Author: contributor

Sometimes, it might be difficult to trace the real reason why productivity and performance drop in the workplace. This is why employers need to be on their toes to find out what is affecting their employees.  

Usually, one of the factors that prevent the workplace from meeting their targets and achieving great feats is when addiction is in play among some employees.

From alcohol addiction to drug addiction, gambling addiction, internet addiction, shopping addiction, and a host of others, addicted employees are likely to lose focus at work which affects their input.

If you are an employer and you are looking to confirm if your employee is addicted or not, here are some telltale signs to help you.

• Increased absence at work

An addicted employee would gradually begin to lose interest at work. This is because they are investing more time in their addiction than work. Probably, the only reason why they would show up at work is because of their salary or wages.

Those of them who are addicted to substances like alcohol and drugs would try to keep coming to work because they need money to fuel their addiction.

• A decline in work performance

It would be difficult for an addicted employee to perform optimally. First off, their mind is divided so it is difficult for them to think straight. Some of them begin by missing deadlines and not meeting targets because they cannot concentrate.

Also, they will burn out easily because they are spending a huge chunk of time on their addiction. If they have their way, they can carry out their addictive habits at the workplace.

• Evident physical health problems

Addiction becomes obvious in an individual’s appearance especially if it has been going on for a long time.

You will notice some signs like:

• Runny nose
• Red eyeballs
• Extreme weight gain or weight loss
• Skin discoloration
• Dozing off at work
• Fatigue
• Nausea
• A decline in hygiene evident in their physical appearance
• Unexplainable and strange behavior at work
• Going off tangent during crucial discussions

With proper treatment in place, people don’t have to be addicted forever. In addiction treatment, each individual is taught how to manage triggers that might pop up after addiction treatment.

Therefore, with proper management and awareness, you can keep your sobriety forever.  

Here is a walkthrough on some steps that help you avoid addiction triggers:

Identify your triggers

It is important to mention that each person has a unique set of triggers that can induce addiction.

You need to find out what your triggers are so that you can avoid them. When you are in addiction treatment, learning to identify your triggers is one of the things you will learn.

Once these triggers are identified, you can take actionable steps to keep them at a good distance.

Prevent stress

One of the common addiction triggers is stress. Many people don’t know how to handle the stress that they face from work, home, etc.

When stress begins to build up in your body and is not handled the right way, it can make you resort to addiction.

Hence, it is important to learn to know when stress is getting too much, and how to reduce it.

Seek help

Beyond willpower and making some resolutions, you need external help to avoid addiction triggers.

This is where addiction programs come in. With these programs, you will learn coping strategies that will help you keep these triggers at bay.

Another source of help is from trusted family, friends, and acquaintances. You need a healthy support system to constantly motivate you that you can keep addiction at bay.

Develop healthy habits

People who don’t lead healthy lives are likely to give in to addiction triggers. It is important to watch the food you eat, and what you drink. In addition, spend more time exercising and sleeping well to boost your body’s immune system, and also to avoid addiction triggers.

The basic solution to avoiding addiction is to live a healthy lifestyle. This is achievable by implementing health measures that will help you to remain healthy.

To begin with, you need to ensure you find ways of beating stress. No matter our age, we live stress-filled lives and this affects us in one way or the other.

People who do not know how to handle stress are often prone to abusing substances and getting addicted in the process. Hence, it is best to put measures in place to tackle stress effectively.

One way to achieve this is to find time to rest effectively. People do not rest and this is why their stress levels go up. No matter how tight your schedule is, you can still squeeze time to take a short nap. This will help your body reset and you need this is to keep up with productivity.

In addition to this, it is important to imbibe the act of eating healthily and this involves you eating a balanced diet. For people who do not care about what their food contains, this is a time to be more careful.

The kind of food you eat contributes to how you fight off stress which leads to addiction. If you do not know the right food to eat, it is best to reach out to a nutritionist who would help you out.

Also, it is essential to undergo exercise on a regular basis. There are several merits involve in exercising, one of them which is the premium state of health your body achieves.

When you exercise regularly, you are assured of having strong bones and muscles. Exercising also helps you rest well and keeps you charged for the stressful day ahead.

When all these practices are put in place, it becomes easier to keep addiction at bay. One concept addiction works with is triggers and once they are in place, stress levels for instance, it becomes easy for addiction to thrive. If you are addicted or you know someone who is, it is best to opt for addiction treatment.

In the workplace, the last thing you need is the employees or employers being addicted. This is because, addiction has a way of making people lose focus when they are at work.

Addiction reduces productivity and this can make a business close up in the process. An employer who is addicted would not be able to steer the company in the right direction.

Hence, it is mandatory for the workplace to ensure that the employees are not suffering from any form of addiction. It is essential for all employees to be educated on the ills of addiction.

Most of them are of the opinion that the best way to deal with stress is to take either alcohol or drugs and they get addicted in the process.

For others, there are other forms of behavioral addiction that they are suffering from which is affecting their productivity.

For instance, there are some employees who are suffering from internet addiction, so they surf the internet all through the night without sleeping. The next day, they resume work and they are unable to focus effectively.

To step up productivity, it is imperative to sift out addiction in the workplace. Addiction is a brain disease which has the tendency to disrupt any well-structured organization. In fact an addicted employee can influence other employees in the workplace.

Also, if an employee notices that an employer is addicted, it is best to suggest addiction recovery. Although, it might be tough for the employer to accept this because of the position of leadership.

It is necessary for a workplace to educate the workers on how to handle any form of abuse because the common types of addiction in the workplace are drug and alcohol addiction. Also, it is equally important for the workplace to be concerned with the personal lives of all employees. Because, what happens to them affects their performance at the workplace.

Also, a workplace addiction program can be integrated into a workplace to help employees.