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Showing posts from July, 2014
Workplace Drug Testing — Helping Stop Accidents Before They Happen Posted Jul 29, 2014 Many people who have made it to the final stages of the job application process are familiar with pre-employment drug screening. Post-accident, random, return to duty, and reasonable suspicion are also reasons why an organization might drug test its employees. Why all the testing? To put it plainly, drugs and jobs just don’t mix. The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. (NCADD) lists some job performance issues no employer wants to see at their sites: • Inconsistent work quality • Poor concentration and lack of focus • Lowered productivity or erratic work patterns • Increased absenteeism or on the job “presenteeism” • Unexplained disappearances from the jobsite • Carelessness, mistakes or errors in judgment • Needless risk taking • Disregard for safety for self and others- on the job and off the job accidents • Extended lunch periods and early departures Now, you can
One in five workers drunk on the job by Janie Smith | 04 Jul 2014 Workplace drug testing gets a fair amount of media coverage, but there is a potentially far larger issue that employers need to be aware of – alcohol. A survey conducted by the Australian Drug Foundation found that nearly one in five employees had performed work duties while drunk or tipsy. A similar number admitted to pulling a sickie due to the effects of alcohol, while about 40% said they’d gone to work while still feeling the effects of their drinking. According to the foundation, alcohol and other drugs cost Australian businesses $6 billion per year in lost productivity and absenteeism, with alcohol use contributing to five per cent of workplace deaths and 11 per cent of accidents. Phillip Collins, the foundation’s head of workplace services, told HC that employers needed to realise that drinking was not an “at-home issue”, even though the majority of alcohol is consumed outside of office hours. “People don
Women and PPE: Finding the right fit Employers need to keep women in mind when purchasing PPE Thomas J. Bukowski June 22, 2014 ■PPE such as gloves, fall-arrest harnesses and safety boots that are designed for men may not fit women because of differences in average body dimensions. ■Some experts insist that employers should provide separate PPE for men and women rather than unisex PPE, which may not fit a woman properly. ■Employers should seek out distributors that offer a full range of PPE for both men and women, stakeholders say. Personal protective equipment is one of the last lines of defense for workers against injuries. However, in certain industries such as construction, women are less fortunate than men when it comes to finding gear that fits properly. “I am a woman under 5 feet [tall] and I can tell you, there isn’t much PPE that fits me properly.” – Leah Curran, an employee with New Castle, DE-based Tri-Supply & Equipment “I have had many difficulties in providing my