This is an unpleasant topic, but it is an important one, especially due to the high rates of opioid and heroin use and addiction in our country. The use of drugs or alcohol at work can cause a number of negative outcomes for the employee, coworkers, the company and community. Let’s face it. This is a problem that affects us all and we have to be educated and prepared to do something about it. No more sweeping it under the rug.
Employees using substances prior to work or on the job can result in problems like lost productivity, increased absenteeism, or a reduction in morale. More serious outcomes may include injuries or even fatalities at work, theft, an increase in healthcare costs, legal problems, and ongoing negative publicity. It is tough to shake a bad reputation and communities remember things like this for a long time.
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What Should You Look For?
Maybe the employee is using or abusing drugs or alcohol by themselves or perhaps their behavior is part of a larger problem involving other coworkers, friends or family members. Look at their work performance. Is it suffering? Has it changed? How about their behavior in general… anything new or different about how they are acting? Are they calling off more frequently or showing up to work later than usual? Do they struggle to remain focused at work? Are they experiencing new and unexplained physical or mental health problems?
Facts about Drugs and Alcohol in the Workplace
Did you know that employees with a substance use or abuse issue are three times more likely to have injury-related absences compared to coworkers who do not use or abuse substances? How about this one? Around 16% of employees injured at work are breathalyzed and found to have alcohol in their system. When workplace fatalities occur, around 11% of the victims were found to have been consuming alcohol that same day. One study showed that 20% of coworkers and managers reported that an employee who had jeopardized their safety at work was drinking either on or off the job. Workers who have had 3 or more jobs in the past 5 years are twice as likely to currently be using illegal substances. The two most abused drugs in the workplace are marijuana and cocaine.
Supporting Employees with Substance Use or Abuse Problems
If your employee confesses that they do indeed have a drug or alcohol problem, and come to you seeking help and support, you have some work to do. You can refer them to your employee assistance program or refer them to specialists. You can work with leadership to grant them time off for rehabilitation and counseling. One thing to keep in mind is that these arrangements are a two-way street. In order for a troubled employee to benefit from these actions, they must agree in writing before beginning any type of treatment. Their continued or reinstated employment is contingent on successful completion of rehabilitation programs.
Policies and Procedures
Discovering that an employee has a drug or alcohol problem is only the first step to possibly a very long journey back to wellness. Besides the support and kindness you offer an employee, it is important to have policies and procedures in place that you and your employees are aware of and have access to when they are needed. Policies and procedures sometimes seem boring until they are actually needed. But when they are, they provide the tools necessary to appropriately handle circumstances such as these.
I am proud that Collins Learning offers a series of courses that companies can use to assist in their drug-free workplace efforts. Please take some time to check out what we offer at http://collinslearning.com.
More About Substance Abuse
- Diversion and Substance Abuse: Risk Factors and Symptoms
- Diversion and Substance Abuse: Suspicious Behaviors in the Workplace
- Diversion and Substance Abusing Healthcare Professionals
- Death by Heroin: Ohio’s Heroin Epidemic