NCJ Number
157843
Date Published
1988
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This report presents factors about drug abuse and its impacts on business and list potential ways to address workplace drug abuse.
Abstract
The text notes that drug abuse is the country's third most prevalent health problem and that nearly 40 percent of workplace fatalities are directly related to drug or alcohol use. Eighteen thousand deaths and 10 million injuries on the job annually involve alcohol. In addition, 61 percent of all absenteeism and 65 percent of medical spending is attributable to the inability of employees to cope with the problems of daily life rather than non-stress-related illness. Between 10 and 23 percent of all workers use dangerous drugs on the job. To address these problems, a substantial number of companies have established employee assistance programs. These programs save corporations money in health care costs, sick leave, and other costs. A 3-year, six-state study of 480 companies with employee assistance programs strong in alcohol intervention and treatment referral revealed that within 12 months of entering treatment, 70 percent of 17,743 employees referred with drinking problems were back on the job and performing adequately. Twenty-two companies that did cost-benefit analyses realized $5 in savings for every dollar spent on an employee assistance program. Additional statistics