Addictive behaviors are more and more widespread in companies. To prevent them, Mildeca calls on the world of work to break the taboo.
Alcohol, drugs, medicines… Addictions in the world of work concern more than 25 million workers, whether they are private sector employees, “civil servants, permanent or fixed-term contracts, precarious populations, but also people looking for work. ’employment”, recalled Danièle Jourdain Menninger, the president of the Interministerial Mission for the Fight against Drugs and Addictive Behavior (Mildeca) during the 2th day of prevention of addictive behavior in the workplace.
A far from negligible proportion which engages the responsibility of companies and administrations to prevent these behaviors. “Addictive behavior does not stop at the door of companies, underlines the president of Mildeca. By modifying behaviors, they affect the performance of organizations in occupational health and collective organization”.
work pressure
As a result, the consumption of psychotropic substances should no longer be a taboo in the professional environment, and should benefit from preventive actions. But then how to approach it with employees in difficulty?
For Gladys Lutz, president of Addictologie et travail, “acting in prevention requires speaking the truth”, which implies getting out of “the unequivocal discourse on the dangerousness of these psychotropic drugs”. These molecules are both poisons but also remedies, she underlines in her presentation.
These types of consumption are often seen by employees as solutions to their problems. Whether it is alcohol – the still major problem -, cannabis, amphetamines or antidepressants, these dangerous products are often taken to reduce work-related fatigue or anxiety, to perform better and stay awake, or on the contrary find rest and decompress.
“This is why it is important to act on the factors of addictive behavior linked to work. This requires an analysis of processes and workstations, habits and culture of the company and management methods,” notes Danièle Jourdain Menninger. A “diagnosis” which must be done without “stigmatization”, insists the president of Mildeca.
The Addict’aide portal
Raising awareness and communicating with the business world is therefore essential to successfully implement real prevention strategies. Pr Michel Reynaud, president of the Fonds Actions Addictions then designed, in collaboration with Mildeca, a reference information site for companies, called “addict’aide la santé en entreprise”, within the generalist site “Addict’aide, the village of addictions”.
Divided into 7 small houses, each corresponding to a trade, this specialized portal aims to “provide knowledge to all actors in the world of work and occupational health”, describes the addictologist psychiatrist in his presentation.
This site, operational in the spring of 2017, is also part of the addiction component of the 3th occupational health plan 2016-2020.
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