Businesses to Promote Drug-Free Workplace

Businesses throughout Ohio are looking to promote a drug-free workplace.

According to the Small Business Administration, on average, employees with inappropriate substance use cost their employers about $7,000 annually. This afternoon we spoke with the Executive Director of the Muskingum Behavioral Health Department, Steve Carrel, who says it’s the most important thing is that businesses have a firm policy in place.

“The first thing is getting a policy in place. A lot of businesses, after they have an incident they’ll call us up and say ‘I wanna do something’ and it’s like ‘what’s your policy?’ ‘well I don’t have one’ well you can’t do a whole lot. So, the policy is one thing. The other thing is just becoming aware of the drug problem.”

Carrel says the believe it or not, individuals who abuse drugs and alcohol are actually employed.

“As a matter of fact, about 90% of all alcoholics are employed, they’re not the people you stereotype that are staggering down the street, unemployed and dirty and all that. They’re actually right next to us.”

Carrel says there are many ways for businesses to educate their employees about a drug-free work place, such as flyers or posters or even holding a brown bag lunch seminar.