One in three men has struggled with drug or alcohol addiction over the past year. Men are also more likely than women to experience loneliness and suicidal feelings, with many increasing their use of drugs and alcohol to cope with worries*.
With Movember shining a light on men’s health this month, it’s important to remember that no one decides to become dependent on drugs or alcohol. It’s something people slip into when they don’t want to face the pain of difficult feelings, so reach for a substance that makes their mind quieter and their feelings easier to handle.
If this becomes a repeated coping mechanism, people can spiral into addiction without fully realising what’s happening. Many remain ‘high functioning’ for a long time, which is why the early stages often go unnoticed.
Critical to ensuring someone doesn’t get lost in the journey of addiction is supporting managers to recognise the early warning signs and support those who may be struggling. These warning signs can include frequent binge drinking, reckless behaviour and poor timekeeping. There may also be changes in appearance, reduce performance and short unexplained absences.
Understand the pressures on men
Men are more susceptible to alcohol addiction due to a number of reasons. Already prone to risk taking behaviours, because of increased testosterone, their body composition also means they can metabolise more alcohol, increasing the risk of addiction. Men are also more exposed to cultural pressures, ranging from the social expectation to down pints after the match, to messages to ‘man-up’. This often means suppressing emotions and silently dealing with emotional pain, instead of asking for help.
A focus on prevention is key, as employees often reach a fork in the road where they can go down the path of addiction or get help for whatever is driving the need to suppress feelings. By offering support at this point, you can help them change direction to avoid addiction.
Treat addiction like any other disease
It’s important to remember that addiction is recognised as a disease by all major health organisations and isn’t a choice people are making. It affects the brain’s reward, motivation and impulse-control systems, so requires support, not just determination, to stop.
Essential to getting people to acknowledge the need for support is reducing some of the stigma surrounding addiction, so people feel just as safe asking for help as if they had cancer or diabetes.
Until people feel safe telling their manager, or HR, “I’ve started drinking in secret, I think I need help,” they will continue to struggle in silence. The first step towards creating that psychological safety is talking about addiction openly and outlining the routes to support.
Guide towards support
Men often find it difficult to access wellbeing support provided by their employer, compared to women. This highlights the importance of targeted communication, not just broad wellbeing messaging.
Although Movember, is a great time to raise awareness, good communication needs to happen all year round. Especially when it comes to supporting the two thirds of men struggling with financial worries and the two in five impacted by feelings of loneliness.
This requires employers to encourage managers to have supportive, non-judgemental conversations with men, so they can proactively signpost them into support, such as an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), instead of waiting for them to open up.
Encourage individual responsibility
Alongside destigmatising addiction and putting support in place, it’s also important to encourage individual responsibility by making it clear that employees have a responsibility for looking after their wellbeing as well.
The use of drugs and alcohol in the workplace is unsafe. It can increase risk-taking, reduce productivity and lead to inappropriate behaviour, as inhibitions break down. This can impact other team members and create potential safeguarding issues.
If someone chooses not to engage with support, even after being offered help, or signposted towards it, formal procedures may eventually be necessary to protect other employees and customers. That’s why a clear drug & alcohol policy is essential, it helps employees understand both the support available and the boundaries in place to keep everyone safe.
Report from PAM Group
Health at Work Report.
