ADDICTS ON THE JOB

Rather Than Look The Other Way, Employers Can Step Up To
Help

Nobody likes a tattletale.

That's what we learn in grade school. Unfortunately for substance
abusers in the workplace, we never really unlearn that childhood code
of ethics as adults.

"I've had some patients say to me, `My employer knew about this and
looked the other way,' " said Dr. Victoria Sanelli, associate medical
director of the Ignatia Hall Acute Alcohol & Drug Treatment Center.

"There gets to be that don't-narc-on-your-colleague syndrome," she
added.

Silence does no one any good. Not the addicted employee, who gets to
prolong his problem while others turn a blind eye. And not the
employer, who eats the cost of absences and lost productivity, and
risks accidents, errors and low morale.

The workplace is not immune to alcohol and illegal drugs. Sixty
percent of addicts are employed.

"Substance abuse in the workplace is as much of a problem as it is for
all of society," said William C. Moyers, a vice presidentat the
addiction research agency, the Hazelden Foundation. "It's pervasive."

Employers can protect themselves in a number of ways.

First, companies should set up clear drug-free policies and programs.
The ground rules should specify what types of behavior are prohibited,
the consequences of a violation and what opportunities there are for
treatment.

The U.S. Department of Labor runs a Web site to help companies build
their own workplace policies. The Drug-Free Workplace Advisor is
available at www.dol.gov/asp/programs/drugs/workingpartners/dfwpadvisor.asp.

"They can build their own policies that they can print out and run
past a lawyer, but we think that (legal) time will be minimal because
it comes straight from the Department of Labor," said Elena Carr, drug
policy coordinator for the department's initiative, Working Partners
for an Alcohol- and Drug-Free Workplace.

The Web site also provides information about requirements of the
Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988.

That law lets companies test people for illegal substances before
they're employed, if there's an on-the-job accident or if there's
probable cause. What a company is allowed to do if that test comes
back positive is determined by its own workplace policies.

That's why, second, it's important to communicate those
substance-abuse policies to employees.

Moyer said it should be done in a proactive and positive way.
Supervisors could bring it up during staff or board meetings, for
example, or union leaders could prompt a discussion at the union hall.
The goal is to make the company's expectations clear in every
employee's mind.

Third, employers should educate employees about substance abuse.

They should be told how addiction can interfere with their lives and
put their co-workers in danger. Or as Moyer described the consequences
of his 20-year bout with alcohol, "Addiction robbed me of my work ethic."

Alcoholism, as with any form of addiction, is a disease. Everyone
needs to understand that, he said, and treat sufferers the same as a
person stricken with diabetes.

"Addiction is not an excuse," Moyers said, "but it is an explanation."

That doesn't excuse personal responsibility, though.

Employers, fourth, should use a "carrot and stick" approach to
encourage staffers to own up to their addiction and seek help. Most
companies outsource initial assessments to an Employee Assistance
Program provider, which pairs counselors with staffers for short-term
sessions.

Telling an employee, "Either you seek treatment or you're fired" is
not necessarily a bad thing. Such workplace interventions can be very
effective, experts say.

Fifth, companies need to offer health-care plans that cover inpatient
and outpatient treatment for addiction. Right now, many providers only
offer minimal coverage -- some as low as $50 a year.

Sanelli called the industry standard "pathetic."

Moyer called it more evidence of how addiction is treated differently
than other diseases.

Employers can help change that perception by pushing health-care
providers to offer better benefits packages.

They also can change minds by educating themselves.

A Hazelden Foundaton's survey of U.S. companies showed that more than
half did not know how to identify an addiction-related problem, more
than one-third did not know how to get treatment for addicted workers
and one-quarter said their companies view firing someone as preferable
to getting them help.

When someone returns to work after rehabilitation, Moyer said, an
employer should take pains to respect her privacy. He does encourage
addicts to talk about their problems, though. Alcoholics Anonymous or
Cocaine Anonymous meetings between shifts may not even be a bad idea.

"When you talk about it, it sort of deflates the mysteriousness of
it," he said

Co-workers just need to be understanding -- and remember that somebody
does like a tattletale: a rehabilitated addict.