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An Ethical Approach
to Substance Abuse
in the Workplace
Presented to the Oklahoma Business Ethics Consortium
by Jim Priest
Executive Director of FATE
(Fighting Addiction Through Education)
May 9, 2012
Text me your questions or
thoughts…
405-202-8863
Coach Vince Lombardi said
“Gentlemen,
This is a football!
Ethics: A standard which
guides your decision making
So it’s important to define the standards
What is “an ethical approach
to substance abuse”?
It starts with “Ethics”
1.a system of moral principles: the ethics of a culture.
2. the rules of conduct recognized in respect to a
particular class of human actions or a particular group,
culture, etc.: medical ethics; Christian ethics.
3. moral principles, as of an individual: His ethics
forbade betrayal of a confidence.
What is substance abuse?
• The inappropriate use
• or abuse of,
• or addiction to
• alcohol or other legal or illegal drugs
This would include…
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Alcohol (alcohol is a drug!)
Marijuana
Prescription meds
Street drugs
Inhalants
Synthetic drugs (e.g. K-2 or “Spice”)
Cough medicine/Mouth wash
This would include…
• The illegal use of legal substances
(e.g. abusing someone else’s prescription drugs,
public intoxication/drunk driving)
• The illegal use of illegal substances
(e.g. smoking pot in Oklahoma)
• The legal use of legal substances
(drinking on the job or to excess at other times.)
Why define substance abuse
so broadly?
• Integrity is “wholeness”—being a person of
high character under all circumstances,
whether or not anyone is looking.
• Like Charles Howell….
OSU alum and PGA Golfer
Charles Howell
Ethics and Substance Abuse
An ethical approach to substance abuse in
the workplace requires more than a “zero
tolerance” approach and drug testing
procedure.
It requires:
thoughtful awareness
thoughtful attitude
thoughtful action.
1. A thoughtful awareness
about substance abuse
SPECT SCAN OF
NORMAL, HEALTHY BRAIN
Non User
Marijuana user
16 yr. old daily user
Amen Clinics
2. A thoughtful attitude
A national survey of 1,000 human resources professionals
conducted by the nonprofit Hazelden Foundation revealed:
More than two-thirds (67 percent) of HR professionals
today believe that substance abuse and addiction is one of
the most serious issues they face in their company.
Yet, less than one-quarter (22 percent) of HR professionals
say their companies openly and proactively deal with
employee substance abuse and addiction issues.
Compared to their non- abusing
coworkers, abusers are
• Ten times more likely to miss work
• 3.6 times more likely to be involved in onthe-job accidents
• 5 times more likely to injure themselves or
another employee
• 33% less productive
• Responsible for health care costs that are
three times as high.
Your ethical compass directs how
you (or your organization) view
users & abusers.
Are they people to be fired?
Are they people to be helped?
Think about…
• The worth of the individual employee as a
person AND as an employee
• The responsibility for the safety of yourself
and other employees
• The duty to the company’s profitability and
reputation
3. Thoughtful action:
personally and corporately
• Start with you
• Move outward in
concentric circles
• Think personally,
then corporately,
then statewide
What are my habits?
Picture yourself in the future
An ethical approach to substance
abuse in the workplace requires
you to look at yourself
What would you
look like if…?
Courtesy of face transformer from perception laboratory
Ask yourself….
• Do you feel like you can’t stop, even if you wanted to?
• Do you ever feel bad or guilty about your alcohol or drug use?
• Do you need to use alcohol or drugs to relax or feel better?
• Do your friends or family members complain or worry about your
alcohol or drug use?
• Do you hide or lie about your alcohol or drug use?
• Have you ever done anything illegal (or stupid) in order to obtain alcohol
or drugs?
• Do you spend money on alcohol or drugs that you really can’t
afford?
• Do you ever use drugs for recreational purposes?
Ask yourself:
Could I pass the Jumbotron test?
The next circle out is
“friends/co-workers”
• Do you enable or
cover for them?
• How do you help
without being pushy?
• Are you your
brother’s keeper?
WWYD?
• Your co-worker and friend Bobby is a good
guy with a wife and young child. His name
has been drawn for the quarterly random
drug test. Bobby asks if you can help him
by providing a urine sample he can
substitute for his own. He needs his job
and will flunk the drug test without your
help.
Does substance abuse have
a hold on your organization?
For your organization
• An ethical approach requires that you go
beyond a policy and include education
• An ethical approach would offer help to users
and abusers, not just a line in your handbook
about termination or a general reference to an
EAP
• An ethical approach thinks big picture: what
“messages” are you sending? (parties, jokes,
office decor)
WWYD
• Your CEO wants you to immediately
develop a “strong drug policy” to test and
get rid of the “scumbags” he knows are in
the workforce. He wants it by tomorrow
morning.
• Currently your company has no drug
policy at all and no EAP. How do you
respond to your CEO?
Three Steps
Provide an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Employees helped by an
EAP report fewer substance use and mental health problems, fewer health
symptoms, better job attendance and greater job satisfaction.
Make sure health plans provide alcohol treatment benefits. Some health
plans provide fewer benefits for substance abuse treatment than for treatment
of other chronic diseases. Higher copayments and deductibles make it harder
for employees to get the help they need
Make sure policies and education go hand in hand. Every employer should
have clear policies on substance abuse. But in addition to a list of rules, make
sure you know—and all employees know—about the issues of substance
abuse. EDUCATION + ACTION is key. The goal is to strike a balance
between the safety needs of the employer and the health and well being of the
employees.
What’s YOUR fate?
Text me your questions or
thoughts…
• 405-202-8863
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Fighting Addiction Through Education