Remote work has made it easier for workers to hide their
There are 21 million people with substance use disorders in the U.S., and of that population, 70% are employed, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Bringing those behaviors into the workplace has become even harder to spot: a
However, more than a third of workers say that they have been intoxicated during work hours, and people with a substance misuse issue say it impacts 20 or more hours of their work time.
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The Americans with Disabilities Act protects some employees who have drug and alcohol addictions from being fired from their jobs, and requires employers to give employees time off to
“The ADA requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for employees, but employers still can enforce their conduct guidelines,” Jolivet says. “Employers don't have to accept workers coming to work or working remotely when they've been drinking, and they can't come to work drunk or impaired or high, or even in withdrawal.”
DrugAbuse.com surveyed 3,700 employers across industries to rank their tolerance of employees who use drugs and alcohol on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the least tolerant. Banking and real estate ranked more tolerant, with an average score of 2 out of 10. Less tolerant were the healthcare and public services industries, with an average of 4 out of 10, due to factors like greater interactions with customers or patients, the survey found.
Additionally, the survey found that attitudes toward drug and alcohol use varied by state, with Alabama, Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey and Virginia less tolerant, with a ranking of 6 out of 10. States that were more tolerant include Nebraska, Maine and Connecticut, with a ranking of 3 out of 10.
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Regardless of an employers’ tolerance, it’s important that managers learn to spot the warning signs of drug and alcohol abuse, both in-person and remotely. Things like changes in appearance, changes in behavior like coming to work late and leaving early, and other discrepancies in normal work patterns can be a starting point for reaching out and getting an employee the help they may need, Jolivet says.
“When an employee says, ‘I'm struggling because I'm drinking,’ you want to be able to give them available benefits and let them know very specifically what their benefits are and how to access them,” Jolivet says. “These are medical conditions that require treatment. We really need to get past the idea that people don't get better.”
