Final answer:
Employees should report suspicions of coworker substance abuse to a supervisor to maintain a safe workplace and prevent potential harm. This reporting is crucial in healthcare settings where patient safety is at risk. Reports can also prevent workplace violence, with substance abuse being a predictor for such aggression.
Step-by-step explanation:
It is the responsibility of every employee to report suspicions of substance abuse among coworkers to a supervisor. This ensures workplace safety and professional integrity, especially in sensitive environments like healthcare. For example, when a healthcare worker was caught substituting syringes with painkillers for ones with unknown substances, leading to patients contracting HIV, immediate action was taken including termination and arrest. Earlier involvement of supervisors upon suspicion could prevent such dire outcomes and protect both employees and clients.
The importance of keeping supervisors informed extends to workplace violence as well, with aggression and substance abuse potentially leading to harmful incidents. Studies have shown that alcohol consumption and a feeling of being treated unfairly can be predictors of such violence, which underscores the critical need for vigilant observation and reporting of unusual behavior.