The stats say some of your employees use drugs. Now what?

5 minute read

5% of adults have used a drug recently

Around 1 in 11 adults aged 16 to 59 years has taken a drug in the last year (9.4%) and around 1 in 20 (5.0%) has taken a drug in the last month. Which means if you have a workforce of more than 20 employees the likelihood is high that some of your employees have used drugs recently[1].

Drug use and addiction are not the same. Problem drug use often relates to a number of factors such as experience of trauma, environment, relationships and genetics. As employers there are things within our control and things outside of our control.

17% of HR Directors - a significant minority - believe that alcohol consumption is a major problem for their businesses, and a massive 90% recognise it as an issue. But there is little data that exists on drug use.

1 in 5 employers are failing to support employees

Often, we unintentionally create workplace policies that encourage employees to hide or cover-up their problem drug use. Recent guidelines offered by the CIPD recommend employers to treat drug or alcohol misuse as a health, safety, and wellbeing concern and not just a disciplinary issue.

Dr Jill Miller, senior policy adviser at the CIPD, said that support for people struggling with alcohol and drug misuse “must be part of an organisations’ wellbeing offering… creating a safe environment where people feel able to ask for support… encouraging people to seek help before a concern becomes a real issue,”

In addition, the CIPD surveyed 787 senior HR decision makers on the steps they took to prevent drug misuse and support offered to those affected by it. They found only 26% had trained their managers to recognise the symptoms of a drug or alcohol problem, while just 32% trained line managers in supporting employees experiencing it.

Similarly, employees were also likely to be unaware of how to disclose a problem with alcohol or drugs, with only 27% of organisations providing information around how they could inform them.

They also found that more that 25% of firms had disciplined someone in the past two years for drug misuse.

Does your organization require a specific drug policy?

Workplace drug testing is legal in the UK, but only under specific circumstances. Employers need the consent from their employees if they want to test for drug use[2]. This typically is covered under a contractual health and safety policy and is limited by the following:

• limiting testing to employees that need to be tested

• ensuring the tests are random

• do not single out particular employees for testing unless justified by the nature of their jobs

Safety-critical industries such as construction, security, driving, aviation, or if employees are required to handle hazardous products, obviously would fall under the category of requiring a drug policy.

However, not all employers do require a drug policy. Questions to ask yourself include: Does drug use put other members of staff at risk? Will it put our customers at risk? Will it put the community at risk?

If the answer is no, a well-written and practiced wellbeing offering, should fit the bill. Much of mental health, drug use, and addiction are interwoven. The progress that has been made for mental health in the workplace will provide a level of support also for those that use drugs.

If you do need a policy

Taking the fear out of addiction is critical. Those going through recovery can be terrific employees under the right conditions. De-mystifying drug use through storytelling that is data-informed with the focus on stigma reduction, people first language (person who uses drugs vs addict), and responsibility to the workplace and community is proven to make a difference in reducing the negative behaviours associated with problem drug use.

If an employee tells you they have a drug (or alcohol) problem, an effective policy should aim to help and support them rather than lead to dismissal. Many countries adopt a harm reduction strategy, interested less in policing drugs and more to do with minimising the harm they do. Instead adopting evidence-based policies and actions as integral pillars to their drug strategy.

France has some of the strictest drug and addiction laws in Europe, they do not distinguish between hard and soft drugs, and treats all cases as a criminal matter. This approach has been acknowledged as “inefficient” and “time-consuming.”[3]

When creating a drug policy, it must be clear, transparent, and easily accessible to your workforce. It is possible to deliver a policy that works and is contingent on consequences of non-compliance being equitable, fair, and encouraging employees to seek help.

What can you do?

By prioritising genuine support for wellbeing, you as an employer can create a safe environment where people feel able to ask for support. Line managers are well positioned to manage workloads, spot early warning signs of issues, and signpost people to support, but they need to have the training to feel confident and capable to do so effectively and feel confident to respond appropriately to an employee disclosing a problem with alcohol or drugs.

In addition to this, being proactive in your approach to support the prevention of drug use and mental health challenges can be just as effective and provide a return of investment of up to 7:1 (Deloitte, 2020).

A wellbeing offering alongside trained management should suffice in most cases. Adopting a supportive workplace culture, where employees feel valued and able to reach out if needed will significantly reduce the likelihood of problematic drug use.

Thinking about your workplace:

• What is the culture of your workplace?

• Do your staff feel supported?

• Do they feel valued?

• Are they able to seek out support if they need it?

• Do you have evidence to back up your knowledge in these areas?

• If so, could the numbers be better?

Need help?

Habitus specialises in providing practical, lasting solutions to mental health and drug use issues. For more information on how Habitus can help your organisation develop comprehensive support for your employees, click here. Alternatively, send us a message or contact us by phone on 020 7207 3186.

[1] https://www.drugwise.org.uk/how-many-people-use-drugs/

[2] https://www.gov.uk/monitoring-work-workers-rights/drug-testing

[3] https://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/dyn/15/rapports/cion_lois/l15b0595_rapport-information