Drugs in the Workplace / Documentary Video

Drugs in the Workplace. Public domain video.

DRUGS IN THE WORKPLACE
— What an employer needs to know.

Substance abuse is a widespread problem in our society. An estimated 14.8 million Americans are current illicit drug users.1 The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported that 77 percent of illicit drug users in the United States are employed. Thats 9.4 million people. The chances are good that your organization employs one of these workers.

Who is using drugs at work?
A survey by the federal government showed full-time employees who admitted to being current illicit drug users tend to be:

between the ages of 18 and 25
less educated
male
divorced or never married
white
low paid
Industries with the highest rates of illicit drug use
food preparation workers
waiters, waitresses, and bartenders
other service occupation workers
construction workers
workers in transportation and material moving3
How does substance abuse impact the workplace?
Employees who abuse alcohol and other drugs bring their problems with them to work.




Substance abuse lowers productivity.
Problems related to alcohol and drug abuse cost American businesses roughly $81 billion in lost productivity in just one year.
Studies have shown that substance-abusing employees function at about 67% of their capacity.
Substance abuse causes accidents and injuries.
Up to 40 percent of industrial fatalities and 47 percent of industrial injuries can be linked to alcohol use and alcoholism.
Employees who use drugs are 3.6 times more likely to be involved in a workplace accident and 5 times more likely to file a workers compensation claim.
Substance abuse increases absenteeism and turnover.
An estimated 500 million workdays are lost annually due to alcoholism.
Employees who use drugs are 2.2 times more likely to request early dismissal or time off, 2.5 times more likely to have absences of eight days or more, and 3 times more likely to be late for work.
Illicit drug users are more than twice as likely than those who do not use drugs to have changed employers three or more times in the past year.
Substance abuse increases an employers medical costs.
Employees who use drugs cost their employers about twice as much in medical claims as do non-drug-using employees.
What can your organization do to decrease the impact of substance abuse?




Implement a drug-free workplace program
In 1988, the Drug-free Workplace Act was passed, requiring all federal grantees and some recipients of federal contracts to agree to provide a drug-free workplace as a condition of receiving federal money. In a drug-free workplace, all employees adhere to a program of policies and activities designed to provide a safe Workplace.12 The policies and activities discourage alcohol and drug abuse and encourage treatment, recovery and the return to work of those employees who have abuse problems. Even if your organization is not required to have a drug-free workplace program, your organization can still benefit.




A successful drug-free workplace program may include:
a written policy
employee education
supervisor training
access to assistance
drug testing
A good drug-free workplace program can lead to
Decreases in: Increases in:
absenteeism
accidents
downtime
turnover
workers compensation costs
employee discipline problems
productivity
profits
customer satisfaction
health status
employee morale

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• drugs
• drug
• workplace
• work
• place
• job
• office
• substance
• use
• abuse
• chemical
• testing
• tests
• worker
• workers
• employment
• employer
• employs
• employee
• absent
• absenteeism
• users
• abusers
• employees
• illicit
• occupation
• occupations
• alcohol
• marijuana
• productivity
• accidents
• illness
• illnesses
• alcoholism
• alcoholics
• alcoholic
• industrial
• fatalities
• accident
• compensation
• claim
• file
• absences
• absence
• sick
• miss
• late
• tardy
• cost
• costs
• medical
• claims
• drug-free
• education
• educational
• training
• turnover
• program
• addict
• addicts

[420domo420]

lol every1 were i work is on tons of drugs, my managers a huuuge acid head and another guy has around 20 plants all personal no selling

[tubester4567]

Ya, i used to take heroin at work in the bathroom. There was a lot of machinery around so i was lucky i didnt kill myself. Dont take it no more.....

[Leetist]

The most paramount solution to increasing work place safety and productivity is focusing on impairment rather than drug testing. Impairment testing uses the concept of eye tracking ability to determine impairment. An employer could purchase the machine and have every employee use it before their shift. It will then determine if they are to impaired for work due to use of drugs, medications, lack of sleep, grief, etc. This is obviously the most efficient and cost effective solution.

[Leetist]

*food preparation workers(Cannabis and or tobacco)

*waiters, waitresses, and bartenders

other service occupation workers (Cannabis and or tobacco, alcohol for bar tenders.)

*construction workers(Probably roids and/or stimulants or alcohol.)

*workers in transportation and material moving(stimulants)

I have worked in the first two categories and the high stress environment combined with the dehumanizing treatment from customers leads to self-medication. Glad I made it out alive. ;)

[JPPT1974]

Pretty cruel, but also really, true.

[ECTBWHO]

Another Interesting video from rosaryfulms

[ledzeppelinsucks]

yeahh rightttt

smoke crack and pump gas