AHS Views

We hear about issues stemming from substance abuse frequently in the US. From drunk driving and drug-related traffic stops to prescription and illegal drug abuse. These problems affect every state in this country and all walks of life.

I came across an interesting read recently, which was about a study done by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services on how substance abuse is affecting the workplace. A lot of people equate substance abuse with lower economic areas, homelessness, you name it. But, that’s actually not the majority. Did you know that 77% of illegal drug users are employed full or part-time here in the US?

That means that more than three quarters of the illegal drug using population are mixed in with the working population. What’s more is that substance abuse costs American businesses upwards of 81 billion dollars a year in lost production, work absences as well as accidents. Speaking of absences, about 500 million workdays per year are lost due to substance abuse by employees.

This is a no win situation for either side of the coin. Both the employee and the employer suffer as a result of substance abuse. Employers experience productivity downtrends, suffer because of absenteeism, accident claims and quite possibly the difficulties of dealing with employees who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Then there are the issues that come into play for an addict, i.e. their health, relationships with family and friends, job loss and income reduction and possibly overdose and/or death.

Have you ever known of or worked with someone who was under the influence of an illegal drug or alcohol on while on the job? Apparently, according to the study, more than 60% of adults do currently or have in the past. Why is the statistic for substance abuse in the workplace so high then? Are the abusers not being reported? Probably not. The reasons for this could be fear of retribution by the addict, not wanting to get their co-worker in trouble or that they don’t want to get involved.

Substance abuse is an epidemic in our country. Not just by the homeless man on the corner asking for money to buy who-knows-what, but possibly by your coworker. If we are ever going to get a handle on this debilitating, expensive, pervasive crisis, we’re going to have to actually speak up and do something about it. Get those people into drug rehab or alcohol treatment. Each one of us can do our part to get them addiction help!