Substance Abuse In The Workplace

Abstract

Substance abuse is a problem that many businesses encounter.  Seventy-one percent of illegal drug users were employed in 1991 compared to 76.4 percent in 2001(National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery month, 1999; National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 2001). This paper presents findings from a study conducted to determine (1) if employers and employees agree about the importance of a substance abuse program in the workplace, (2) the extent the employer should be allowed to probe to identify employee substance issues, and (3) factors associated with an employee’s reluctance to seek help from their employer for drug or alcohol abuse.