Take Care of the Essentials

• Eat well, drink plenty of water, exercise regularly and get enough sleep.
• Get regular medical check-ups.
• Reduce or stop behaviour that puts your health at risk: try to quit smoking, stay clear of second-hand smoke, avoid excessive alcohol or other drug use, and don’t overeat.

Find Healthy Ways to Beat Stress

• Exercise, talk things out with someone you trust, meditate, get a hobby, or simply learn the skills to relax your mind and your body.
• Take steps to reduce stress where you can.
• Learn healthy ways to manage stresses that you can’t control.

Don't Go it Alone

• Participate in workplace wellness programs or committees to make your workplace as healthy and safe as possible.
• Let family members, friends and co-workers support you with the ups and downs of everyday living.
• Get professional help when you need it to deal with personal problems. And remember, sooner is always better.

Provide Information & Education

• Have health-related pamphlets, videos and books available to all employees.
• Provide courses and seminars on topics such as substance abuse, problem gambling, healthy eating and cooking, anger management and dealing with conflict.
• Offer programs to help employees stop smoking. Consider making these programs available to family members, too.
• Teach employees to handle personal and organizational change effectively.

Establish Policies

• Involve as many people as possible in designing policies. Invite employees, safety representatives, union representatives and managers to participate.
• Make sure your policies include clear rules about drinking, smoking, other drug use (including prescription medications) and gambling activities.
• Once your policies are in place, enforce them. Ensure that smoking bans are enforced, conduct safety audits, and carry out regular fire and evacuation drills.
• Make sure all employees have copies of policies and procedures, and regularly review your policies at staff meetings or safety meetings.
• Managers and supervisors must set a good example. They are role models, and their actions send a strong message to other employees.

Promote Employee Participation

• Involve employees in identifying concerns about the work environment. For example, form a committee of employees and managers to resolve environmental problems.
• Give employees a chance to participate in decision-making and listen to their input and suggestions.
• Keep your employees informed through ongoing communication.

Be Flexible & Innovative

• Allow flexible schedules when possible to help your employees balance the needs of work and family.
• Think about alternatives like job sharing and working from home to enable your employees to juggle work and home demands successfully.

Be a Responsible Host at Company Functions

• Promote a healthy workplace culture by taking a clear stand on substance use and gambling at events like summer barbecues and holiday parties.
• Hire a bartender to mix standard, measured drinks. Make sure the bar is attended at all times and has designated opening and closing times.
• Make your gathering a non-smoking event.
• Arrange transportation or accommodations so guests who have been drinking do not drive.
• Encourage responsible drinking. Offer alternative activities like dancing, games or sports.
• Always have healthy food choices and non-alcoholic beverages available.

Provide Resources

• Offer programs to help employees quit smoking.
• Make healthy foods available in lunchrooms.
• Make the stairways attractive to encourage their use, and have exercise equipment available for use during lunch and other breaks.
• Create an Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) that offers employees and their families confidential, professional help for personal problems. Promote the program regularly and encourage early, voluntary use. Early intervention is the best way to prevent a problem from getting worse.
• Provide training to managers and supervisors so they know what to do when employee performance is being affected by personal problems.
• If your organization is smaller, keep an up-to-date list of community resources that can help employees with personal problems.
• Invite speakers from community agencies to talk with your employees about the health or counselling services they provide.
• Start a workplace peer support program.

It’s Our Business: Resource Manual

For AHS Staff & Allied Health Professionals

The Its Our Business (IOB) manual is a resource for AHS Addiction & Mental Health (AMH) staff and allied health professionals. It is intended to enhance and support AHS work with Alberta’s employers while assisting with health promotion and prevention strategies and activities. This evidence-based resource, will help to support businesses in reducing the harm associated with Addiction & Mental Health concerns and foster and maintain healthy, safe workplaces and employees.

Resource manual will help users to:

• understand the business case for investing in employee health and workplace programs
• understand Addiction & Mental Health issues
• learn about alcohol and other drugs, tobacco, gambling and mental health in the workplace
• learn to talk openly about this subject with their staff
• help their employees find Addiction & Mental Health services they need, confidentially and appropriately
• learn how to foster and maintain a healthy, safe workplace where people feel valued and motivated

Download: IOB Manual | IOB Handouts

Download the IOB Handouts by Module

• Module 1: Workplace health and the business case (handout)
• Module 2: Promoting workplace health (handout)
• Module 3: Understanding Addiction & Mental Health in the workplace (handout)
• Module 4: Family and social support (handout)
• Module 5: Policy development (handout)
• Module 6: Fit for work (handout)
• Module 7: Effective performance management (handout)
• Module 8: Getting help: Treatment, return to work and accommodation (handout)

It's Our Business: Workplace Information Series

This series offers basic information related to substance use and gambling in the workplace.

For Employers

• Alcohol/Drug Policy Development and Employee Testing  Information about developing and applying a company policy on alcohol and other drug use, and about employee testing for alcohol or other drugs.
• Dealing With the Troubled Employee Tips on identifying a troubled employee, recording observations, meeting with the employee to discuss the problem, and following up to make sure it is solved.
• The Basics: Alcohol, Other Drugs and Gambling Answers to basic questions, along with a brief quiz and a checklist of warning signs that a substance use or gambling problem could be developing.
• The Addicted Employee: After Treatment Specific steps that employees, co-workers and employers can take to deal with concerns about an employee coming back to work after treatment.
• An Addiction in the Family: What It Means for the Workplace Information on how addiction can affect families, how a family problem can affect employee behaviour at work, and how workplaces and families can work together to deal effectively with addiction.
• Workplace Peer Support Overview of what workplace peer support is all about: the benefits, types of support available, ways employers can promote peer support, and tips for starting a peer support team in your organization.
• Workplace Health and Wellness General information on the benefits of promoting a healthy workplace, how employees can look after their own health and how workplaces can contribute to employee wellness.
• How to Support Your Employee's Fitness for Work Advice for employers on how to focus on fitness for work, which can help to prevent and reduce workplace safety and performance concerns related to substance use and gambling.

For Employees

• Is Drinking, Using Drugs or Gambling Affecting My Work? Booklet that helps employees to assess whether their work is being affected by their substance use or gambling, and offers suggestions on finding further help.
• What You Need to Know About Fitness for Work  Booklet outlining the concept of fitness for work and describing how substance use and gambling affect fitness for work, what an employee can do to be fit for work, and what someone can do when others are not fit for work.
• Does Someone I Work With Have Problem? Guidelines and tips for successfully intervening with a co-worker who may have an alcohol, other drug or gambling problem.
• Supporting Your Fitness for Work One-page info sheet that defines fitness for work, offers tips for being healthy and safe at work, and encourages employees to think about whether substance use or gambling is affecting their life.

To request a print copy or if you require more information contact the AHS Addiction Prevention Unit: addiction.prevention@ahs.ca