Workplace substance-use policies would help Canadians and employers: report
VANCOUVER — Not enough companies have comprehensive substance-use policies and those that provide them offer inadequate measures to help struggling employees, the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction says in a report aimed at bringing awareness to workplace practices before marijuana is legalized this summer.
Loss of productivity, absenteeism and increased costs are just some of the outcomes of unaddressed substance-use issues, says the report based on a review of about 800 companies, 35 publicly available policies, interviews with a dozen experts on their company policies and responses to an online survey.
Organizations that appeared to have well developed policies were typically larger and involved safety sensitive industries, including aviation, marine, rail, oil and gas, construction and law enforcement, the report says.
“Although almost all policies included disciplinary measures such as termination, many policies did not sufficiently incorporate, or were completely absent of, proactive and supportive elements such as educating employees, training managers and offering employees support options.”