Substance Abuse in the Workplace Substance abuse in the workplace is one of the top concerns in the United Studies show that 73 percent of drug users are employed, costingAmerican businesses billions of dollars annually in lost production and staffing costs(Walsh). Due to higher employment rates and rising substance abuse, the chancesthat your organization employs one of these 8.1 million workers is greater today than ithas been in the past several years (Walsh). Studies also reveal that employees whoabuse drugs have a tremendously harmful effect on the workplace. They are morelikely to have extended absences from work, show up late, be involved in workplaceaccidents, and file workers compensation claims. Substance abuse includes anythingfrom drug use, such as cocaine and heroin, to alcohol abuse. Before I start to discuss the various ways to get control of substance abuse Iwould like to give you a small background of the impact of substance abuse on theworld today. The department of labor has gathered some of the following informationand statistics to show the world how it is being affected: Substance abuse in the workplace costs are estimated at $100 billion dollars annually. Alcoholism causes 500 million lost work days each year. Drug-using employees at GM average 40 days of sick leave each year compared to 4.5 days for non-users. In Ohio substance abuse treatment has shown significant improvements: - 91% decrease in absenteeism. - 88% decrease in problems with supervisors. - 93% decrease in mistakes in work. - 97% decrease in on-the-job injuries.Page 2As you can see substance abuse is a very serious problem. But, what canemployers do? Well something obviously is working in Ohio, so something can bedone. It is up to the employers and non-users to try to help (Walsh). These statisticssuggest that this is a very serious concern, however there is an answer. Often timesemployers notice that their production is down...
