Drug and alcohol abuse in the Workplace Fighting Drug and Alcohol Abuse in the Workplace By Richard Royce, MS, CAC I t is not uncommon for employers to ignore drug and alcohol abuse in the workplace. Failure to address this problem can cost an employer thousands of dollars per year. Studies show that workplaces with more than 20 employees have personnel who have emotional problems that adversely affect job performance. The problems will not go away by themselves, and get progressively worse until they cause a multitude of problems. One way to combat drug abuse in the workplace is to determine what type of drug-related problems exist.
Supervisors can examine employee records for telltale signs.
Beware if no employee problems are reported. Failure to document these types of problems makes it difficult to correct them. A review of sick or accident benefits may also help. There is a high correlation between addiction and some types of health care costs. Employers can offer confidential assistance and, if necessary, professional counseling to decrease minor personal problems that may become major health care costs, production problems and other forms of business loss.