Substance Abuse in the Workplace

Over the years, substance abuse in the United States has become a persistent issue affecting many individuals. In 2008, it was estimated that 17.8 million Americans over the age of 18 where substance dependent (Epstein, Burns, & Conlon, 2010). Many of these individuals being affected are nurses. Ponech (2000) stated that "approximately 10% of the nursing population has alcohol or drug abuse problems, and 6% has problems serious enough to interfere with their ability to practice" (as cited in Talbert, 2009, p.17). Studies show that nurses have a 50% higher rate of substance abuse compared to the rest of the public (Epstein et al., 2010). Among the many factors that contribute to the nurse’s issue of substance abuse,

Drug misuse is associated with domestic violence, increased involvement with crime and police and decline in work quality. Obviously these characteristics would not even make a close to feasible argument as to why a person like that would be a candidate for any job(Terry).

Clearly both behavioral and psychological factors can contribute to susceptible substance abuse, which also extends into the field of nursing.

| Social stress, pop culture, and unemployment rate are variables to drug use. These variables can be linked together or stand alone in an individual’s drug use.

According to Stephen Wilcox, the FIDSA Principal and Founder Design Science stated, “The impact of alcoholism and drug dependence in the workplace often focuses on four major issues: premature death/fatal accidents, injuries/accident rates, absenteeism/extra sick leave, and loss of production” (Wilcox). A chart from Google gives a helpful visual of the different ages and genders that shows how they harm the workplace. Both men and women of all ages bring danger to the workplaces from their ability to do their job is affected, having to work extra hours, or there is an accident or close call at

Drug abuse does not only impact a person’s well-being, but it also negatively impacts society. The economy is impacted by health costs incurred from prevention, treatment, and hospital visits. Public Safety is impacted by drug-affected driving. Operating a vehicle under the influence is illegal and dangerous for the driver, passenger(s), and other people on the road. There are three classifications for drug abuse related crime: nexus, economic-compulsive, and systemic. Drug abuse also hinders productivity because addiction causes an individual to constantly seek the drug while deeming all other things less important. Companies experience loss of potential income from employees that are under the influence, incarcerated, hospitalized, or seeking treatment. Finally, economic consequences effect specific populations which include children, women, and people with low-income. Drug prevention strategies have been identified as a way to decrease economic consequences on society (“Economic Consequences of Drug Abuse,” 2013).

Being under the influence can be a result of many different things, such as drinking alcohol or taking drugs. While doing such things can be fine when an employee is at home, these substances have no business in the workplace. Being under the influence at work can cause accidents, less production, tardiness or absenteeism, poor decision making, theft, and much more (“Drugs”, 2015). Employers can combat these problems by utilizing drug testing programs, establishing anti-drug abuse policies, and establishing an Employee Assistance Program.

Substance abuse involving drugs, alcohol, or both is linked with a variety of negative social conditions, including family disturbances, monetary problems, lost output, and failure in school, domestic violence, child abuse, and crime. Furthermore, both social attitudes and legal answers to the use of alcohol and illicit drugs make substance abuse one of the most multifaceted public health issues. "Estimates of the total overall costs of substance abuse in the United States, including lost productivity and health- and crime-related costs, exceed $600 billion annually" (Substance Abuse, 2012).

Marijuana is the most commonly abused drug in the work environment, followed by cocaine, and then prescription drugs (Drugs and Alcohol in the Workplace, 2015). With marijuana becoming legal in most states in the United States it raises a question of whether or not the companies are doing the proper testing to implement a drug free environment for employees to work. Other than substances, alcohol is a major factor as well. Breathalyzers have shown that 16% of emergency room visits were due to employees who abused alcohol (Drugs and Alcohol in the Workplace, 2015). A survey done showed that within a year, over 24% of employees reported that they drank alcohol while at work (Drugs and Alcohol in the Workplace, 2015). This has shown that employers have an issue with alcohol and substance abuse and there has to be a change in order to help those receive treatment for their problems before it

Drug abuse by employees in the workplace is a major concern for many employers Approximately 16.4 million drug abusers and 15 million heavy alcohol users

In and around most large cities in America, the rising substance abuse epidemic has brought about a renewed interested in determining the root cause of substance abuse, the effects of substance abuse on individuals and societies, and the substance abuse treatment modalities that achieve the best outcomes. In reviewing the current research on substance abuse there seems to be no one clear cause of substance abuse disorders, although there is strong evidence that a number of life circumstances may predispose an individual to a substance abuse disorder, as well as a number of protective factors that may reduce an individual’s risk of developing a substance abuse disorder. One important risk factor that is commonly associated with substance

Substance abuse among Healthcare Providers is a significant problem in the healthcare community. Multiple studies have estimated that 10 – 15 percent of healthcare providers in the United States may become chemically dependent at some point in their careers. “When alcohol is excluded from such assessments, the incidence of drug dependency is estimated to be between 1 and 2 percent.” (Booth, et al, 2002). This statistical estimate seems to be on par with substance abuse in the general population; (Nationwide Trends) however, the repercussions of substance abuse among healthcare providers are severe and can lead to permanent revocation of licensure to practice medicine.

As a healthcare professional, we are responsible for the delivery of high quality patient care. Substance abuse among nurses is an issue that threatens professional standards and can lead to poor patient outcomes (Rohma,2012). According to Healthy People 2020, an estimated 22 million Americans struggled with drug or alcohol abuse in the year 2005 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS],2013). Given that the nurses have easy access to controlled substances, this population is likely to be higher than the general public.

Literature implies that employee drug use in the workplace may create high costs to firms in the form of lower productivity, increased absences, and an increase in workplace accidents. As a response to these costs, employers have implemented a variety of policies and programs to decrease employee drug use. Educational programs and standards such as “Zero Tolerance” policies, employers have turned to drug testing programs more in the past decades. About 46 percent of American workers report that their employer conducts drug testing, although other sources indicate that 90 percent of Fortune 200 companies use some type of drug testing (Flynn 1999). The factor behind workplace drug

The literature that has been found on alcoholism in the workplace included resources such as what alcoholism is by McKenney (1959:17), what social resilience is according to Kwok et al. (2016:198), the consequences