The costs of alcohol addiction and dependency in the work place are higher than most organizations realize. The factors that contribute to these high costs of alcohol abuse in a business include poor quality work, employee turnover, sick leave, accidents, damage to the company image, poor customer service, delays, wastage of resources, claims from clients and much more. A business that is afflicted by all of these cannot succeed. Losses are bound to result and if left unattended extreme alcohol abuse can actually lead to the collapse of a company. It is therefore in the best interest of the employer to get professional help in alcohol awareness for employees.

Employers do not need to wait for their human resource to get into alcohol abuse so as to engage the services of professionals who deal in alcohol awareness for employees. It should instead be an on going program that seeks to intervene before things get out of hand. Work related pressure as well as personal issues could lead one to alcohol and substance abuse at any point. The awareness classes taken before an individual has encountered a period where they are highly susceptible to going into alcoholism will help deal with the pressure. It also equips peers with the skills and knowledge in detecting a drinking problem in a colleague and effective ways of helping them deal with the situation.

The benefits of having alcohol awareness for employees far exceed the cost of engaging the professionals who conduct the sessions. Employees who are free of alcohol related problems have a fulfilling personal life which is one of the most important contributors to productivity. Personal development is the most important reason for anyone to work. If your people feel that they are progressing at a personal level, they will be highly motivated and production will increase. Motivated and productive employees will deliver higher profits and their hard work will pay for the alcohol awareness sessions several times over. You will also realize that team work, loyalty, initiative and leadership improve when alcohol is no longer an issue. 

Alcohol awareness classes can be organized to fit in with the unique circumstances of individual business operations. The instructors and other professionals involved in delivering alcohol awareness for employees are normally flexible so as to accommodate your needs. Instructors can also deliver the training in a number of ways that include onsite sessions, offsite sessions and web seminars or at their facilities. This is meant to ensure that interruptions to production and other operations are kept to a minimum.

Dealing with alcohol and drug problems is no longer an option but a must for companies that appreciate their most important resource which is human resource. If a company is successful in empowering it employees, then it succeeds in every other way. Alcohol awareness classes will help you prevent alcohol problems, deal with existing cases and save those employees who were about to get trapped in alcoholism. Alcohol awareness for employees also helps your team appreciate the alcohol and drug policies in your organization. It will also equip them with the knowledge and skills to improve on these policies where necessary.

Today’s society has become so liberal that there are few if any absolute right or wrongs anymore. Everything is relative to the person and circumstances.  This has become increasingly confusing for children, preteens, and teenagers.  Undefined lines as to what is good for us and what is not causes many to stumble.  Two of many areas of which confusion arises is the abuse of drugs and alcohol to the body.  Not to fret.

There are positive ways to keep your teen from going down the wrong path that leads to alcoholism and/or drug addiction.  You can discuss with your teen the consequences of substance abuse, or even better – you can enroll them into substance abuse awareness class. There are online classes available, and these classes are just as effective as the live coach classes. At the same time, they give your teen a lot more privacy and they can keep their names secret from others if they want to.

One of the main causes that lead to one or both of these substance abuse problems is stress. A stressful lifestyle needs an outlet.  Today it is common for the average teenager to take on too many task’s during one season.  He/she may be involved in athletic sports, music, drama, and high school governmental leadership programs while trying to maintain their grades to stay on the honor roll.

While having too much idle time causes problems, over doing it causes stress that must have some sort of relief.  Unfortunately, some take it by way of escape through using drugs or alcohol.  While some drugs may be used to exit the real world for a very short while, other drugs may be used to alter the physical fitness of an athlete’s body.  Both have the potential to lead to death.  Your teens will learn more about this in any substance abuse awareness class they choose to attend ( or you choose to enroll them into).

Using alcohol is typically used to relax and unwind as a form escape of one’s circumstances for a moment.  This can be masked as a form of entertainment for a while and may remain as such all of their lives with no problem. For others, it may escalate to over use and lead into poisoning one’s body from alcoholism. 

So, if too much idle time can lead to problems, and business leads to need from unnatural relief, what is the answer to keeping our teenager’s drug and alcohol free?

First, keep in mind that the teenager is not an adult no matter their physical size.  They are still children in quickly developing bodies that need continual guidance.  A place to come to and know that they are accepted just as they are without conditions.  Make sure that they know that they do not have to be an over achiever to have the positive attention and respect of their parents.   If they are into too many activities at one time, help them decide which would be most beneficial for them for that season and which to pick up at a later time. 

If they show no interest in anything, encourage and explore with them until he or she learns something new about themselves in regard to what they enjoy.  Show them your interest in that you support whatever direction they tend to be pulled (as long as it’s a good thing). There a correlation between underage drinking and teenage theft and shoplifting.

Most would be shocked to know that Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming allow minors to consume alcohol as long as the minor is on a private, non alcohol selling premises, with parental consent.

The main thing to remember is that teenagers need the advice and guidance of an adult whether they ask for it or not. The trick is to help guide them in such a way that they almost think it’s all their own idea. That is possible if you are truly helping them discover their own strengths and weaknesses.  Help them maintain a healthy balance between over exertion and laziness.  If they maintain a healthy and happy lifestyle, there will be no need for substance abuse.

You should also encourage them to attend drugs and alcohol awareness classes or minor in possession (MIP Classes), by telling them that there is no shame in attending such a class. After all, it is for their own good to learn about the dangers and dire consequences of substance abuse. Asking them to attend such classes online will not make you look like a bad parent – you will actually prove that you are a responsible one.

It is wonderful to live in a nation where you are free to exercise your rights.  It is nice to have a government that establishes laws that protect the overall population.  It is nice to know that you could be born and raised in one of the worst city ghettos or country swamp land and end up living in high class urban society or suburbia.  However, with all of these freedoms come consequences for those that will ‘push the envelope’ for their own gain. 

Many have learned the system that was created for good and use it for evil. Thus, America has a hard time making sure that all laws are enforced.  Many of the problems are of a domestic situation such as illegal drug use and alcohol consumption by minors (those less than twenty-one years old). Illegal drug and alcohol use are a huge problem in America for several reasons: 

Latch Key Children Coming Home Daily to an Empty House
Not Strict Enough on the Mexican Boarders
Making of Fake Identification Cards
Easy Access to Legal Drugs and Abusing The Use of Them

The terminology, “Latch Key Children,” in America refers to school aged children that come home daily to an empty home instead of a home where adults are home.  The key is typically on the person of the child or left in a hidden place that only family members know about. After school hours, the child simply lets himself in to his home with no restrictions whatsoever. Sure, the legal guardian or parent may have, “laid down the law,” orally or even written it down on paper. However, nothing takes the place of hands on daily guidance.  Thus, many with up to four or more hours before their guardian is to be home has much time to complete their homework, and get themselves into unfortunate situations using liquor and/or drugs where none is the wiser … until it is too late. 

Many drugs still enter the United States of America via the Mexican Boarders, such as through Texas and San Diego.  America has made it very easy not only for Mexicans to enter the country without the proper credentials by not having the necessary military in place to protect the land from intruders.  This being the case, bringing in illegal drugs to sell and use is as easy as taking a trip to the tobacco shop and buying a pack of cigarettes.  

The ring of fraudulent identification card makers make it very easy for minors to gain access to alcohol.  The average twelve year old American can easily pass for a twenty-one year old in most cases.  For whatever the reason (hormonal products in our food, etc.), preteens and teenagers have a much older appearance than they did back in the 1950’s or 60’s.   It is nothing for them to purchase their own alcohol and go home to an empty house and drink it … or worse, invite their friends over as well. 

One of the latest crazes amongst our youth is abusing legal prescription drugs or household products in such a way that they can “get a high” off of the chemicals. Something as common as a can of hair spray has been inhaled to get a high, instead of on the hair to create a style.  Who is at fault?  Whoever is consistently leaving that child alone to fend for himself or herself.  Idle time with no provision is bound to lead to problems in most cases ... and it has been proven.  

These are highly unfortunate circumstances that happen daily in America from city to city … suburb to suburb and rural to rural areas. It doesn’t matter where you live.   What is missing is a human being in the home of these youths exemplifying a lifestyle that would desire their children to execute, and not just told what to do in their absence.  An idle mind gets weary of being idle and will eventually find “something” to do. More often than not, it ends up not being a good thing.  Alcohol Awareness Education is certainly a good place to start.