Saturday, June 11, 2016

HEROIN: Drug and Alcohol Training for Supervisors in Reasonable Suspicion

Heroin addicts are a fascinating group of employees. While still employed, they can be the most convincing, well dressed, hardest working, and loyal workers on your payroll. There is just one problem, they are a runaway train. Heroin users frequently mess up their use which cause them to be absent from work without notice. And if they are not absent from work, they frequently have employees who will cover up their drug use and consequences because they do not want to see the employee fired. So the most amazing part of the heroin addicted employee is 1) complete and sudden absenteeism without phoning in  or prior notification, possibly gone for 2-3 days, and 2) lying like hell, convincingly to explain the absenteeism. There is a third thing -- missing items, materials, or tools that can be sold for money to buy more heroin. Heroin addicts are extremely difficult to treat because they believe a heroin habit if properly managed will not affect the social  or occupational well-being. Their supplier of the drug is person with whom they have the closest relationship.
As a DOT Supervisor, you will be completely stumped when this employee ends up in treatment or failing to follow through after working with you for 25 years.

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