Drug Abuse

The importance of minimizing drug abuse in the workplace is difficult to understate. Analysts estimate that drug abuse of illegal drugs (not including alcohol) is common in between 10 to 23 percent of all employees. These employees are subject to more accidents as a result of their abuse; these accidents, in turn, can result in injury or death to the abuser, and substantial material loss to the employer in question. In addition to these losses which are attributable directly to drug abuse, these employees also take an additional toll in the form of increased absences, higher insurance costs (due to increased use of the health care system), lower productivity and employee theft. The total cost to the nation's economy is estimated to be in the billions (Haas, 1990, p. 245).

There are two common strategies that businesses and other employers can use to counteract drug abuse. The first strategy involves wo

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of local and regional governments to work with other organizations in developing programs to help the workplace addict. Employers who are developing strategies for coping with workplace drug abuse typically begin by evaluating their own expertise in the area. This expertise can include the company's medical, industrial health, safety, human resources and related departments, as well as available resources, such as office space and clerical staff to handle an internal resource. An employee assistance program (EAP), usually found in larger organizations, can help employers determine whether they have the resources to establish an ongoing internal program, or whether they need to consider outside resources. Another consideration is the employer's group health insurance program, which may provide coverage of drug abuse treatment or provide an option for such programs at reasonable costs to the employee (Fay, 1991, p. 33). The public administrator must be concerned not only with these same problems as they relate to his own organization and employees within that organization, but there is also increasing demand that society fund and provide such resources for the community at large. Community health agencies, detoxification cente
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Approximate Word count = 2172
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)

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