There are few things more harmful in the workplace than a substance abuser. And since 1 in 10 Americans struggles with substance abuse, there are few workplaces unaffected by the taint of addiction and the addicted.

The abuse of drugs and alcohol costs the US economy more than 100 billion dollars per year - and small, medium and large firms pay an inordinate share of that financial burden.

Yet although it is human frailty and disease that creates the problem, it's also our human capital that drives the economic engine, and it is the workers within any organization that create growth and profit.

Studies at Cornell University have shown that there are few social environments that exert the potential influence over substance abuse that the workplace does, particularly for male substance abusers. And that pressure to participate in substance abuse therapies from an employer is more effective than pressure from friends or even family. The threat of losing a job, it seems, is a powerful motivator!

Employers may want to use this position of influence to assist employees out of human compassion alone; after all, we spend an awful lot of time with our work colleagues, but even if decisions are made based only on the economics of it all – helping a substance abusing worker out always makes sense.

The costs of substance abuse in the workplace (Why it's cheaper to help!)

• It can be tough to legally fire an underperforming worker.
• The termination of a worker results in a forfeiture of training time and expense
• substance abusers are sometimes otherwise very talented and valuable individuals within an organization.
• Although implementing Employee Assistance Programs costs money, the costs of not assisting employees in need may be even higher (Studies have shown that mid sized organizations can implement successful EAPs from only 30$ per employee per year.

Some statistics on substance abuse in the workplace

• Substance abuse cost the US economy 128 billion dollars in 2002
• Substance abusing employees are 3.6 times more likely to cause an accident in the workplace.
• Substance abusing employees file 5 times more workers compensation claims.
• 47% of all industrial injuries are influenced by substance abuse.
• Substance abusing workers are 3 times more likely to be late for work and 220% more likely to ask to leave work early.
• Substance abusing workers are more often absent (in the auto manufacturing sector, substance abusing workers take an average of 40 sick days per year, compared to just 5 by non substance abusers.
• Federal data indicates that alcoholism causes the equivalent of 500 million lost days at work per year!