Substance abusers

Here are some sobering statistics from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: Of the 16.6 million illicit drug users in the U.S. in a recent year, almost 75 percent were employed and about 80 percent of binge drinkers, or 40.8 million people, were also employed.

With these high numbers, few companies are unaffected by employee substance abuse, but many don’t have policies in effect to deal with the problem.

There are five basic components of a substance abuse program every company should follow:

* Develop a written substance abuse policy that prohibits the use of drugs and alcohol.
* Launch an employee education program to provide information about a drug and alcohol free workplace and the help available for abusers.
* Establish an employee assistance program, a confidential counseling service, to help abusers resolve their problems.
* Train supervisors to recognize and document substance abuse, and intervene to refer abusers to treatment.
* Set up a drug testing program that identifies abusers while protecting worker privacy and confidentiality.