Workplace health & safety programs are becoming increasingly complex.  Organizations are faced with addressing complex social and legal issues that impact workplace safety and performance, one of which is substance abuse.

What Is Substance Abuse?
It might be best described as the consumption of alcohol or drugs even when the user knows that this behaviour will cause problems.  The problems are certainly not restricted to the workplace.  Substance abuse affects a person’s relationships with family and friends, as well as their own physical, emotional, and financial well-being.

Substance abuse can involve excessive or ongoing consumption of alcohol, street drugs, prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications or other substances.  Some agencies include gambling in the same realm as substance abuse. ^1,2

Why Is Substance Abuse a Workplace Issue?
The workplace can be impacted in many ways by substance-abusing employees. Absenteeism and reduced productivity affect the performance of both the individual and the organization.  Lack of concentration or attention to job tasks can create unsafe working conditions for the individual or others at the worksite.  In a high-risk work environment, this could result in serious injuries or fatalities.

The financial burden to organizations is not trivial.  AADAC, the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission, reports: “alcohol and other drug use in the workplace costs Alberta business and industry more than $400 million per year in lost productivity”.¹  That’s more than a million dollars a day!

Why Is Substance Abuse A Workplace Safety Challenge?
There are countless workplace situations where impaired judgement or performance from substance abuse can be a danger.  The operation of vehicles and equipment, control of industrial processes, and critical decision-making are just a few examples.  Mistakes can be deadly.

Employers must be diligent in identifying substance abusers and acting appropriately.  However, their actions must strike a balance between the rights of the organization (e.g. safety) and the rights of the individual (e.g. assistance and privacy).  This principle has been clearly demonstrated in the courts and by the Canadian Human Rights Commission³.

How Can This Challenge Be Addressed?
Regardless of size, every workplace should establish a substance abuse program that includes the following elements^1,4,5:

• A policy describing the scope and purpose of the program, definition of substance abuse, who is covered by the program, disciplinary actions and a commitment to employee privacy;

• Training for supervisors, so that they can learn to identify substance abuse and clearly understand their obligations and limitations;

• Employee education about the impacts of substance abuse and the organization’s policy;

• Assistance and support for employees with substance abuse problems;

• A policy that addresses the conditions under which alcohol and drug testing can be conducted, and the consequences of positive test results.

This is not a do-it-yourself project.  Advice should be sought to ensure your substance abuse program will adequately address workplace safety, protect the organization’s interests, be legally sound and address human rights issues.  There are a number of agencies and experts to provide assistance.

Useful Resources:

1. “The Basics: Alcohol, Other Drugs and Gambling”, Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission (AADAC).  Visit the AADAC website at www.aadac.com/workplace
2. Canadian Centre for Substance Abuse – Website: www.ccsa.ca
3. Canadian Human Rights Commission: “Policy on Alcohol and Drug Testing (2002)”, http://www.chrc-ccdp.ca/legislation_policies/policies-en.asp
4. “OSH Answers: Substance Abuse in the Workplace”, Canadian Centre for Occupational Health & Safety (CCOHS), www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/psychosocial/substance.html
5. “Workplace Substance Abuse”, Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), U.S. Department of Labor, www.osha.gov/SLTC/substanceabuse/index.html

This article is provided for information only. Article Reproduced by Guzzardi & Associates with Permission.  Copyright 2006 Escalade Services Group Inc.