Business owners and companies alike try their best to provide a safe and risk-free working environment for their employees. Moreover, there are proven positive effects on the efficiency and productivity of businesses that have well-managed procedures and policies. Some systems like a well-trained and active security team and a strict premises entry rule help their employees feel safer. Policies enforced around the office also have lasting effects on companies. These policies can include gender-related employee-to-employee interactions and drug and alcohol control. Behavioural approaches help protect the company from within. Furthermore, having a drug and alcohol free workplace may help improve the safety of all the workers. It is important to note that substance abuse can negatively affect one’s attitude and awareness. 

Thus, monitoring substance abuse should be an essential focus for any company or business wanting a safe and healthy workplace. In addition, achieving an alcohol free workplace has become easier for employers with the help of the workplace breathalysers from Breathalysers Australia.

The Repercussions of Not Having an Alcohol Free Workplace

Alcohol use and abuse in the workplace have many detrimental effects that greatly cost employers and business owners. By not having an alcohol free workplace, companies and businesses may find themselves dealing with these negative factors:

• Increase in serious injuries or casualties – alcoholism in the workplace can lead to severe impairment in vision, hearing, speech, perception, balance, and coordination. For instance, an intoxicated employee operating equipment can make a severe error leading to an accident that can cause injury or a casualty.
• Poor work performance – consuming alcohol can make an employee lose focus or lack concentration on their tasks. This, in turn, leads to distractions, producing lower work output. 
• Increased employee absenteeism – employees dealing with alcoholism tend to miss workdays more and more.
• Higher costs – accidents cost employers significant amounts in healthcare or insurance expenses. In addition, these costs can include training of new employees due to high turnover rates. 
• Legal penalties – companies are responsible for caring for and providing a safe working environment to all their employees. Negligence of these factors can lead to legal penalties.
• Interpersonal work conflicts – alcohol use and abuse can strain relationships with colleagues. An impaired employee may start to act inappropriately or aggressively towards others, whether be it co-workers or superiors. Likewise, it can create distrust and cause low employee morale throughout the workplace. 

Why You Should Create and Implement a Workplace Alcohol Policy

To help companies and businesses attain an alcohol free workplace, employers everywhere look toward creating and implementing a workplace alcohol policy. This policy includes the company’s guidelines, procedures, and protocols about alcohol use and abuse in the work environment. Moreover, the policy should clearly state the purpose and goal of the company concerning alcoholism in the workplace. It should be concise enough for all employees to understand and agree without difficulty. Furthermore, the policy should include all information regarding employee alcohol testing in the workplace. A comprehensive workplace alcohol policy that includes alcohol testing for employees can have many beneficial factors.

Benefits of an Alcohol Free Workplace

• Enhance overall safety – alcohol testing employees deter alcohol use and promote healthier practices. Reducing employee alcohol use leads to a lesser probability of casualties or injuries.
• Reduce overall costs – workplace accidents can cost companies a substantial amount of healthcare, compensation, or insurance expenses. Preventing accidents helps reduce hospital bills, property damage, or training for new employees due to high turnover rates.
• Improve employee productivity – a healthy workforce can perform optimally and has lesser downtime.
• Alcohol screening employees – pre-employment alcohol test enables employers to screen employees that may potentially harm the workplace before they are added to the workforce.
• Improve employee morale – a safe and healthy work environment encourages employees to perform better. Reduced alcohol use also results in lesser conflict or violence between themselves.
• Fewer liabilities – workplace alcohol testing employees help prevents accidents and the legal consequences that may come with it. Moreover, it also helps employers establish that accidents did not happen because of negligence.

Efficient Alcohol Monitoring with Breathalysers Australia

Companies back then were hesitant to monitor the substance abuse of their employees constantly. It is mainly because of how much it used to cost to hire and call out mobile testing units and their trained drug and alcohol testers. Nowadays, all it takes is for one of the company’s employees to get certified as a tester. The company has to invest a little more into having a workplace breathalyser. However, it is only a small price to pay for an alcohol free workplace. A company can significantly cut costs and increase the frequency of alcohol tests that can be conducted. Keeping in mind that the workplace breathalysers from Breathalysers Australia can monitor alcohol with police-grade accuracy, it would prove to be an invaluable investment any company can make. With constant and frequent testing available, it can definitely provide an alcohol free workplace for any company or business.

How can BACtrack Workplace Breathalysers at Breathalysers Australia provide an Alcohol Free Workplace?

Providing an alcohol free workplace should be one of the main priorities for most companies. Given the adverse effects they could have on an individual’s attitude, behaviour, and awareness, it should be monitored, as it can drastically affect the safety and productivity of the workplace. Construction companies, for example, that operate heavy machinery, would need to make sure that none of their employees would doze off behind the wheel. This behaviour could easily be attributed to alcohol abuse. On the other hand, this could easily be avoided by having their workers conveniently use a workplace breathalyser from Breathalysers Australia right before operating the machine.

BACtrack workplace breathalysers at Breathalysers have professional-grade accurate fuel cell sensors. These sensors are as precise as the sensors that law-enforcement breathalysers use. Moreover, these breathalysers are quick and easy to use. With their one-button operation feature, back-to-back alcohol testing employees are straightforward. Furthermore, these breathalysers can process Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) results within 10 to 15 seconds. With these features in mind, companies wanting to attain an alcohol free workplace can do so with aid from accurate and reliable devices like the BACtrack workplace breathalysers at Breathalysers Australia.

Conclusion

In conclusion, preventing alcohol use and abuse in the workplace would positively affect an employee’s attitude, health and safety. Moreover, it would prove to have a positive effect on the company they work for as well. Keeping in mind how it dramatically affects one’s attendance and ability to perform, it would prove to be an indispensable focus for any company. Lastly, with the help of the BACtrack workplace breathalysers from Breathalysers Australia, attaining and maintaining an alcohol free workplace has never been so easy.