By Valerie Nosek

Several weeks ago, Ease@Work was asked to participate in a diabetes education program at one of our client organizations. At first, we thought it was because Ease could offer consultation with a certified diabetes educator through the nutritional coaching feature of our services. However, we were surprised to learn that we were being requested to focus on depression as associated with diabetes.

The group conducting this program had taken a survey of employees attending the sessions, asking pertinent questions about their actual diabetes care program, but also included in the survey were questions about depression, such as:

• How often do you feel blue or depressed?

• How long do these episodes of feeling down last?

• Does feeling down make you feel isolated or unable to enjoy things you used to enjoy? Etc.

Almost 50 percent of those who took the survey gave responses that indicated some level of depression.

Those in diabetes education are very familiar with the link between depression and diabetes. However, we found that link between mental health and diabetes is not as well-known in the general medical community or even by those who have lived with diabetes for years.

According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA):

• People with diabetes are at greater risk for depression

• Poor diabetes control can cause symptoms that look like depression

(high or low blood sugar during the day may make you feel tired or anxious; low blood sugar levels can lead to hunger and eating too much; low blood sugar at night can disturb your sleep; high blood sugar at night may make you get up often to urinate and in turn leave you feeling tired during the day)

The ADA goes on to say that there are no easy answers about why those with diabetes have a greater risk for depression, but they suspect a variety of reasons contribute to the likelihood, including:

• The stress of daily diabetes management

• The feeling of being set apart from family or friends due to the extra work of managing diet

• Other health complications from diabetes

• Feeling of losing control due to trouble or inability to keep blood sugar levels where you want them

• Tensions between family members, friends, doctors and other medical providers involved in diabetes care

• A vicious cycle of depression and low energy can lead to poor blood sugar testing/monitoring, which in turn exacerbates the situation; or anxiety may make it hard to maintain a good diet, or lead to skipping meals, which again, will cause blood sugar levels to get out of control.

As a comprehensive employee assistance program (EAP), we could offer assistance to a diabetic employee/or a family member in a collaborative manner on a number of levels:

• Consultation with a registered dietitian certified in diabetes education (CDE). A CDE could help the individual with menu planning, provide information on healthy food choices, discussion of any particular blood sugar control questions and more.

• Consultation with a counselorexperienced with depression as associated with medical conditions, such as diabetes. A clinician could help the individual/or family member address stressors, anxiety, feelings about not being in control, how to recognize/deal with depression, etc…

• Consultation with a fitness coach. Getting proper exercise is also a factor in managing diabetes effectively. Physical activity is also known to boost the “feel good” hormones produced by the body, which can alleviate some forms of depression.

On a personal note: A couple weeks after Ease’s participation in the diabetes education program, I happened to be talking with a longtime friend who is a diabetic. He was struggling emotionally and said he really didn’t feel like talking with me or anyone else…not to take it personally, but he just felt completely spent and down. I also knew he had been having trouble recently keeping his blood sugar levels in check.

When I asked him if he was aware of the connection between depression and diabetes, he was completely unaware…and this from a person who has been managing diabetes for over 25 years.

After talking with him a little longer, it was as if a light bulb went on for him – the connection between certain events and situations in his life seemed to make more sense when paired with the role depression may have played in them. I offered him some reading resources, and while I did not expect to remedy his situation, at least I know he has more awareness about the link between diabetes and depression, and that he is open to addressing the issue with a professional.

If you are diabetic, make an effort to monitor your mood as well as your blood sugar. If you find yourself struggling, call your EAP and speak to a counselor. If you know somebody who is diabetic, do not assume that they know of this connection. Chances are, they are not aware of it and they might be more likely to take action to get help if they understand the biological link to this common mental health issue.

Workplace gossip throwing a monkey wrench in your organization's productivity?

By Valerie S. Nosek

People love talking about other people and people like hearing about other people’s business. Surprisingly, experts agree this behavior is a part of human nature. This fact explains why celebrity gossip magazines are so popular. It’s why strangers will strain to listen to juicy talk about someone they don’t even know. And, it’s also why gossip will never be completely eradicated from the work environment…but, that doesn’t mean human resource (HR) and management professionals should give up on trying to curtail workplace gossip.

 Gossip Does More Than Just Waste Time…

While most in HR and management recognize employees gossiping as a time waster that lowers productivity, some negative outcomes may not be as obvious.

A recent study by Tim Hallett, an assistant professor at Indiana University, highlights the impact of gossip in the workplace through observation of staff at a middle school going through leadership change. The year-long study documents how gossip affects management, teamwork and employee retention. Originally published as “Gossip at Work: Unsanctioned Evaluative Talk in Formal School Meetings,” in the Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, Workforce Management reports on Hallet’s study in the article, “Gossip’s Toll on the Workplace.”

Gossip “played and important role in the construction of workplace problems and relational politics,” the study said. Hallett reported gossip undermined management’s ability to lead, it fostered resistance to change, perpetuated unnecessary drama and contributed to higher than normal employee turnover.

So, not only are individuals affected by gossip, but the workplace as a whole suffers. The following represent just a few examples of costs associated with workplace gossip:

• Lower morale
• Lack of trust
• Increased anxiety among employees
• Divisiveness as individuals “take sides”
• Irreparable damage to feelings, reputations, relationships
• Individuals who gossip viewed as unprofessional, thus jeopardizing chances for advancement
• Good employees leave due to an unhealthy work atmosphere
• Lost productivity
• Damage to organization’s reputation
• Damage to individual’s/employee’s reputation
• Possible legal issues

Confronting Gossip

Do not participate in gossip. If conversation drifts toward something you feel is leaning toward rumor, redirect the discussion. If this doesn’t work, let the person or group know directly that you will not participate in this type of conversation and excuse yourself from the conversation.

According to “Workplace Gossip,” written by Kit Hennessy, LPC, CEAP, “This will serve several purposes. It will send a message to the gossipers that what they are doing is not acceptable. Others who feel the same way as you do will be more likely to follow suit and not become involved with the gossip, thus taking away the audience. And lastly, you will feel good that you have said ‘no’ to something that wastes time and could cause harm.”

Leaders often make a mistake in pretending not to know about gossip or thinking that by admitting knowledge of the rumors adds credence to them. Instead, managers need to be attune to the grapevine and willing to take action.

One way to do this is by building good relationships with staff. In this way, staff members will be comfortable talking to you as a manager when they hear something that doesn’t seem quite right, or is unquestionably gossip. Keeping communication open is essential in limiting the rumor mill.

“One thing employees may gossip about is what management is or isn’t doing. Rather than allowing speculation to turn into misinformation, consider communicating regularly with your employees about what’s going on in your workplace, at least about things that don’t have to remain confidential for some reason. Open communication may stop some of the rumormongers from making up information. Moreover, the gossipers’ influence will be minimized because everyone – or at least those who need to be – will be “in-the-know.” When employees believe they have sufficient information, they’ll spend less time gossiping and more time working.”

- From “What Can HR Do About Workplace Gossip?” HR Hero, Sept. 1, 2009.

It may also be appropriate to address the issue of gossip in your Code of Conduct or disciplinary policy, where, through formal review and education, the organization can make employees aware that malicious gossip or other behaviors that create discord are subject to progressive disciplinary action as per policy. You may want to include a statement that clearly prohibits remarks about “the organization, co-workers, customers, competitors, agents or partners that could be considered harassing, threatening, libelous or defamatory in any way.” (“What Can HR Do About Workplace Gossip?” HR Hero, Sept. 1, 2009.)

Rely on your employee assistance program (EAP) for help in addressing workplace issues and problem employee behaviors that impact job performance. Ease@Work, a comprehensive EAP, offers consultation with a dedicated account manager and/or a clinical manager regarding workplace and employee concerns.

By Patrick Gaul

A report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in March, 2010 breaks down the total cost to compensate employees. Of the $27.42 per hour average spent on the average American Worker, $8.00 per hour was spent on benefits. Health, life and disability insurance total $2.54 per hour while the rest of the benefits expense comes in the form of paid leave, supplemental pay, retirement / savings, and legally required benefits (social security, workers compensation and unemployment). 

During this difficult economic time, many organizations are freezing salaries but cannot freeze the cost of benefits unless they do so by increasing cost sharing with employees.  Health insurance is still considered a must have for most American workers, so employers are looking for other benefit-related spending they can cut in order to compensate for the increasing cost of basic benefits. Many potential Employee Assistance Program (EAP) customers have given this as the reason for there being no room in the budget for an EAP. 

This study has me thinking: How much is the average employer really saving by cutting the EAP from the benefits budget? 

This model provides an interesting perspective. A few quick calculations reveal the answer:

The average Ease@Work customer pays between 1.7 and 2.4 cents per hour for our program. The Human Resource (HR) and/or benefits people typically want a program like ours because it is a program that helps in so many ways.  For employees it provides counseling, assistance with childcare, eldercare, legal and financial issues, and also a wellness benefit, providing a wide variety of information in many forms including in-person consultations with nutrition and wellness coaches. An EAP even makes life easier on management by providing 24/7 access to behavior specialists for help with challenging employee situations.

I have to wonder if the EAP advocates in HR would be more likely to get budgetary approval from decision-makers if they proposed the EAP as a 2.5 cent per hour “employee” whose job description is to support and service all of their other employees in so many essential ways. Sounds rather inexpensive to me when you think of it that way…

Being Late is Bad Business for All Involved

By Valerie S. Nosek

The meeting invitation indicated a start time of 10:00 a.m. I gather my materials, grab a cup of coffee and head to the conference room, arriving a little less than five minutes before the meeting is scheduled to start. I settle into my seat, prep my materials and wait…and wait…and wait.

It’s now 10:10 a.m. and I’m still the only one in the room. Even the person who scheduled the meeting has not arrived. I begin to doubt whether the information I had was correct. Perhaps the meeting was cancelled and I missed the notification?

Just as I’m thinking this, two other people walk into the room. The individual facilitating the meeting still has not arrived. It will be 10:16 a.m. before he manages to roll into the room, excuses falling out of his hands in the form of copies he had to print, which he says made him late.

Punctuality Starts at the Top

I recently had a conversation about people being late to meetings with a friend, who also happens to be a very successful leader in his organization. He, too, has an issue with people who are late to scheduled meetings, saying this behavior is disrespectful to everyone involved in the meeting. At the most basic level, being late says, “I really don’t care about your time; it’s not valuable to me.”

My friend, unfortunately, is in the minority though when it comes to CEO’s and their record for being timely. According to a 2002 survey of 2,700 chief executives by Proudfoot, CEO’s are late to meetings 60 percent of the time. And, it’s suspected that the “late rate” percentage would be higher, except that most CEO’s are “punctual to meetings with important clients.”

What some leaders may fail to realize though, is that like so many other desirable workplace behaviors, punctuality starts at the top. Managers/supervisors who are chronically late send a message to their staff that wasted time and inconsiderate behavior is tolerated within the organization.

And, we also know there are leaders who may take advantage of their status with a “Do as I say, not as I do” attitude. But this approach isn’t even a good idea with children, so why would it be appropriate in the workplace? Furthermore, a leader who strives for excellence would never use this approach regarding expectations for those they supervise.

Employees will quickly lose respect for the leader who does not model the work ethics and behaviors expected of all employed by the organization. On the flipside, leaders who are good role models may be labeled as “tough,” or having high expectations, but they are also the ones who are typically respected, develop staff loyalty and have good morale within their division/department.

Time is Money

It may be a cliché, but it’s also true. How much money is wasted every year by meetings that start late?

Think about your organization and calculate:

• How often meetings are held?
• Number of staff involved?
• Hourly rates for each staff member involved?
• How many minutes it typically takes to actually start the meeting?

If meetings are run efficiently within your company – great! But if not, you might be surprised at how much all that time is actually costing. And, while this amount may indicate significant internal losses, also consider the outside client who is kept waiting.

If it’s a prospective client, they may view your/or your employee’s tardiness as indicative of how your organization delivers product or services and choose to contract with another vendor. Similarly, a current client may switch vendors if they feel their time (interpret as their “business”) is not valued.

Sending the message – “It’s not OK to be late”

If chronic tardiness is an issue in your organization, and you are in management or often lead meetings, try these suggestions:

• If you are in leadership, a manager/supervisor, or the meeting organizer, do not be late.
• Do not wait for people arriving late. Start the meeting on time.
• If you can, close (or lock) the door. Those arriving late will have to make more of an effort to join the meeting and it will be very clear that their tardiness has been noticed.
• After the meeting, and in private, have a conversation with each offender and clearly explain your expectations regarding punctuality.
• Following the one-on-one conversation, consider any future offenses documentation worthy. Keep track of these offenses and report/consider them (as appropriate) when evaluating job performance.

As an employee assistance program, Ease@Work can offer expert guidance in employee issues that impact workplace performance and productivity. We also offer consultation and coaching for leaders seeking guidance on a variety of workforce management issues.

Assessing Training Needs, Setting Expectations, Measuring Outcomes

By Valerie S. Nosek

As a comprehensive Employee Assistance Program (EAP) with an extensive training catalog, it’s not unusual to receive a number of calls every week from various organizations requesting training for employees, managers/supervisors and yes, even executive leadership. Providing effective employee education is an important part of what we do – that’s why we ask probing questions about the instigating need, specific objectives, participants to be included, work culture/environment and more, when approaching a training engagement. These initial questions usually lead to a revealing conversation that allows us to match training with needs and secure the best suited subject matter expert to facilitate the program.    

It would be very easy to simply say, “Oh yes, we can provide ‘X’ training,” schedule the workshop and be done with it. But, as Benjamin McCall said in his recent post, “How to be an HR Ninja: Uncover Training Needs,” providing effective educational programs in the workplace is so much more than just providing “the training.”

Like McCall, we firmly believe that “training, and the learning that takes place, should engage all members of the organization to increase performance while aligning learning objectives to the overall goals of the business.”

Providing training without a formally expressed expectation of retention or application of what was learned is wasteful of company resources, yet, too often this is how training programs are presented. Effective employee educational programs should lead to sustainable change or improvement of a skill set, on the part of the individual(s) involved.

Furthermore, it is critical to review and assess that the training chosen matches the philosophy of the organization. For example, a client may say they want their middle management staff to be more assertive in decision-making, but then upper management or executive leadership micro-manages when it comes down to actually allowing middle managers to make independent decisions. Training that does not match the culture of the organization not only wastes time and money, but can also result in frustration and lowered morale for employees who were engaged in the training and are then blocked from applying what they’ve learned.

McCall also makes a great point in saying that “Just because people WANT training doesn’t mean they need it and just because they NEED training doesn’t mean they want it.” And it is this statement that is at the center of why any training provider committed to offering effective educational programs should ask those probing questions prior to scheduling training.

It’s very common to receive a request for one type of training, only to discover after an exploratory discussion that the training need is something different than originally thought. Let’s take the hypothetical case of the manager whose team seems to be experiencing an increased amount of conflict and is not acting as a cohesive unit:

We receive a call from the human resource contact at Company XYZ asking for a teambuilding session for one of their divisions. The HR professional says the division’s manager reported that suddenly, members of the group are not getting along and it’s impacting productivity. They need to learn how to work better as a team. We ask for a phone consultation with the manager and anyone else who should be included in determining what outcome is desired from the training.

During a conversation with the manager and his assistant manager, we find the company has recently reorganized some positions and this division was affected. While the team members are the same, their responsibilities have shifted. We also find out that before the changes, the group functioned well and without conflict. The managers acknowledge some employees are having difficulty adjusting to their new roles, but feel they are all valuable and capable of the performance expected.

After this discussion, it becomes apparent the problem is not that the group doesn’t know how to function as a team or that there are members of the group creating conflict. Instead, the employees within the division are having difficulty adjusting to the changes that have taken place.

In a best case scenario, a teambuilding workshop may have reinforced skills this group already knew, but still would not have been the best use of training funds. On a less positive note, bringing teambuilding training to a group who knew they were able to work well together before reorganization could have potentially caused more problems, such as lowered morale or hostility, as employees might feel the blame for lost productivity was misplaced: “We didn’t have any problems until the ‘bigwigs’ decided to do it this way instead of how we were doing it before. Now they’re blaming us that it’s not working when it was their idea.”

A program on change management was more applicable to the division’s needs. Employees were resistant to the changes that had taken place and just wanted things to “go back to the way they were before.” However, a change management session allowed employees to recognize the stages of change, determine where they were in terms of acknowledging and accepting change individually, and learn how to move forward so that the group could return to the exceptional levels of performance expected of them.

Ease@Work can help you address your company’s training, coaching and organizational development needs. Our programs are thoughtfully tailored to your organization, using a variety of methods, some of which might include phone or in-person consultation, needs assessments or use of focus groups. Skills retention can be assessed through pre- and post-testing, assessing application of training 30-, 60-, or even 90-days out.

By Stephanie Patek, Ease Account Manager and Fitness Coaching Supervisor

It is quite unlikely for an untrained, although somewhat active person, to step out on the pavement and complete a half-marathon (13.1 miles), especially without pain or injury. It is similarly unlikely for a sedentary individual to complete a shorter distance, such as a 5K (3.1 miles) without following a structured training program.

I’ve seen all too many individuals who intend to tackle a goal, and end up backing out of a race because they failed to follow a progression plan. Perhaps they became too insecure about crossing the finish line, or fell to injury because they detoured from their program and pushed themselves too hard at the beginning.

Like the progressive nature of successful running programs, the same philosophy can be applied to workplace wellness challenges.

Progression is key.

Behavior change usually requires a lengthy process of breaking a bad habit – 21 days according to most research. Change also requires the persistence to adopt or expand upon a healthy habit – yet another 21 days. It is critical when designing a wellness challenge that the challenge is designed to indicate a level of improvement over time.

A “progressive” set of goals can be the fulcrum of change, and capture an audience that needs some time to adjust to a “fit” lifestyle.

As an example of this process, during a recent challenge facilitated at the Center for Families and Children over the course of 8-weeks, participants were asked to increase their level of exercise from 90 minutes a week (for weeks one, two and three) to 120 minutes a week (for weeks four, five and six), ending with 150 minutes per week (for weeks seven and eight.) Twenty-percent of the employees who participated in the challenge successfully progressed through the full progression of increased activity. And, although the results appear to be low, in actuality those employees who met the challenge increased their minutes of exercise by 40%.

Tougher challenges yield greater- measurable – results.

Similar, tougher challenges – facilitated in a progressive nature – can offer immediate post-challenge insight on health improvement. Not simply that the employees completed a challenge and finished, but that they did make measurable improvement in their fitness over a course of time.

Tracking healthy outcomes through workplace wellness programs can be challenging. We often hear statements from both vendors and employers commenting that the success of wellness programs is “tough to measure.”

By implementing a progressive format in your workplace wellness challenge, your organization can immediately pinpoint those employees who have successfully “trained” to improve their health. In as little as eight weeks, a significant impact can be made to the physical capabilities of employees completing challenge.

I encourage those dedicated to wellness in the workplace to think past the minimum basic health standards set by health agencies; to encourage staff to go beyond the minimum amount of exercise needed, and present a training challenge that will actually make a significant healthful impact for each individual who participates.

Ease@Work improves workplace wellness as both a benefit to employees requiring individualized assistance with nutrition, fitness, smoking cessation, stress, etc., but also as a tool for management. We assist management with the establishment of wellness committees and the implementation of wellness programming and even challenges like the one outlined above.  For more information visit our website or click contact us above.  Your message won’t get lost in cyber-space, we promise.

By Valerie S. Nosek, Ease@Work Coordinator

Did you know that tobacco use still leads the pack in being the number one preventable cause of death? Yes it’s true – despite all that we’ve learned about the ill effects of tobacco use, people continue to smoke and use other tobacco products.

According to the American Lung Association’s (ALA) Freedom From Smoking ® program, about one out of every five deaths is tied to tobacco; and for every person who dies of a smoking attributable disease, there are 20 more people suffering from a serious illness related to smoking.

As a human resource professional, benefits manager, company owner or CEO, how can you help but wonder what smoking and tobacco use is costing your organization in terms of insurance premiums, absenteeism/sick days, loss of productivity and ultimately the possible death of an employee?

I recently had the privilege of attending and completing an ALA workshop conducted by Gloria Ayres, ALA Program Director, to become certified as a Freedom From Smoking ® facilitator. Our group included individuals from wellness organizations, hospitals, the insurance and employee assistance program (EAP) industries – all of us looking to help customers, co-workers and others in the community who want to quit smoking.

In preparing for the class, I thought about my motivations for wanting to become certified to teach smoking cessation classes. Of course, I want to help our EAP customers when they request smoking cessation classes for their employees and the ALA’s Freedom From Smoking® is a premiere program. But I also realized I had other motivations.

As a former smoker, I understand what your smoking employees may be struggling with…how hard it is to quit smoking and break that habit (or dependence) on tobacco. I smoked for over 20 years (if you count when I started sneaking smokes as a teen); I have now been smoke-free for 12 years. When I was smoking, I never really believed I could be successful at quitting…but I figure if I could stop smoking and stay smoke-free for this long, so can other people.

I know how it feels to wake up with smoker’s cough…and I know how good it feels when you realize, “Gee, I’m not coughing anymore!” I know how dirty my fingers would feel when I was digging through an ashtray for a longer butt to smoke when I was out of cigarettes and desperate for one; I don’t miss that. I also don’t miss spending my hard-earned money on packs of cigarettes – at over $5 a pack now, that would have been almost a $20-a-day habit for me. Who can afford that?

But more than that – who can afford what tobacco use does to the body?

• More than 4,800 chemical compounds have been identified in tobacco smoke; at least 69 of these are known to cause cancer
• Non-tobacco materials found in cigarettes include insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, rodenticides and pesticides…not so funny that the suffix “cide” means “to kill.”
• Every puff of a cigarette increases heart and breathing rates, constricts blood vessels and decreases the amount of oxygen blood can carry through the body.
• Lung cancer is not the only cancer tobacco users need to fear…how about laryngeal cancer, oral cancer, esophageal cancer, pancreatic cancer and renal cancer?
• Let’s not forget other health issues associated with smoking – chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema, chronic bronchitis and other cardiovascular diseases.

When I quit smoking, I didn’t have access to a program such as Freedom From Smoking ®; I also didn’t know about EAP’s or that an EAP could help with smoking cessation by providing counseling and behavioral change support. Had I been armed with these tools, I may have been successful in quitting earlier – or at least felt more prepared to quit – not as overwhelmed. 

• If your worksite is going (or has gone smoke-free) and you know a number of employees are still smoking;
• If your organization has wellness initiatives;
• If your benefits program distinguishes between smokers and non-smokers (either with penalties for smoking/rewards for not smoking)…

 …consider offering the Freedom From Smoking ® program to your employees.

Your employees will progress through the sessions, gaining the confidence and skills needed to quit tobacco. They will make real progress in setting a quit date and having the support to see them through those difficult initial days and weeks. They will learn the coping techniques needed to stay smoke-free.

Talk with your EAP representative about smoking cessation programs and how your EAP can support employees who are trying to quit smoking. Along with addictions or behavioral change counseling, a comprehensive EAP, such as EASE@Work, offers nutritional and fitness coaching – which can also help employees maintain a healthy weight while quitting.

If you’d like more information about bringing Freedom From Smoking ® to your site, call me at 216.325.9323 or Contact Ease@Work for more information.

Out with the DFWP, In with the DFSP

by Patrick Gaul

It has long been rumored that the Ohio BWC Drug Free Workplace Program (DFWP) was on the chopping block. The BWC sent an announcement on March 31, 2010, confirming those rumors.

“The BWC will phase out DFWP effective July 1, 2010,” according to an update to the Ohio BWC website which was posted on April 1, 2010. April Fools Day, interesting timing. The DFWP is being replaced with the Drug Free Safety Program (DFSP).

Since helping businesses to maintain a drug free work environment is a big part of what Ease@Work does, I spent some time reviewing the DFSP information on the BWC Website. If you would like to do the same, follow this link to the BWC DFSP information Webpage. Here are the highlights as I see them:

• The DFSP is not limited to five years, as was the case with the DFWP.
• Previous participants are eligible to join even if they timed out of the DFWP.
• Stacking of discounts is back, but don’t get too excited. If your organization is group rated, your DFSP discount is limited to 3 percent.
• The DFSP is supposedly simpler and easier to implement than the DFWP.
• The application process has been streamlined.
• The employee education requirement has been reduced from two hours initially and two hours of annual refresher to one hour initially and one hour annual refresher.
• The supervisor education requirement has been reduced from four hours initially and two hours of annual refresher to two hours initially and one hour of annual refresher. (Kudos to the BWC for this! As an employee of an EAP which is in the business of selling Drug Free training, even I think that 6 hours of supervisor training was too much.)
•  The DFSP emphasizes tailored approaches to loss prevention and risk management, which includes a mandatory safety review and the provision of accident-analysis training for supervisors.

Two levels instead of three.

The DFSP Basic Level provides a 4 percent discount, which is down significantly from the 10 percent for DFWP Level 1. Group rated organizations cannot receive a discount for participating in the DFSP at the Basic Level. Requirements at the Basic Level include a “safety review” which “walks them through a series of questions designed to demonstrate where the gaps are within the overall approach to workplace safety.”

As was the case with the DFWP, the Basic Level requires a written substance policy. The DFSP includes an outline of questions which, when answered thoroughly, will assist you with designing your own policy. They still suggest that you run your policy past legal counsel for review, but believe this process will be less expensive than paying an employment law attorney to design your policy from scratch.

As stated in the bullets above, the employee education and supervisor training has been reduced in quantity but still follows the same basic guidelines as the DFWP. As with the DFWP, the DFSP drug testing requirements include pre-employment, reasonable suspicion and post-accident testing, as appropriate, return-to-duty and follow-up testing for employees being allowed to retain employment after a positive test. The Basic Level does not require random testing.

The DFSP Advanced Level provides an additional 3 percent “incremental” discount for a total of 7 percent. Only companies which are not receiving a group rating will qualify for the 7 percent discount. Group rated organizations may qualify for the 3 percent incremental discount if they participate at this level. In other words, while discount stacking is technically allowed, a DFSP discount is only available for group rated businesses if they qualify at the Advanced Level and their discount is limited to 3 percent rather than the 7 percent available to businesses which are not group rated.

The Advanced Level requires everything that the Basic Level requires, plus Advanced Level organizations must create a safety action plan from the safety review required at the Basic Level. This plan “moves employers from identifying gaps in safety to taking the appropriate steps to address these issues and better protect the workforce.” BWC safety consultants are available to offer professional guidance in this area.

The Advanced Level also requires random drug testing of 15 percent of the average annual total workforce and it requires a pre-established “working relationship with an employee assistance professional to whom they can refer an employee” testing positive for banned substances and the employer must pay for the cost of the assessment.

This is the cliff notes version of the DFWP / DFSP transition. Again, for a far more detailed explanation, go to the BWC website.

To address the elephant in the room - Why bother?

While the BWC says the new program is “easier to implement” it sure seems like more work with the safety review and safety action plan requirements. On top of it, for your extra efforts you are being rewarded with significantly reduced discounts.

Is it worth the bother?

In my opinion, yes it is. Even under the DFWP when the discounts were 10-20 percent, the most significant cost savings were ancillary to the BWC discounts. The biggest savings came with improvements in workplace safety, improved employee productivity and even wellness. It is apparent to me that the BWC has put a great deal of effort into maximizing the ancillary benefits by improving the focus on workplace safety. I believe that any effort to improve workplace safety is a good investment.

Ease@Work provides a variety of support to employees and management working within a drug free environment. Contact Ease@Work for more information.

By Valerie S. Nosek, Ease@Work Coordinator

Every once in a while, I read an article or blog that really resonates within. Most recently, it was Jim Smith, The Executive Happiness Coach and Ease@Work workshop facilitator, who managed to make me stop and think about things beyond my day-to-day routines.

As a subscriber to Jim’s newsletter, I always enjoy reading what he has to say about choosing happiness. But this particular newsletter, Spring Cleaning, really hit home in so many ways.

Jim makes the point that while many of us do spring cleaning of our physical spaces – clearing out the drab and clutter – why don’t we make it a point to spring clean our emotional house, too?

He says it with such clarity…

“Windows don’t get dirty overnight. But over months and years the drips and streaks build up a little at a time until even a sunny day looks drab and colorless. So it is with our emotional lives. We build up judgments and beliefs ever so slowly, and then one day we wake up and think, ‘When did the world turn so negative?’… 

“…in your house, use your favorite window cleaner and a dry rag. In your head and heart try scraping away a few assessments that are no longer serving you…”

Oh my gosh, how true this is! If we can strip away our preconceptions and judgments about people and situations, look at everything in a fresh way…what new things might we see? To experience people and the things around us unencumbered by the build up of our past expectations?

Ah yes, it may be hard work for some to let go of all that…but really, consider what do you really have by hanging on to those old stories?

Of course, there’s so much more! Jim goes on to give examples of positive self-talk, creating new habits, how conscious breathing can calm and de-stress the body and mind, de-cluttering your emotional closet…

But there’s no sense in repeating here what he crafted so perfectly on his site. I would urge anyone reading this to read the full newsletter by Jim. Heck, you should even subscribe to his newsletters – it won’t cost you a dime and if you’re like most people I know, you’ll look forward to each edition.

***********

From an employee assistance program (EAP) viewpoint, Ease@Work understands the importance of employees taking care of their mental and emotional houses. Numerous studies demonstrate when employees have issues of concern with roots outside of the workplace, those concerns aren’t left behind when they enter their place of business – the worries come with the employee and can affect performance and productivity. These concerns may include:

• mental health issues
• drug and/or alcohol use
• financial or legal worries
• childcare or eldercare problems
• health concerns

But along with offering the short-term, solution-oriented counseling employees may need in order to remain productive, a comprehensive EAP should be able to provide management consultations and a referral system, help in addressing sensitive subjects with employees, offer a wide-selection of seminar topics and assistance with organizational development issues.

Is your EAP doing everything it should be doing for your organization?

By Swan Khanna-Salehi, LISW, LICDC, CEAP, SAP, Ease@Work Clinical Manager 

A drug-free workplace is an expectation of every organization and the right of every employee.  The degree to which an organization makes efforts to assure a drug-free workplace varies significantly.  In some cases, the organization assumes that their employees are not abusing drugs on the job and figures that their managers would be able to identify substance abusing  employees. This is probably the most common reason that I hear from organizations that do not have a formal drug-free workplace program. 

If this is the case in your organization, consider this question.  Do you utilize hair testing for pre-employment drug testing?  Wouldn’t a casual drug user stop using while job hunting?  If they were smart they would.  You hire smart employees don’t you?  According to Omega Laboratories, Inc. the typical detection window for urine testing is 2-3 days.  THC, the active drug in marijuana, is the one major exception which can be detected in urine for up to 20 days.  How long is the average job search?  Longer than 20 days?  Even if you are utilizing pre-employment drug testing, only the more expensive hair test will detect illicit drug use for up to 90 days. 

You want to be sure you do not hire substance abusers, but pre-employment testing is only one element in establishing a drug free workplace.  It is also important to discourage the abuse of drugs and alcohol among your current employees with random drug testing.  The less expensive option of urine testing is effective here because of the element of surprise. 

Your EAP is a very important component of any drug free workplace and there are several ways your drug-free workplace program should be benefiting from your EAP.  Even if you do not drug test at all, your EAP can help to reduce the incidence of substance abuse in the workplace in a number of ways.

• Drug free workplace policy: Your EAP can review your drug free policy to ensure that it is effective and can help you to establish one if you do not currently have such a policy. 
• Employee education: Employees need to be told what substance abuse is and that the company does not allow it.  The policy makes this official, but you should have your EAP spend at least an hour per year providing substance abuse education to your employees.  Questions about prescription drugs are among the most common at these employee trainings.  Can a prescription drug generate a legitimate positive drug test?  Yes!  An out-of-date prescription will not overturn a positive drug test.  If an employee is prescribed a pain medication for an injury that resolves before the prescription is finished, they might keep the remainder “just in case.”   Is it safe to take that medication several months later?  Maybe, but maybe not.  It is possible that this employee may have had changes in their diet or health that may cause a different reaction than what they experienced when the prescription was current.  A more serious complication could be caused by an adverse drug interaction with a new prescription, over-the-counter drug or herbal remedy. 
• Supervisor education: According to the article “Bad habits on campus: how to deal with staff and faculty who are addicts , ” in the July 1, 2008 issue of University Business, “Issues of discrimination or retaliation will pop up when supervisors or managers act as unlicensed Psychiatrists.”  According to Alan Cohn, LISW and director of faculty, staff and employee relations at the University of Virginia it is “a liability, a legal issue” for a supervisor to jump to the wrong conclusion about drug abuse.  A well trained supervisor is better prepared to identify and deal with a substance abusing employee.  They will also have more confidence when dealing with reasonable suspicion.  One thing that supervisors learn from our supervisor education sessions is that they can call us at any time, 24/7 for a management consultation with a counselor to discuss a difficult employee issue whether it pertains to substance abuse,   psychological change or any other employee behavioral issue. 
• A confidential, no-cost solution for employees: Perhaps the most important way your organization should be benefiting from an EAP is by giving your employees the means to get help on their own.  Many substance abusers want to be freed from an addiction but do not know where to turn.  Even if you have a “last chance agreement” policy, fear is still a significant barrier to approaching management about substance abuse.  An EAP will make any workplace safer because of this feature, but a workplace with random drug testing will benefit in multiples from the EAP because the random testing provides significant additional motivation to seek help.

BWC Discounts: According to Ease@Work Sales Manager Patrick Gaul, the majority of calls to Ease@Work for information about substance abuse related services used to be from businesses interested in discounts from the Ohio BWC.  The BWC DFWP program was an especially good incentive when they used to encourage all businesses to participate in the program by offering discounts from 10-20% for establishing a Drug Free Workplace Program that met their standards.  As of last year the Ohio BWC took this incentive away from thousands of Ohio companies by disqualifying those which   already receive another discount, including a group rating.  Apparently there are more changes in the works.  According to an email update that Patrick received from Advocare, Inc., a Cleveland-based group health and workers’ compensation managed care organization, “It is very likely a new drug-free safety program will replace the existing Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation’s (BWC) program by July 1, 2010.”  The update went on to say that the potential changes are a mixture of good news and bad for DFWP companies.  For example they are considering elimination of the stacking rule, but only for companies at the advanced level which requires random testing of 25% of the workforce.  They are also considering elimination of the 5 year limit for the discount program, but the discounts will be reduced to 4-7%.  If you would like to receive industry updates from Advocare, you can reach them at www.advocare-inc.com.