Blackstone Insurance, Benefits & Bonding Inc.

Mental Illness such as Depression Can Be a Workplace Injury As an employer, you need to know that depression is a very common mental illness for both men and women. If the depression is severe enough it can cause serious difficulties both at work and home leading to absenteeism and lower productivity and so can escalate employer’s costs. If a depressed employee also had a physical work related injury, there would be more challenges of getting this employee back to work, pot...entially increasing employee benefits costs. If an employee suffers from chronic pain, the risk for depression could be worse, all having a negative effect on the workplace, whether it is issues of presenteeism, where productivity is affected either with the individual or the team. What can you do as an employer? Pay attention to your employees noting anything unusual such as change in grooming, sadness and educate yourself and your employees about depression. You can refer them to an employee assistance program and if you don’t have one refer them to their doctor always relating your discussion to how the employee’s responsibilities are being affected. Read more at CarolinasHealthCare.org/EmployerSolutions or contact Blackstone Insurance for more information. See more

Blackstone took part in the 33rd Annual Riverside Vipond Golf Classic in support of Cosmopolitan Industries. Picture from left to right Dennis McElligott, Terry Katon, Troy Shanks & Tim Shanks

Blackstone Insurance is the proud sponsor of the Saskatoon Open Door Society Soccer Team!!

How Will the Legalization of Marijauna Affect Your Workplace? Is marijuana in the same field as how alcohol is treated in the workplace? Well first, there needs to be clarification as to if we are talking about marijuana that has been prescribed for medical treatment or if your employees smoke marijuana recreationally. Company drug policy will be important, along with workplace safety concerns. As an employer you need to understand what makes marijuana potent and how long ...does it stay in the body systems. Safety sensitive positions such as drivers or heavy machine operators require clear drug policy that if they are doing their job with marijuana in their system, they will be terminated with cause. Other employees would also have clear policy regarding consequence of workplace intoxication. If an employee is prescribed marijuana as medication, the duty to accommodate these employees does not require permitting them to work impaired and would limit their ability to be in safety sensitive positions. If an employee is addicted to marijuana, then the employer must accommodate the employee to get assistance for addiction. Policy then would dictate consequences for not completing rehabilitation. Employers will always have the right to implement drug policy in their workplace to ensure workplace safety and a sober working environment. Contact Blackstone Insurance for more information on workplace drug policy.

How Are You Managing an Employee Who you Suspect Has an Alcohol Problem? Jill Elaine Shanks BSN MCEd We have all heard that binge drinking or frequent heavy drinking can cause serious health problems, particularly liver, heart disease, cancer and even dementia. Some research is indicating that even moderate drinkers could have a decrease in mental skills if heavy alcohol consumption continues over a number of years. Heavy consumption of alcohol generally means 3 or more drin...ks per day, but even research on moderate consumption as one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men can cause some mental impairment As an employer, awareness of employee drinking habits is your business, if it affects an employee’s ability to do his/her job effectively and efficiently. If there are employee concerns and you don’t have an HR department to help you, you need to meet with the employee not to talk about how much they drink but issues concerning the employee’s ability to carry out their responsibilities. As an employer you may want to learn more about how would you go about implementing a drug & alcohol policy, if you do not have one. Blackstone Insurance can help connect you with organizations that could be of help to you. See more