Sukuma Sakhe Development, a non-profit organisation which focuses on community upliftment, believes that drug use in the workplace is an issue not many businesses want to face.
Luleka Ntshongwana, programme leader of the organisation, said the desire to find something that will make one feel better is one reason for drug abuse in the workplace.
“It could be anybody. People need to wake up to the reality of where we are today,” she said.
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Ntshongwana said they have seen numerous cases where breadwinners suddenly need help, leaving their families to fend for themselves.
She said that if companies start to become concerned about an employees’ performance, they should try to find out what the problem is.
Self-awareness issues, frustrations, pressure and competition at work are problems employees often assume they are not welcome to express, but Ntshongwana argues that even at work, employees should be given a platform to express their emotions.
“The work-life balance where employers are not concerned with employees’ life outside of work does not work anymore. Individual needs need to be considered,” she said.
Nokuthula Maziya, awareness co-ordinator of Sakhuma Sakhe Development, said if employers focus more on employees’ personal, individual needs, it could positively impact their productivity and the productivity of the company.
Also read: Restoring dignity – one school bus at a time
Apart from focusing on the worldwide problem of drug abuse, the organisation also sets up early childhood development centres and employs locally trained teachers across the province in a bid to build communities, with communities.
Details: Ntshongwana 011 880 5767; 074 905 0325; www.ssd.org.za
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