Employees who use opioids and other substances are more likely to miss work. Employers that promote employee treatment programs are able to reduce absenteeism, according to a recent Boston University study.
“Substance use is associated with absenteeism and presents a compelling argument for employers to promote programs that support treatment for employees and reduce downstream costs associated with absenteeism and turnover,” researchers Jake R. Morgan, PhD; Sean M. Murphy, PhD; Sabrina A. Assoumou,MD, MPH; and Benjamin P. Linas, MD, MPH, wrote in a study that was published online in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
The investigators studied a sample of full-time employees who participated in the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, Safety + Health Magazine reported. In a hypothetical firm of 10,000 employees, they estimated $232,000 in lost wage value annually from absenteeism associated with substance use.
Opioid use without a disorder had the lowest absenteeism for use, according to the research, and polysubstance use disorder had the highest absenteeism among use disorders.
The findings showed that the employees who reported using opioids without a disorder missed, on average, seven times the work days each year compared with those who said they didn’t use illicit substances. Using more than one type of substance without a disorder increased the number of absent days by five.
Employees who met the criteria for opioid use disorder missed, on average, 15 additional work days compared with nonsubstance users. Those with polysubstance use disorder missed as many as 23 more work days than their colleagues who did not use substances.
“Were employers to place their substantial economic power behind the drive to increase coverage for and access to substance use treatment,” the researchers wrote, “they could become a major force for change and a powerful ally in the fight against the [substance use disorder] epidemic in America.”
Read more McKnight’s Business Daily stories here.
