Researchers have spent years investigating the causes of drinking and drug problems among workers. Concerns about substance abuse are well founded, at least from management's point of view, as substance abuse impairs job performance, jeopardizes safety and diminishes the quality of work life. Management Focus in this issue contributes to our knowledge of substance abuse and its effects on the workplace by presenting new research findings on the topic.
Substance abuse does, however, remain a major issue.
Substance abusers tend to be more easily recognizable in the workplace than persons with other personal problems, and perhaps for this reason EAP is readily associated with substance-abuse issues. Employee Assistance Programs in the federal public service are a relatively recent innovation. In 1977, the Treasury Board of Canada gave government departments the mandate to establish EAPs. In the Correctional Service of Canada, as in other government departments, early attempts to introduce the program were somewhat unsuccessful. The Correctional Service of Canada now has a broadbrush program that is supported by both management and labour and that makes use of the Peer Referral Agent concept.