SUBSTANCE ABUSE COSTS EMPLOYERS BILLIONS

Substance abuse problems among employees cost businesses billions of dollars each year. According to the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, in that year, 73% of the nation’s adults with alcohol or drug dependence were employed either full- or part-time. This amounts to nearly 13 million Americans working under the influence. Put another way, this data from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration means that 8% of full-time employed adults and 10.2% of part-time employed adults are substance abusers.

For the majority of substance abusers, their problem lies with alcohol. The same study reveals that slightly more than half of Americans aged 12 or older reported being current drinkers of alcohol (51.6%). This translates to an estimated 129 million people, which was similar to the 2007 estimate of 126.8 million people (51.1%).

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According to information published by Ensuring Solutions to Alcohol Problems, a part of the George Washington University Medical Center, alcohol abuse costs American businesses $134 billion in productivity losses annually, and the health care costs for these employees are about twice as high as for those without an alcohol abuse problem. Employees who are heavy drinkers use twice as much sick time as other employees, spend four times as many days in the hospital than the national average, and have higher rates of job turnover.

Significantly, light and moderate alcohol users, who are greater in number than heavy drinkers or alcoholics, account for 60% of alcohol-related absenteeism, tardiness, and poor work quality. And, the problems of alcohol abusers go beyond the addicted individual: About 20% of employees say they have been injured by, have covered for, or have had to work harder because of other employees’ drinking.

The above data shows that alcohol and other substance abuse takes a toll on workplace productivity, and contributes to higher medical costs both for treatment of the addiction and for substance-related medical issues. Employee substance abuse problems also result in an increased occurrence of workplace accidents and higher Disability and Workers Compensation costs. It is clearly in an employer’s best interests to seek ways to minimize the impact of employees’ substance abuse on the workplace.

Experts in the field stress the importance of workplace practices that educate employees about the health hazards of substance addiction and encourage employees to seek early treatment of any problems. While stressing the importance of a drug-free workplace, policies that rely primarily on discipline can result in addicted employees hiding their problems out of fear of losing their jobs, and in co-workers enabling such behavior in a spirit of friendship. In that kind of environment, an addicted employee may resist seeking any available help-such as obtaining treatment under the medical plan or taking a leave to enroll in a treatment program-until a crisis occurs.

On the other hand, employees will be more likely to come forward and get the help they need if they believe that by doing so they will receive help, not punishment. The same is true of co-workers, who can be an invaluable resource in encouraging addicted employees to seek help and to stay on track once treatment has begun.

Since most medical insurance plans include at least some substance abuse benefits, workplace communications about a business’s policies on alcohol/drug use should include this information. Employees are more likely to seek help if they feel it is within their reach, and they might not realize that this benefit is available to them. Employee assistance programs (EAPs) also can offer screenings, counseling, and treatment referrals for employees with substance problems; depending on the EAP, it also may have worksite awareness and supervisor training programs.

Communications to employees about any available benefits should stress that both medical plan and EAP services are confidential. This, together with a supportive (rather than punitive) environment, increases the likelihood that employees will seek the help that they need.

With many dollars in lost productivity at stake, the reasons for businesses to promote substance abuse awareness are compelling. And, because work is such an important part of most people’s lives, the workplace can be an effective place for substance abuse intervention to begin.

EXERCISE CAUTION IN THE PARKING LOT DURING WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS

Even a little snow and ice in your workplace parking lot can be treacherous. With the possibility of a slip and fall, and an injury of epic proportions, you have no choice but to take your safety into your own hands. Even if the sidewalks are shoveled and salted, there is still plenty of danger lying between your car door and the employee entrance. Here are a few safety tips to help you avoid injury.

Choose sensible footwear. Naturally you want to look fashionable at work-but when fashion costs you physical pain and possible permanent injury, it simply isn’t worth it. Instead, bring your attractive work shoes to change into, and wear boots or shoes that provide stability while on slippery surfaces. Rubber is an ideal material for navigating snow and ice.

Do the shuffle. In Florida, beachgoers are taught to do the stingray shuffle when walking into the ocean during certain seasons. This shuffle involves slowly sliding their feet along the sand in the water without lifting them. They do this to avoid stepping on a stingray. In the winter time, you can do this shuffle in order to have better control over your steps and reduce your risk of slipping. The key is to move your feet slowly in short shuffling movements.

Don’t be a Sherpa. In most cases, your employer provides you with nicely plowed and shoveled areas to walk. Don’t attempt to climb up piles of snow or in areas that have not been cleared of debris just to take a short cut. If there are any railings near the cleared and designated walkway areas, use them to guard against a fall.

Arrive early. When there is ice and snow on the ground, you don’t want to be forced to rush into work to avoid being tardy. Leave home a little earlier in the mornings so that you can avoid the need to beat the clock.

Notify your supervisor of danger zones. While you are in the parking lot, if you notice any areas that are particularly perilous, try to safely mark the area off to warn other employees and then notify your supervisor. Unless you have the proper tools and gear as well as permission from your employer, do not try to make the area safe yourself.

Wipe your feet before entering the building. When you enter the workplace, clean off your shoes so that snow and ice from the parking lot and walkway don’t melt and create indoor hazards.

Pull your head up before you fall. Occasionally, falls are inevitable. If you do begin to fall while walking outside, crane your head and back forward so that you don’t suffer a blow to the back of your head.

Fall correctly. If something should happen and you do fall in the parking lot or elsewhere, try to avoid the urge of using your hands or arms to break the fall. Instead try to land on your thigh first, then your hip and lastly, your shoulder. These are the safest spots for impact.

MAKE WORKPLACE SAFETY TOP PRIORITY

Despite a downward trend in workplace injuries, many employees might still be choosing to bypass safety mechanisms due to employer pressure for more productive employees. That said, many HR departments might consider revisiting their safety training and incentive programs to ensure workplace safety is being put first.

When one stops to consider that workplace safety can often be a life or death issue, it shouldn’t be so shocking that employees would pick workplace safety over family leave, overtime pay, wages, and sick day pay as the most important labor issue to them. Tracking statistics on worker injuries first started in 1992. According to data by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, both nonfatal and fatal injuries have actually declined for several years. In fact, the 4,340 fatal workplace injuries that occurred in 2009 was the least amount recorded since 1992. Statistics for illnesses and nonfatal injuries have also trended downward since 2003.

Despite downward trending statistics, one 2008 study showed that eighty-nine% of workers ranked workplace safety as their greatest labor concern. This data is congruent with a new study released by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago. In the new study, work place safety was cited as the most important labor issue by 85% of respondents, or roughly eight in 10 workers. Meanwhile, 78% of respondents ranked maternity and family leave as their second most important labor-related issue. Sick day pay and overtime pay were each cited by 69% of those participating.

These findings might be somewhat surprising to employers based off of the political verve and influence that accompanies other issues like wages and benefits, but experts say that considering those issues aren’t actually life and death matters and workplace safety is, the findings make logical sense. According to experts, the media, the economy, the decline of unions, and stress levels could be factors behind the large percentage of workers listing safety as their top concern. The media often overlooks the human toll of workplace accidents. The British Petroleum (BP) Gulf of Mexico disaster is a recent example; the media coverage almost exclusively focused on the environmental implications of the disaster, while almost completely overlooking the worker safety aspects of the incident. If optimal safety would’ve been maintained, then the eleven deceased workers might not have died and the environmental disaster would’ve been nonexistent.

Studies concerning satisfaction levels for workplace safety have generally shown improvement during the past 10 years, with one exception: Levels of stress. Although most workers aren’t in work environments that have high physical danger levels, most workers are in occupations that involve high levels of job-related stress. High stress levels can have a substantial impact on the health and safety of the stressed worker and those around him/her.

Experts also point to employees being subjected to performance pressure from employers. This might especially be related to the desire for employers to have more productive employees in such a down economy. Workers may choose to bypass safety mechanisms in an effort to comply.One common complaint from employees is that their employer is only concerned with having appealing safety numbers on paper. These employees feel that their employer isn’t genuinely concerned with real safety issues. The recent union decline might also be prompting employees to turn to the federal government for additional safety protection. However, as unions reorganize, they will most likely focus heavily on addressing workplace safety concerns and attracting new membership by simply showing that employers aren’t giving safety issues the attention they merit.

In light of this study, employers might think about using rewards recognition for employee suggestions to improve safety vs. accident-free type rewards. Since many companies are still using generic safety training applications that frequently have little relevancy to a particular occupation, employers might also consider revisiting training programs for relevancy and effectiveness.