Substance Abuse in the Workplace: What Supervisors Need to Know

Course Description:

In this session we will look at substance abuse in the workplace. It has been estimated that 1 in 10 employees in this country’s workforce has a substance abuse problem. The rate is even higher among construction trades and extraction workers. The personal impact of substance abuse on an employee can be devastating. It has a destructive effect on just about every part of a person’s life. A person who has a substance abuse problem may end up losing everything, including family, home, friends, savings, job, and physical and mental health. On the job, the negative fallout of substance abuse includes a steady deterioration of work performance, unreliability, and recklessness that can jeopardize the safety of coworkers, the integrity of the organization’s products and services, and the organization’s reputation. In this session, we’ll examine the scope and cost of substance abuse and discuss your role as a supervisor in helping to manage this difficult and complex problem in a way that helps employees in need and protects coworkers and the organization from the negative impact of substance abuse.

Why “Substance Abuse in the Workplace: What Supervisors Need to Know” Matters:

Surveys show that substance abuse is one of the most serious issues currently facing American companies.

It is estimated that 10 percent of all U.S. workers have a substance abuse problem. In fact, the number is probably much higher.

Some 73 percent of all current illicit drug users aged 18 and older are employed. Over 6 million active alcoholics are on the payrolls of American businesses.

Finally, alcoholism and drug abuse have been called “democratic diseases” because they can victimize anyone regardless of age, sex, education, social status, or occupation.

It’s been estimated that substance abuse costs employers more than $50 billion annually.

Studies show that alcohol and drug abusers are far less productive and use three times as many sick days. One major automaker, for instance, reports that substance-abusing employees average 40 days of sick leave annually versus 5 days for nonabusing employees.

Abusers are also more than three times as likely to have an accident on the job as other workers, and they are five times as likely to file workers’ compensation claims.

Key Points:

• Identify the harmful effects of substance abuse in the workplace.
• Enforce the workplace substance abuse policy and the law.
• Recognize the warning signs of a substance abuse problem.
• Take effective steps to assist employees in getting help