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All the Questions You Had, But Were Afraid to Ask

by Percy Menzies

Imagine finding out that one of your employees has a problem with drugs or alcohol. How would you handle it? What kind of effect would it have on your company?

Think it won’t happen to you and your business? Well, then—think again. The statistics are staggering: 13.5 million Americans have alcohol-related illness and 16 million abuse prescription drugs. That adds up to 18% of all employees, with the higher percentages being among men and those in occupations such as construction. Furthermore, not only is this disease extremely hard to identify, but it is the cause for an estimated $134 billion in lost productivity. As a business owner, you need to be informed about the options available for employees with addiction problems.

Why Are Employees Reluctant To Seek Treatment?

Although the problem is widespread, many employees will not seek treatment for their alcoholism due to the stigma associated with the disease, the sense of hopelessness and fear of losing a job. When they do seek help, it is usually for secondary consequences such as depression, heart-burn and lack of libido, or related to a nonmedical consequence such as a DUI/DWI, an ultimatum from a family member or being confronted by a supervisor or manager.

What Can Employers Do To Encourage Them To Look For Help?

An astounding 80% of employees with alcohol addiction do not think their drinking adversely affects their job performance. Consequently, they are not motivated to find a permanent solution for the problem, or they turn to support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous, which are—in their minds—socially acceptable. Advances in the understanding of the neurobiology of addictions have shown that support groups, although effective by themselves, are inadequate to treat the medical symptoms of the disease. To maximize the number of employees who seek help, the best thing an employer can do is create an environment where alcoholism and drug addictions are treated as any other chronic disease like asthma or diabetes. This changed perspective may be more conducive to the employee’s recovery.

There are several things that an employer should do to ensure that employees have a fair shot at being properly treated:

* Educate the entire staff about the disease by offering information on the causes, drinking patterns and short and long-term health implications of drinking.

* Make Internet resources available for employees and their families.

* Review the existing programs with health insurance vendors to see if they are treating alcoholism as an acute illness with medical interventions restricted to detoxification or brief hospitalization. Presently, most programs are heavily biased towards behavioral counseling and support group attendance.

* Encourage doctors to screen and provide information on alcoholism when seeing employees for routine exams.

* Review data to verify that employees are indeed utilizing all available resources to get help for them and their families.

Proven Medical Advances In The Treatment Of Addictions

Advances in the understanding of the neurobiology of addiction have led to the development of highly effective medications that enhance the effectiveness of behavioral therapies and support groups. Here are some of the newest—and most successful—options available:

* It is now possible to detox patients on an outpatient basis and send them back to work within 3-5 days while continuing the behavioral counseling after work hours and weekends. Patients are more willing to seek treatment if they are not required to go away for any length of time from their families and work.

* The availability of medications, such as naltrexone, acamprosate and buprenorphine can ease cravings, allowing patients to focus less on alcohol or drugs and more on their recovery.

* The newer medications are radically different from the drugs of the past. They do not produce a ‘high,’ have no or low abuse potential and can be given in a variety of settings. Most patients need to be kept on these medications for only a limited period of time, but can use them for extended periods of time without any long-term problems, if needed.

* These medications allow for the simultaneous treatment of other disorders like depression that occur frequently with addictions. Also, they appear to reduce substitutions to other harmful habits like excessive smoking and excessive coffee intake.

Companies can and should take a major step forward in reducing the stigma associated with alcoholism and drug addiction by offering employees treatments that have high success rates. Being informed and forthcoming about all of the options available will assist in creating a healthier work environment that will produce fewer accidents and absences, as well as increase productivity.

Carnival of Human Resources - #6 has chosen this article as one of its “best of the week” (May 2) picks. You can see it and many other wonderful, inspiring and informational articles at Susan M. Heathfield: About - Human Resources.

Sixth Edition of the Carnival of Leadership Growth has chosen this article as one of its “best of the week” (May 1) picks. You can see it some great other articles at The Organic Leadership Blog.

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