SA Water employee AOD awareness

August 2017
Staff: 
Professor Ann Roche
A/Professor Ken Pidd
Allan Trifonoff
Other Collaborators: 

Eamon O’Sullivan, SA Water

Project description: 

NCETA’s WorkLife AOD workplace wellbeing service assists organisations to implement appropriate and realistic policies and procedures, and develop skilled and knowledgeable staff resulting in reduced risks and harm for the workplace, organisation and community.

SA Water, which manages the provision of water services in South Australia, has identified that workplace AOD use may be a significant risk factor for occupational health and safety and would like to improve their AOD risk management program.

As a starting point, SA Water has commissioned NCETA to deliver employee AOD awareness sessions to 1,500 staff.

The aim of the employee awareness sessions is to prevent workplace-related AOD problems from occurring by providing SA Water personnel with an overview of the commonly used drugs and a brief understanding of AOD-related harms.

The goals of the awareness sessions are to raise employee awareness about:

  • Patterns of AOD use that are likely to have a negative impact on workplace safety and worker health and wellbeing
  • Accessing further advice, help and support for AOD-related problems.

Anticipated outcomes from the awareness sessions for SA Water employees include:

  • Greater awareness about the negative effects of AOD use on their health and safety and work performance
  • An enhanced ability to identify the negative consequences of AOD use for themselves and others around them
  • Greater awareness of where to get help for AOD-related problems
  • Being comfortable about approaching their team leader, supervisor or manager if they are concerned about their own or others’ AOD use.