Addiction in the Workplace: Employers Should Offer Resources for Help

There were 70,237 deaths due to drug overdoses in the U.S. in 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That same year, 19.7 million American adults dealt with substance abuse, reports the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

When it comes to addiction and mental health, businesses have a particular role to play by addressing it in the workplace. Employers have leverage to offer more support for their employees—particularly when it comes to coverage, said Fran Phillips, deputy secretary for public health services in Maryland, during a panel discussion about mental health and addiction at Fortune‘s Most Powerful Women Summit in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday.

But beyond that, businesses can normalize seeking help for addiction, and addressing mental health issues. Just as a company would bring in experts to discuss heart disease, wellness, and fitness, leadership should also bring in experts to talk about addiction, suggested Laura Hutfless, a partner at FlyteVu, an entertainment marketing agency based in Nashville.

“As a company, you’re making a statement that you are accepted, and we are not judging this, but we want you do get the help that you need,” Hutfless said.

And while managers should consider learning the signs and symptoms of addiction, what is “very doable in your role as a leader” is to look out for employees who have had a shift in behavior and aren’t “performing up to par,” said Jan Rader, the fire chief of Huntington, W. Va. and also a subject in the Netflix documentary Heroin(e). Rader suggested that companies should require that employees seek help, and insist upon clearance from an assistance program or a mental health professional before they can return to work.

To truly address addiction, beyond recognizing it’s a medical issue, there needs to be a safe place to “offload pain,” Hutfless said, whether it’s within communities or within companies.