As resources are devoted to help mitigate and abate the opioid crisis, attention has been given to the workplace.  Helping people in recovery regain a healthy lifestyle, in part through regaining consistent supportive employment is an important aspect of one’s recovery journey. A drug free workplace typically provides many needed supports such as structure for all workers to remain drug and alcohol free while at work, provides guidance for supervisory staff on managing the program, and education on the issues of substance use and misuse and its effects to the workplace.

A recovery friendly...

Increased use of illicit substances, especially opioids and fentanyl, along with an increase in deaths from these drugs during the pandemic appears to account for a decline in workforce participation of between 7% - 19% out of an overall reduction of 9% - 26%. The U.S. has still not completely recovered from the decrease. According to a 2022 study conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research, this downturn of active employment for the prime age group of 25-54 was observed between February 2020 and June of 2021.  

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Abbott – Work Drug Safe Website| Knowledge & Insights Blog | December 2021

Drug use is on the rise in the United States. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA)  identified that the number of past-year  illicit drug users ages 26 and older over the last few years: 14.6% of the population in 2015; 15% of the population in 2016; 16.1% of the population in 2017; and 16.7% of the population in 2018.

The report is ongoing, but we can assume that the numbers will continue to rise when SAMHSA releases the 2019...

Quest Diagnostics just released its 2022 Drug Testing Index (DTI) report of the analyzed results of more than 11 million workforce drug tests in 2021.  The DTI provides context and trends of its drug testing data collection since 1988.   

The report disclosed that overall drug test positivity increased across 16 out of 17 industry categories excluding mining.

Not unexpectedly, all 17 industry categories saw an increase in positivity for marijuana with 15 industries showing a double-digit surge. The industry sector with the greatest rate of marijuana positivity of 7.5% was Accommodations and...

The Journal of the American Medical Association published a recent analysis of the responses from more than 110,000 fulltime employed adults over age 18 from the 2015 – 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health where researchers determined that persons with alcohol use problems had a disproportionate number of absentee days. In fact, the more severe the alcohol disorder, the greater the prevalence of absentee days. In 2019, 14.1 million Individuals in the U.S. with AUD produced more than 232,000,000 missed workdays each year.

These findings make the financial justification for employers to...

With 1 in 14 Americans reporting a Substance Use Disorder (SUD), there is a serious impact to the workplace.  Like many diseases, persons with SUDs can be successfully treated under a doctor’s care and their condition managed with medication, twelve-step programs, counseling, or rehabilitation programs.

Stigma at the workplace can deeply affect the individual in recovery impeding their ability to seek help or sustain their progress.  Stigma is a negative judgement or belief about a person or group based upon a particular characteristic such as substance use that often triggers guilt and shame...

Drug Free America Foundation has released a new resource educating employers and all workplace stakeholders that supporting substance use recovery at work can be a benefit through increased productivity, improved morale, safer workplace, greater employee retention, and a more positive working environment.

The new one-pager provides a short introduction to the concept of a recovery ready workplace through the following points:

• * Describes the impact of Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) to society and the workplace
• * Explains recovery and the role of the workplace in that process
• * Defines...

A final report was released by the U.S. Commission on Combating Opioid Trafficking that emphasized the trafficking of synthetic opioids into the U.S. threatens both the national security and economic wellbeing of the country. The report disclosed the staggering toll that the opioid crisis has on the public and identified a robust plan to fight the scourge. 1

Research data revealed the number of U.S. deaths from drug overdoses has reached over 1 million cumulatively since 1999.  This staggering figure is more than the combined number of service member deaths from all U.S. wars.   Furthermore...

The Stigma and Discrimination Research toolkit is a collection of evidence and resources related to stigma and discrimination research. Health-related stigma and discrimination research has produced theories, models, frameworks, measures, methods, and interventions that can be applied across conditions and populations to help reduce the impact of stigma and discrimination.

This toolkit may be helpful for researchers, government officials looking to incorporate research into policy, community agencies, and various other stakeholders across disciplines and sectors. This toolkit includes a...

Cansford Laboratories, UK  |  Alex Swann  | 09 December 2020

Employers have a duty to protect their employees from injury and that includes the being under the influence or using substance while on the job.  Cansford Labs developed a great guide for employers (UK) that explains drug testing and answers frequently asked questions.

Read the Guide

Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy  |  Alison M. Devlin & Daniel Wight  |  21 April 2020

ABSTRACT The San Patrignano drug recovery community, Italy, is regarded as one of the most successful in the world. However, if this model is to be transferred to other countries, it is necessary to clarify its underlying mechanisms and how far their success is context dependent. This qualitative study investigated these features of the San Patrignano model. Data collection included semi-structured interviews with six key stakeholders and 10 days’ observational field notes. Data were synthesised...

Journal of Social Work Practice in Addictions | Penelope Yates | 2014

This interesting paper was referenced in an earlier post on this forum regarding San Patrignano's program and approach to substance abuse treatment and recovery. 

One key component of the program provides residents with educational opportunities and job skills training through onsite businesses and collaborations with various industries all in a drug-free living and working  environment. 

Read the paper

Brought to you from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Listen First is a program for parents promoting social and emotional learning as a foundation for science-based substance use prevention.

Providing resources such as through Listen First is a means that employers can support those employees' primary role as parents making them more engaged and productive workers. 

Check out the parent resources!

Abbott - Drug Safe Workplace Website | Knowledge & Insights Blog | September, 2021

Cannabidiol, more commonly known as CBD, has spiked in popularity over the last few years. However, one consequence of a quick rise to fame is a great deal of misunderstanding, misinformation, and lingering questions about the substance.

What Is CBD and How is it Used?

CBD is a compound found in the cannabis plant, and it can be found in both hemp and marijuana. It has become extremely popular recently as a medical treatment for various ailments, most notably as an effective treatment for childhood...

Quest Diagnostics Employer Solutions Blog | Pablo Bolaños

In the song made famous by the late recording artist Tom Petty, the storyteller compares marijuana use to romance, as he longs for a “Last dance with Mary Jane, one more time to kill the pain.” These lyrics echo the romanticized sentiment that many people still have today. Marijuana remains the most-used illicit substance in the US. Popular opinion about its low risks help to spread misinformation, myths, and drive the narrative that marijuana is safe.

According to the latest findings from the United Nations Office on Drugs and...

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has provided UK employers with guidance on managing drug and alcohol misuse in the workplace and supporting their employees including policy development, training, and resources.

CIPD research found that health and wellness of workers was impacted by social isolation and financial stress of the COVID-19 pandemic and that there was a need for employers to become more connected with the problem.

CIPD has conducted research and developed a number of resources to assist employers address substance use.  Visit the CIPD website to...

The opioid overdose epidemic continues to claim lives across the U.S. with a record 47,600 overdose deaths in 2017. (This number represents 67.8% of the 70,237 overdose deaths from all drugs) [CDC 2018a]. More Americans now die every year from drug overdoses than in motor vehicle crashes [CDC 2016]. The crisis is taking an especially devastating toll on certain parts of the U.S. workforce. High rates of opioid overdose deaths have occurred in industries with high injury rates and physically demanding working conditions such as construction, mining, or fishing Massachusetts Department of...

Prescription opioid medications intended for pain management and prescription benzodiazepines for conditions such as anxiety or insomnia, when used alone or together, often have side effects that can affect workers’ health and safety. In addition, some occupational factors, such as work-related motor vehicle crashes, falls, other injuries and job stress, have the potential to increase the chances that a worker is given a prescription for an opioid or benzodiazepine [Kowalski-McGraw et al. 2017].

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has developed resources for improving...

Abbott - WorkDrugSafe Website| Knowledge & Insights Blog | August, 2021

Understanding the signs of substance abuse is essential to your workplace safety. In 2020 40% of adults reported struggling with mental health or substance use. As a group, nearly one third of Millennials have a behavioral health condition, with nearly one million insured Millennials diagnosed with substance use disorder in 2018. With more than one-in-three employees in the U.S. workforce now being Millennials, the makeup of the American workplace, as well as the problems employers face, is swiftly changing.

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Please check out the resources document developed to accompany the Recovery Ready Workplace webinar!  

Get the Resources Sheet