Asleep_at_deskJane seems tired all the time. She’s been late to work three times in the last two weeks, and on Tuesday she actually fell asleep at her desk. Today she’s slurring her speech. One of your supervisors comes to you to ask what to do.

  • How do you respond?
  • What CAN the company do?
  • What is the company OBLIGATED to do?

We get these calls from time to time, and it’s not always easy to provide an appropriate answer.

Are you prepared?

Even if you’re prepared for these situations, it can still be stressful. But if you’re NOT prepared, it’s much worse.

There are five elements to a drug-free workplace. We did not invent them. Based on federal guidelines, they are tried, tested and defensible.

  1. Written Policy – It all starts here. Make sure every employee receives a written copy of these rules. Clarify for supervisors and employees why you have them, what constitutes a violation, and what the consequences are. If you need help, contact us.
  2. Reasonable Suspicion Training for Supervisors – Training is what we are talking about here. Supervisors need to understand what they can do—and what they must do when faced with one of these situations.
  3. Employee Education – Make sure employees are informed not only about the health and career implications of substance abuse, but also how it affects others. They must understand the policy in order to obey it.
  4. Access to Employee Assistance – Your company doesn’t have to pay for it, but you need to provide a resource for employees that need help.
  5. Testing – Most companies do a pre-employment test, but the real deterrent to substance abuse in the workplace is random testing. And make sure your written policy includes a provision for Reasonable Suspicion Testing.

Many companies have most of this worked out. What we see missing most often is Supervisor Training for reasonable suspicion. Let us know if you would like to learn about live reasonable suspicion training. For many, though, online reasonable suspicion training is both time- and cost-effective.

Online reasonable suspicion training is why we recently partnered with Visify. For only $49, each supervisor can train and earn a completion certificate. Click here for details, or contact us.