DRINKING and DRUGS in the WORKPLACE
Gianni DeVincent Hayes, Ph.D.
April 09, 2007
How much thought have you given to the company you hired to do remodeling? Enough to consider that the employer may unwittingly send a worker to do the job who drinks every day and, under the influence, failed to secure the load-bearing wall he’s working on which unexpectedly will come crashing down on you or a loved one, or a visitor one day?
How about a stoned lab tech running your tests and coming back stating you have an incurable disease when in actuality it’s not that at all? Or what about the reverse, where the drugged tech entirely misses a disease that could have been treated but instead turned into something fatal because his error deprived you of the treatment you could have had?
And how many times have you heard about people who have lost their lives because a company worker was driving drunk and killed an innocent pedestrian or those in another vehicle?
Just as scary are the pilots who get away with transporting planeloads of people while being alcohol or drug-impaired. Maybe one had insufferable back pain for days and over-took his prescribed pain medication and then piloted a plane drugged? After all, abusing prescription medication is becoming a bigger problem than using illicit drugs.
Ever think about the number of people we trust to do a commendable, steadfast, careful job who drink or do drugs to feel good, erase pain, or just to maintain a level in their body to seem “normal”?
Not Just the Kids; On-the-Job, Too
We worry about our kids doing drugs and alcohol but yet give little thought to what’s going on where we or others work. Drug usage is high in the workforce, and perhaps the most dangerous because employees have jobs that affect not only other workers but the general public who relies on them for sound, safe, reliable, and quality service or products. Employers’ businesses can quickly go down the drain if an employee has an accident while driving under the influence, or if a worker on drugs harms himself or others while performing his tasks. What’s worse is that the unknowing public trusts employees, and if they fail to perform to standards because they are drunk or high, innocent patrons get hurt.
More employers are coming to understand that they must implement a drug/alcohol testing policy to protect themselves, their company, their other employees, and their patrons, as well as the general public. Nearly all states permit workforce testing.
Every employee has the right to a drug free workplace. Alcohol and other drug (AOD) abuse certainly endanger the safety of the abusing employee, but it also imperils every other employee. In a nationwide survey performed for The Institute for a Drug Free Workplace, the Gallup Organization reported that 28% of the full-time employees surveyed identified illicit drug abuse as the greatest threat facing America today. Consider these figures by SafeWork:
Just the Facts
Absenteeism is 2 to 3 times higher for drug and alcohol users than for other employees.
Employees with chemical dependence problems may claim 3 times as many sickness benefits and file five times as many workers' compensation claims.
On-the-job AOD account for 15 to 30% of all accidents at work.
An alcohol consumption study (Modell and Mountz, "The Problem of Alcohol Use by Pilots," in New England Journal of Medicine, 1990) showed that “when airline pilots had to perform routine tasks in a simulator under three alcohol test conditions, it was found that:
After reaching a blood alcohol concentration of 0.10/100ml, 89%could not perform all the operations correctly.
Fourteen hours later, after all the alcohol had left their systems, 68% could not perform all the operations correctly.
Every day, in large corporations and small businesses all across the country, the problems caused by substance abuse disrupt the workplace. There is a false perception that America's drug problem is youth-orientated. However, two-thirds of drug abusers are employed. If you are in business you must be aware of these facts gathered from government agencies, national surveys, newspapers, and various agencies:
41% of the workers surveyed stated that the drug abuse of fellow employees seriously affected their own job productivity.
America accounts for only 5% of the world's population, yet consumes 60% of the world's illicit drugs.
Over 35 million Americans are addicted to prescription and nonprescription medication.
18 million are alcoholics; nearly 20 million use hashish or marijuana regularly.
Over 5 million use cocaine or crack regularly.
Every day, 5000 people use cocaine or crack for the first time.
74% of all illegal AOD users are employed either full or part time.
10% of all employees abuse AOD on the job; that is ~1 in 5 workers.
53% of employees state that drug use and drug dealing are major contributors to workplace violence.
44% of users support their habits by stealing from or selling drugs to fellow employees.
About 10% of all full-time employees abuse AOD on the job
64% of workplace substance abuse is alcohol related.
64% of all accidents on the job are . . . related to substance abuse in the workplace.
In 2003, the US Department of Labor estimated each impaired worker cost his or her employer $11,000 per year; it’s higher now.
A user is 5 times more likely to file a worker’s compensation claim and 16 times more likely to use sick leave than a non-abuser.
Abusers are ~4 times more likely to injure themselves or another in a workplace accident, and 5 times more likely to be involved in an accident off the job, affecting attendance or job performance, and innocent people.
AOD abusers are 35% less productive than unimpaired workers.
Summary
The high risk of liability is a growing concern to businesses, especially in the litigious society we live in, but more importantly because abusers can harm or inadvertently kill co-workers and patrons. It only takes one mistake by en employee under drugs or alcohol to wipe out an entire company an entrepreneur has worked hard on saving money to build and just as hard at gaining a good reputation.
Drug testing is the answer. Employers need to have a drug policy created for them, if they don’t have one that already meets state laws, that covers all aspects of testing: Pre-employment, random, reasonable suspicion, post-accident, follow-up. All tests must follow state regulations; otherwise, the employer risks a lawsuit. Caution must be given to the type of testing, how it’s done, the reason for testing, and how results are reported.
American Drug Testing Consultants (ADTC) offers a complete drug testing program for employees. A policy is customized for each company; educational orientation and supervisor sessions are provided, as well as the actual testing, and discussion of the resulting reports from the tests.
Additionally, ADTC provides hair follicle testing for pre-employment which gives a record of any substance indulgence over the previous three months. All employers should do pre-employment testing to avert hiring someone who is already a user. Hair testing is not only vital for businesses, but the legal system relies on it in deciding court matters. This is also true for DNA testing, which ADTC also does, along with many other types of tests. A specialty for this company is the“quik tests” which yield drug results in five minutes in the privacy of one’s own place. Instant tests are extremely valuable for schools, parents, camps, sports organizations, and churches. You can reach American Drug Testing Consultants at 410-543-0448 or visit www.americandtc.com.
When you consider the statistics given in this article on AOD, you can see how vitally important it is to set up a state-regulated drug/alcohol testing program in your workplace.
Don’t take the chance of losing your business or facing exorbitant lawsuits because of substance abusers.
How about a stoned lab tech running your tests and coming back stating you have an incurable disease when in actuality it’s not that at all? Or what about the reverse, where the drugged tech entirely misses a disease that could have been treated but instead turned into something fatal because his error deprived you of the treatment you could have had?
And how many times have you heard about people who have lost their lives because a company worker was driving drunk and killed an innocent pedestrian or those in another vehicle?
Just as scary are the pilots who get away with transporting planeloads of people while being alcohol or drug-impaired. Maybe one had insufferable back pain for days and over-took his prescribed pain medication and then piloted a plane drugged? After all, abusing prescription medication is becoming a bigger problem than using illicit drugs.
Ever think about the number of people we trust to do a commendable, steadfast, careful job who drink or do drugs to feel good, erase pain, or just to maintain a level in their body to seem “normal”?
Not Just the Kids; On-the-Job, Too
We worry about our kids doing drugs and alcohol but yet give little thought to what’s going on where we or others work. Drug usage is high in the workforce, and perhaps the most dangerous because employees have jobs that affect not only other workers but the general public who relies on them for sound, safe, reliable, and quality service or products. Employers’ businesses can quickly go down the drain if an employee has an accident while driving under the influence, or if a worker on drugs harms himself or others while performing his tasks. What’s worse is that the unknowing public trusts employees, and if they fail to perform to standards because they are drunk or high, innocent patrons get hurt.
More employers are coming to understand that they must implement a drug/alcohol testing policy to protect themselves, their company, their other employees, and their patrons, as well as the general public. Nearly all states permit workforce testing.
Every employee has the right to a drug free workplace. Alcohol and other drug (AOD) abuse certainly endanger the safety of the abusing employee, but it also imperils every other employee. In a nationwide survey performed for The Institute for a Drug Free Workplace, the Gallup Organization reported that 28% of the full-time employees surveyed identified illicit drug abuse as the greatest threat facing America today. Consider these figures by SafeWork:
Just the Facts
Absenteeism is 2 to 3 times higher for drug and alcohol users than for other employees.
Employees with chemical dependence problems may claim 3 times as many sickness benefits and file five times as many workers' compensation claims.
On-the-job AOD account for 15 to 30% of all accidents at work.
An alcohol consumption study (Modell and Mountz, "The Problem of Alcohol Use by Pilots," in New England Journal of Medicine, 1990) showed that “when airline pilots had to perform routine tasks in a simulator under three alcohol test conditions, it was found that:
After reaching a blood alcohol concentration of 0.10/100ml, 89%could not perform all the operations correctly.
Fourteen hours later, after all the alcohol had left their systems, 68% could not perform all the operations correctly.
Every day, in large corporations and small businesses all across the country, the problems caused by substance abuse disrupt the workplace. There is a false perception that America's drug problem is youth-orientated. However, two-thirds of drug abusers are employed. If you are in business you must be aware of these facts gathered from government agencies, national surveys, newspapers, and various agencies:
41% of the workers surveyed stated that the drug abuse of fellow employees seriously affected their own job productivity.
America accounts for only 5% of the world's population, yet consumes 60% of the world's illicit drugs.
Over 35 million Americans are addicted to prescription and nonprescription medication.
18 million are alcoholics; nearly 20 million use hashish or marijuana regularly.
Over 5 million use cocaine or crack regularly.
Every day, 5000 people use cocaine or crack for the first time.
74% of all illegal AOD users are employed either full or part time.
10% of all employees abuse AOD on the job; that is ~1 in 5 workers.
53% of employees state that drug use and drug dealing are major contributors to workplace violence.
44% of users support their habits by stealing from or selling drugs to fellow employees.
About 10% of all full-time employees abuse AOD on the job
64% of workplace substance abuse is alcohol related.
64% of all accidents on the job are . . . related to substance abuse in the workplace.
In 2003, the US Department of Labor estimated each impaired worker cost his or her employer $11,000 per year; it’s higher now.
A user is 5 times more likely to file a worker’s compensation claim and 16 times more likely to use sick leave than a non-abuser.
Abusers are ~4 times more likely to injure themselves or another in a workplace accident, and 5 times more likely to be involved in an accident off the job, affecting attendance or job performance, and innocent people.
AOD abusers are 35% less productive than unimpaired workers.
Summary
The high risk of liability is a growing concern to businesses, especially in the litigious society we live in, but more importantly because abusers can harm or inadvertently kill co-workers and patrons. It only takes one mistake by en employee under drugs or alcohol to wipe out an entire company an entrepreneur has worked hard on saving money to build and just as hard at gaining a good reputation.
Drug testing is the answer. Employers need to have a drug policy created for them, if they don’t have one that already meets state laws, that covers all aspects of testing: Pre-employment, random, reasonable suspicion, post-accident, follow-up. All tests must follow state regulations; otherwise, the employer risks a lawsuit. Caution must be given to the type of testing, how it’s done, the reason for testing, and how results are reported.
American Drug Testing Consultants (ADTC) offers a complete drug testing program for employees. A policy is customized for each company; educational orientation and supervisor sessions are provided, as well as the actual testing, and discussion of the resulting reports from the tests.
Additionally, ADTC provides hair follicle testing for pre-employment which gives a record of any substance indulgence over the previous three months. All employers should do pre-employment testing to avert hiring someone who is already a user. Hair testing is not only vital for businesses, but the legal system relies on it in deciding court matters. This is also true for DNA testing, which ADTC also does, along with many other types of tests. A specialty for this company is the“quik tests” which yield drug results in five minutes in the privacy of one’s own place. Instant tests are extremely valuable for schools, parents, camps, sports organizations, and churches. You can reach American Drug Testing Consultants at 410-543-0448 or visit www.americandtc.com.
When you consider the statistics given in this article on AOD, you can see how vitally important it is to set up a state-regulated drug/alcohol testing program in your workplace.
Don’t take the chance of losing your business or facing exorbitant lawsuits because of substance abusers.
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