Vital Signs: Job Performance Decline

Although job performance decline can arise for several different reasons, with 74% of illegal drug users being employed, it is likely that some of your employees have alcohol or other drug abuse problems. Sooner or later their problem becomes your problem.

What are some of the vital signs?
 
  • Work requires greater effort 
  • Frequent trips to the rest room 
  • Jobs/tasks take more time 
  • Difficulty recalling instructions 
  • Increasingly missed deadlines 
  • Inability to recall own mistakes 
  • Inability to handle complex tasks 
  • Wasting more material 
  • Higher accident rates 
  • Disregard for safety 
  • Leaving work early 
  • Co-Worker discontent 
  • Longer coffee breaks 
  • Physical illness on-the-job 
  • Wide swings in morale 
  • Over-reacting to criticism 
  • Making bad decisions 
  • Borrowing money 
  • Unreasonable resentments 
  • Improbable excuses 
  • Inconsistent work quality 
  • Excessive talking 
  • Needless risk-taking 
  • Unexplained giddiness 
  • Hyperactivity/lethargic 
  • Deterioration in appearance 
  • Errors in judgment 
  • Depression, withdrawal 
  • Unexplained elation 
  • Impaired concentration 
  • Defensiveness 
  • Frequent mood swings 
  • Excessive tardiness especially on Monday mornings or returning from lunch 
  • Frequent absences that create a pattern, like on Mondays and/or Fridays 
  • Excessive sick leave without medical explanation, higher rate of colds, flu, etc. 
  • On-the-job absenteeism – continued absences from post, more than job requires 
  • Blaming others for own problems and shortcomings 
  • Avoidance of friends and colleagues 
  • Tendency to suppress unpleasant emotions such as pain, fear, shame and guilt 
  • Alternating periods of both high and low productivity 

Physical Indications

A physical indication provides the Supervisor with a sign that something is wrong. This could be due to illness and disease or alcohol or other drug abuse. In either case the employee needs help. A few of these indications are
 
  • Dilated or constricted pupils 
  • Poor motor coordination 
  • Needle Marks 
  • Fatigue, drowsiness 
  • Severe Sweating 
  • Nose Bleeds 
  • Tremors, shaking 
  • Vomiting 
  • The pinky fingernail being much longer than the rest 
  • Sweating more than usual 
  • Drooping eyelids 
  • Red or glassy eyes 
  • Excessive weight gain or loss 
  • Persistent runny nose or cough 

It is important to realize that not all persons will manifest these symptoms.

The characteristics of alcohol or other drug dependency are:

  1. Physical tolerance
  2. Withdrawal symptoms
  3. Continued use despite adverse consequences
  4. Loss of control related to the use of alcohol or other drugs
  5. Denial (denial and repression distort reality, they automatically block-out painful and shameful events.) 


The Stages of Alcohol and Drug Abuse
 
Stage 1 Casual or "experimental" use. The person gets high but no one thinks it is a problem. There may not be any signs of use at this stage.
Stage 2 More frequent alcohol or other drug use. The person starts using more often -- even during the week. Clues to look for: changes in friends, poor school or work performance, mood changes, and unexplained loss of memory, called "blackouts."
Stage 3 Preoccupied with getting high. Daily use is common for some users; others may "binge" (use heavily once a week or so.) The user is ill more often. Family and job problems get worse. The user may start to have trouble with the law. Family and friends are concerned.
Stage 4 Compulsive use. Without the drug, the user may go into withdrawal, which can be life threatening. Illness, blackouts (memory loss due to brain damage from alcohol or other drugs), and overdosing are more common. The family feels torn apart. Getting money to buy drugs becomes an obsession. The user is about to lose his or her job and is isolated from friends. Without treatment, insanity and/or death may follow.