Could Alcohol and Drug Misuse be Costing You Money?

As someone who is involved in a small business, you know how important it is to get the most out of your employees, and also how costly it can be to hire and train new employees. Yet far too many businesses are failing to prepare for employees with substance issues, and are facing re-hiring costs instead of helping existing employees to rehabilitate.

Recent research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has found that despite 40% of employees believing that alcohol misuse is a significant cause of employee absence and lost productivity; only 60% of businesses have a policy in place to deal with the issue. This is even more surprising considering 31% of businesses have dismissed at least one employee for alcohol problems, and 15% have dismissed at least one employee with drugs problem in the last two years.

The survey also found employers could do much more to support employees with substance dependency problems, with only 38% of employers providing co-ordinated rehabilitation support to help individuals with drug or alcohol problems return to work after treatment. Only a half of employers provide access to counselling or to occupational health services for employees fighting drink or drug problems.

Ben Willmott, CIPD Employee Relations Adviser and author of the report says: “Supporting employees with drug and alcohol problems has a high success rate with many individuals returning to work. But organisations must make employees aware of the policies and support in place otherwise they will not have the confidence to hold their hand up and acknowledge they have a problem and need help.

”Since 2001 the number of organisations with drug and alcohol policies has remained around the same (58%) and where organisations do have policies they are doing very little to actively promote them. Simply adding a policy to a rarely used staff handbook is unlikely to ensure the issue is seen as an ongoing priority. Organisations should engage with their employees to ensure that they are fully aware of its provisions; this can be done via staff briefings, poster or publicity campaigns at work, internal notice boards newsletters and email alerts.

”Training managers so that they are able to identify and manage drugs and alcohol misuse in the workplace is also essential. Yet only a third of employers train managers in how to manage these sorts of issues at work.

”Clearly drug and alcohol misuse is an issue which needs to be taken seriously within the workplace. The Health and Safety Executive currently estimates that up to 14 million working days are lost each year due to alcohol related problems, costing British industry an estimated £2 billion each year.”

The survey found that where businesses refer employees with substance difficulties to specialist treatment or rehabilitation support, more than 60% were able to manage their problem and carry on working for the business. This demonstrates that with your support the problems can be dealt with.

By having a substance misuse policy in place and by helping your employee to deal with their problems; not only can you help them to recover; you help boost their loyalty to your business, avoid having to dismiss them and advertise their job, avoid needing to interview new candidates, and avoid needing to hire and then train the new employee.

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