Drug abuse starts making its way into the office

Drug abuse starts making its way into the office

By David and Joyce Djaelani Gordon

JAKARTA (JP): The workplace -- how do you define it? For some
individuals the workplace is a school or university; for others
it may mean home, a shop, an office, a factory, a market,
military camp or police department.

Today there are some 210 million plus people living in
Indonesia. A large proportion, about 60 percent, of these
millions are part of the work force, or at least, are of working
age.

A large number of those are likely to be abusing drugs, as
drug abuse and drug addiction have now reached epidemic and
crisis proportions from Sabang to Merauke.

We are already seeing a soaring number of drug abusers and
addicts, individuals who are 30 years old and over, seeking
treatment in our drug recovery programs and centers. These
individuals are the workers, management and executives who are
the backbone of the workplace. As the phenomenon of drug use and
abuse increases, so will the associated problems.

These people are using drugs for recreation, pleasure and fun,
plus the after-work and weekend party-scene, and for relief from
symptomatic related work stress, anxiety and overload.

Another reason or excuse that many individuals manipulate to
justify using drugs is for "business purposes". This means having
to entertain business associates and clients with alcohol and
drugs, all in the name of the job.

Alcohol, although some may try to contest this point, is a
drug, and often an abused drug. Not everyone who drinks has a
problem with alcohol. However, those who get drunk semiregularly
or regularly, those who have blackouts (can't remember what they
did or what they said while under the influence of alcohol) and
those have direct problems regarding alcohol are considered to be
alcohol abusers or alcoholics.

Drug use and drug abuse will become even more problematic in
the workplace shortly, as today's younger generation, those who
have already become a faithful part of the current and emerging
Indonesian drug subculture, and are using a variety of drugs
today, will become tomorrow's workforce.

The most used and abused drugs in the workplace presently are
alcohol, marijuana, ecstasy, barbiturates (tranquilizers) and
shabu-shabu (methamphetamine). The latter is rapidly becoming the
"drug of choice" with the executive class (which includes both
males and females). All of these drugs are easy to obtain in and
around any large business building or complex, medium-sized or
large hotel, marketplace, entertainment center, disco or night
spot, shopping center or mall, and most local hangouts.

To consider that drug abuse and drug addiction cannot and will
not affect multitudes of men and women in the workplace is at
best naive, and at worst enormously foolish. Young people and the
working classes are the two primary habitats where drug abuse and
addiction strikes with the most severity.

Meanwhile, we must also recognize that education about drug
abuse and addiction, as well as education about sex and sexuality
still remains almost nonexistent within our school and
educational systems, and religious institutions.

It is this lack of education that inflames and greatly
compounds the predicament we face today with drug abuse and
addiction, and substantially increases the risk of exposure and
becoming infected with HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C.

The type of workplace where drug abuse and addiction are most
noticeably increasing is the large factory (especially where
there are shift changes and late night shifts). Also, middle and
upper-middle class employees and higher managerial and elite
business executives are often affected.

Drug abuse and addiction are considerably more complicated,
costly and lethal in the workplace because of the HIV/AIDS and
hepatitis C pandemics raging throughout our nation.

There are three major factors that lead people into using
drugs:

The Pleasure Factor: Part of being employed has to do with the
idea of receiving a reward for doing or accomplishing something.
The Pleasure Factor is about the reward of having something
exciting and stimulating in one's life on a regular and ongoing
basis, and of having the financial resources to be able to buy
something special or significant when wanted.

It is also about being able to obtain something desired or
needed. The idea is that as one becomes more successful, one's
world will become a personal playground, and with success the
world will always remain a playground. Drugs create an
illusionary euphoria that more is better -- more money, more
work, more success, that more of everything will create more
pleasure.

The Pain Factor: Work is often stressful. Stress is pain, and
drugs relieve pain. Many, many working people use drugs to
relieve stress, tension, anxiety and nervousness. Alcohol,
tranquilizers, marijuana and shabu-shabu are believed to be the
best for taking stress and pain away. Drugs do take pain away, at
least for a while.

Many people in the business and work world also abuse pills.
The pill poppers can go undetected for considerably long periods
of time, especially when their reasons for using painkillers and
stress relievers seem justified.

But drugs give only temporary relief from pain. Yet people
think, and believe, if they use more drugs, they will get more
relief from their pain. This thinking often leads to drug abuse,
then addiction.

Peer Pressure: This is all about fitting in and wanting to get
ahead. The ego's need and desire to be someone special, someone
important, someone who commands respect and admiration often
leads to poor judgment in personal decision-making.

Egos in the workplace are often very fragile, and it is a
known and accepted fact that if a person wants to get ahead at
their workplace, there are specific rules and certain people one
must bestow with favors and must follow. Often people will do
almost anything to reach the top of the workplace ladder, and
this includes using drugs.

Another issue that compounds the problem of drugs is denial.
The government, NGOs, the religious community, the health and
welfare community, educators, the police and military (all of
these organizations and institutions are also workplaces) are
nervously clamoring for help and assistance. At the same time,
most of these organizations are publicly still denying there is a
full-blown-crisis of drug abuse and addiction.

In a few short years the tragic truth and realization will be
coldly evident in our Indonesian workplaces. Drug abusers and
addicts will cause great harm and damage to organizations,
institutions and companies.

Profitability and quality control will fall abruptly. The
dependability of those counted on for production and leadership
will diminish greatly. Theft (of both money and goods) in the
workplace will increase dramatically. Lying and fabrication of
the truth -- and reasons and excuses -- about why something is
not done, accomplished or completed properly will increase
greatly.

Hostility and resentment within the organization will escalate
and interfere with the entire daily operation. Absenteeism, and
time away from work, due to being sick because of drug abuse and
alcohol hangovers will increase sharply. And HIV/AIDS and
hepatitis C will take a far greater toll in terms of loss of
employees, disability and death in the workplace than could be
imagined today.

We also need to think about the fact that even though many
people in the workplace are not using, abusing or are addicted to
drugs or alcohol, the chances are increasing that someone in
their home has already fallen victim. Having an addict creating
havoc in an employee's home easily distracts an employee from his
day to day judgment and productivity at the workplace.

Organizations, large and small, must immediately begin a
series of continuing informative lectures, seminars, training and
programs for their management and employees on drug abuse and
addiction, and on health education, which definitely includes
information on HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C. The cost of this kind of
"common sense insurance" within the workplace is negligible today
-- compared with the actual cost of not addressing the issues of
drug abuse and addiction, and allowing viruses to become
established in the very near future.

The workplace must face the threatening and fatal challenges
of these issues today. If not, a portion of the workplace will
surely become deserted and be closed down tomorrow! The workplace
is about business, and business is about people. And without
people, there is no business.

The authors are the directors of Yayasan Hati Kita
(http://www.angelfire.com/hi/joydave).