environments and with cohesive work groups.
For example, research shows that coworkers can
ignore, minimize, or enable employees who use
alcohol or drugs.
Group Processes
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Policy Testing Education Discipline EAP
Individual Problematic Substance Use
Individual
Job-related perceptions and attitudes of
individual employees also correlate with
substance abuse.
Strengths
Risks
For example, employees who are willing to
tolerate (cover for, fail to report) coworkers
who use are themselves more likely to be drug
user than those who are less tolerant.
Conversely, employees with clear and positive
attitudes toward policy are less likely to
abuse alcohol or drugs.
Perceptions Attitudes
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Following from our previous research (described
in the Abstracts Poster), the Drugs in the
Workplace Project developed two types of training
programs to help prevent employee substance
abuse.
Personal Background
Policy Testing Education Discipline EAP
Individual Problematic Substance Use
leads to
regulates
Performance

Social Integration
Safety-related Occupations
Workplace Environment
Organizational Influence
Organizational Wellness
Drinking Climate
Group Processes
Team Cohesion
Social influence

Exposure to Coworker Use
Perceptions Attitudes
Support Policy
Psychological influence

Tolerance
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Informational Training is an enhanced version of
the standard educational training.
leads to
Policy Testing Education Discipline EAP
Individual Problematic Substance Use
Education
regulates

Social Integration
Safety-related Occupations
Workplace Environment
Organizational Wellness
Drinking Climate
Team Training is an advanced training that
combines team building exercises along with peer
referral skills and in depth policy training.
Group Processes
Neutralization Enabling
Team Cohesion

Exposure to Coworker Use
Perceptions Attitudes
Support Policy

Tolerance
The team training focuses on enhancing strengths
and reducing risks within work groups.
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The Team Awareness training was developed in
three conceptual stages and according to previous
research.
Stage 1 The Negative Cycle Previous research
suggested that a negative cycle may prevent
coworkers or work groups from dealing with
employee problems.
leads to
Policy Testing Education Discipline EAP
Individual Problematic Substance Use
an employee shows some problem behavior (e.g.,
excessive absence, working with a hangover),
Problem Presentation
Workplace Environment
coworkers neutralize (enable, minimize, deny,
rationalize),
Problem Neutralization
Group Processes
Problem Continuance
the problem continues,
Perceptions Attitudes
Climate Reinforcement
a climate of enabling develops
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Stage 2 Correlates of Neutralization Our
research suggest five factors correlate with this
negative cycle.
1 Employees are either not aware of
policy or consider it meaningless.
Disconnected from Policy (not meaningful)
2 Work groups lack communication skills
to deal with the problem (i.e.,
alienation, low group cohesion).
Poor Communication
3 Employees experience stress or job
tension.
Inadequate Coping
4 Employees tolerate coworkers who have
problems.
Tolerance Resignation
5 Employees with substance abuse
problems are psychologically withdrawn or
antagonistic.
Withdrawal/ Antagonism
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Stage 3 Training Goals For each of the five
areas that relate to enabling and neutralization,
we developed training objectives. These five
training objectives were used to help develop
actual training materials and manuals. These
materials are available from this web-site.

• Goals
• 1 - Increase supportive group climate
• 2 - Improve attitudes (policy, tolerance)
• 3 - Increase help-seeking behavior/peer referral

• Purpose
• Enhance team communication for work groups
• to help reduce any risks related to substance
  use

Disconnected from Policy (not meaningful)

• Objective 1 Relevance
• Explore how this training can help you and
• your group and identify Risks and Strengths

Poor Communication

• Objective 2 Team Ownership of Policy
• Understand how substance use policy protects
• employees and requires shared responsibility

Inadequate Coping

• Objective 3 Understanding Stress
• Understand the relationship between stress,
• substance abuse, and communication. Identify
• resources for healthy (versus unhealthy)
  coping.

Tolerance Resignation

• Objective 4 Understanding Tolerance
• Identify risky levels of tolerance at
  individual
• and group levels and adjust if necessary.

Withdrawal/ Antagonism

• Objective 5 Support, Encourage Help
• Improve effective listening, nudge coworkers
• to get help, address resistance to change.

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To summarize, the team awareness training was
developed from three areas 1 - ideas about
Social Factors at Work, as described in the
Introduction 2 ideas and concepts from the
Integrated Research Model 3 research
summarized in the Abstracts Poster
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Thanks for visitingplease visit our
materialsand training manuals alsolocated on
this website
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