Drug abuse due to workplace

competitive pressure
Drug abuse or substance abuse refers to the use of certain chemicals for the
purpose of creating pleasurable effects on the brain. There are over 190
million drug users around the world and the problem has been increasing at
alarming rates, especially among young adults under the age of 30.
Apart from the long term damage to the body drug abuse causes, drug addicts
who use needles are also at risk of contracting HIV and hepatitis B and C
infections.

Causes of drug use

Drugs of abuse are usually psychoactive drugs that are used by people for
various different reasons which may include:

• Curiosity and peer pressure, especially among school children and young
adults
• The use of prescription drugs that were originally intended to target pain
relief may have turned into recreational use and become addictive
• Chemicals may be used as part of religious practices or rituals
• Recreational purposes
• As a means of obtaining creative inspiration

The management of alcohol and drug problems in the workplace can

pose ethical dilemmas for an employer. What course of conduct an
employer takes involves a balancing of considerations with respect
to individuals who have alcohol and drug abuse problems with the
obligation to correctly manage the shareholder’s financial resources
and safeguard the safety of other workers.

Although in a number of cases both preventive and remedial

measures can be of mutual interest to the workers and the
employer, in other situations what may be advanced by the
employer as good for the worker’s health and well-being may be
viewed by workers as a significant restriction on individual freedom.
Also, employer actions taken because of concerns about safety and
productivity may be viewed as unnecessary, ineffective and an
unwarranted invasion of privacy.

Alcohol and drug abuse in the workplace can harm not only the health
and safety of the individual employee and his or her colleagues, but
also business profitability.

Employees can be dismissed on the grounds of misconduct or

capability if alcohol or drugs affect their performance, behavior or
attendance at work.
When the person works in a job where consuming alcohol or drugs
causes serious safety risks, dismissal may be fair even when there is no
specific rule on alcohol or drugs. This most obviously applies to people
in driving jobs, but also covers a wide range of others, from oil-rig
workers .

Employees who drink heavily or who abuse or are dependent on alcohol

can undermine a workforce’s overall health and productivity. To better
understand the reasons behind employee abusive drinking and to
develop more effective ways of preventing problem drinking in the
workforce, researchers have developed a number of paradigms that
guide their research. One such paradigm is the alienation/stress
paradigm, which suggests that employee alcohol use may be a direct or
indirect response to physical and psychosocial qualities of the work
environment. Although in the alcohol literature, work alienation and work
stress traditionally have been treated as separate paradigms, compelling
reasons support subsuming the work-alienation paradigm under a
general work-stress paradigm. Researchers have developed several
models to explain the relationship between work stress and alcohol
consumption: the simple cause-effect model, the mediation model, the
moderation model, and the moderated mediation model. Of these, the
moderated mediation model particularly stands out, because it
simultaneously addresses the two fundamental issues of how and when
work stressors are related to alcohol use. Recent research supports a
relation of work-related stressors to elevated alcohol consumption and
problem drinking. Future research should focus on the relation between
work stressors and alcohol use among adolescents and young adults,
because they are just entering the workforce and are the most likely to
engage in heavy drinking. Longitudinal studies also are needed to better
explain the relation between work stress and alcohol use.o forklift-truck
operators.

Compelling reasons, however, support subsuming the

work-alienation paradigm under a general work-
stress paradigm:

1. The literature on work stress includes workplace alienation factors

in taxonomies of work stressors and in major models of work stress
.
2. Both paradigms are based on the assumption that alcohol use
represents a means of regulating negative emotions (e.g.,
depression, anxiety, or anger) or thoughts that result from aversive
work environments.
3. Despite a basic assumption of the work-alienation paradigm,
evidence shows that work does not have a high level of importance
in every person’s life. Variability in the psychological importance of
work exists from person to person .

PROFESSIONS WITH HIGHEST RATE OF DRUG

ABUSE
1.Hospitality & Food Service
Due to the fast-paced nature of the industry, it’s often characterized by heavy
workloads, long hours and late-night shifts, all of which contribute to job-related
stress. These factors have resulted in alarmingly high rates of substance abuse
among restaurant and hospitality workers. According to the NSDUH survey, 19.1%
of respondents reported using illicit drugs like marijuana, cocaine, and opioids in
the past month, and 16.9% have been diagnosed with a substance use disorder.
These numbers far exceed those seen in any other industry.

2.Arts, Entertainment & Recreation

This field includes executives, CEOs, senior managers and other leaders of
companies or enterprises. Administration and support workers also fall under this
category. The NSDUH survey found that 12.1% of management workers reported
drug use in the past month, along with 9.9% who drank heavily. As for substance
use disorders, 11.4% had been diagnosed by a health care professional.

3.Sales
Drinking can provide a temporary escape from these issues, so alcohol abuse is
common among sales workers, affecting 10.2% of wholesale trade professionals
and 9% of retail employees. The rates of illicit drug use are similar, with 10.4% of
those in wholesale trade admitting to having a substance abuse disorder and
10.5% of those in retail.

4.Professional, Scientific & Technical Services

This sector comprises highly trained professionals who specialize in performing
technical and scientific tasks for others. Lawyers, architects, engineers,
consultants, researchers and interpreters are included in this category. This is
reflected in the NSDUH survey, which shows that 9% of respondents recently used
illicit drugs, while 7.7% engaged in heavy drinking.