Substance abuse is far more common in the modern world than a lot of people realize. There are a lot of different chemicals out there which are all too easy to get hooked on, and many people find themselves struggling to live a normal life when they can’t stop using the same substances.
This can have a dramatic impact in the workplace, with coworkers, employers, and individuals all feeling the heat when someone is using substances that don’t have a place in the work environment. Whether someone is drinking or taking something a lot stronger, substance abuse and addiction in the workplace simply don’t have a place.
Thankfully, addiction treatment is here to help, but we’re going to look at some of the issues this can cause, first.
The Problems With Addiction In The Workplace
There are a lot of problems that can come when people are feeding their addictions at work. A lot of substances alter the way that a person thinks, and this can have a dramatic impact on their productivity. They won’t be able to work as quickly, produce the quality results they were hired for, and, in some cases, may even cause issues with clients with their laxness.
This change in behavior can have wide-reaching implications, though. It will be hard to keep other team members around someone who is struggling with an addiction. They won’t be able to pull their weight and may react with anger or violence if they are provoked in the wrong way.
Addiction is one of the most common causes of misuse of sick days, with a lot of people who are addicted to a substance finding it easier to stay at home than go to work. Of course, a business can’t afford to have this going on, and people will often lose their jobs if they aren’t careful with this.
Finally, in a lot of cases, those with addictions won’t be able to handle normal work, and won’t last very long in an office or warehouse environment. This can put pressure on an employer to hire new team members far more often than they should have to.
The Need For Addiction Treatment
More people are suffering from addiction than ever before, and states like Indiana are experiencing huge problems with this. In 2010 alone, more than 24,000 drug-related admissions were made in hospitals in this part of the US, and this is largely thanks to addiction forcing people to take substances that are hurting their lives.
Providing proper addiction treatment can help to solve issues like this. Rather than leaving someone to almost kill themselves, this approach will involve actively working to rid someone of an addiction, rather than simply replacing it with a safer chemical. State and private funding, research, and public awareness are all crucial to making this area improve, and it’s well worth looking into this, as the impact of substance abuse can affect anyone, especially in a busy workplace.