Overview
Considering the general prevalence of alcohol and other drug use in the general Canadian population, it is not surprising that substance use problems are a leading cause of performance problems or impairment on the job (along with stress, fatigue and illness). Alcohol and other drug use can impact the workplace in several ways:
- acute intoxication by a psychoactive substance can affect a worker's judgment, alertness, perception, motor coordination, and emotional state. Drug impairment may not be obvious with simple tasks, but as the psycho-motor demand of a task increases, it generally takes less of most drugs for impairment to occur;
- the abuse of substances will, in many cases, result in hangover or withdrawal effects (as the drug is leaving the body) that can impact workplace performance even if the substance was used during non-work time;
- longer-term, heavy use can lead to chronic or dependent use that results in ongoing performance and health problems.
Read entire overview
Selected Readings
Brief Analysis of Current Workplace Substance Abuse Issues and Activities in Canada [PDF]
Barbara Butler & Associates Inc., March 2004 [updated July 2010]
Current Legal Context: Employee Testing [PDF]
Barbara Butler & Associates Inc., [updated April 2010]
Worker Substance Use and Workplace Policies and Programs
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), June 2007
Having a Party? Great Tips to Lower Your Risks as a Host
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), 2006
MADD Canada Publications - Your Party, Your Liability
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), 2006
Problematic Substance Use in the Workplace [PDF]
College of Registered Nurses of Nova Scotia (CRNNS), 2006
It's Our Business: Workplace Information Series
Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission (AADAC), 2006
Trends in Liquor Host Liability [PDF]
Whitelaw Twining Law Corporation, March 2006
15% of U.S. Workers Report Workplace Alcohol Use of Impairment in Past Year [PDF]
CESAR Fax, Volume 15, Issue 5, February 2006
Inability to Concentrate, Missed Deadlines, and Poor Attendance Most Common Ways in Which Family Members' Substance Abuse Affects Workers [PDF]
CESAR Fax, U.S., Volume 14, Issue 16, April 2005
The Management of Workplace Deviance: Organizational Responses to Employee Drug Use
Journal of Drug Issues (JDI), 34(1): 121-143, 2004
Primer 3: Identifying and Treating Alcohol Problems: A Sound Business Investment [PDF]
Ensuring Solutions to Alcohol Problems, George Washington University Medical Center, 2003
Alcohol and the Workplace
Alcohol Alert, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), No. 44, July 1999
Driving for work: Drink and Drugs [PDF]
Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), U.K., undated
Related Resources
A Guide for Managing the Return to Work (CHRC)
APOLNET - Workplace Alcohol Policies
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health & Safety (CCOHS)
Canadian Employee Assistance Program Association (CEAPA)
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) - Workplace Health Promotion
ILO Database on Substance Abuse and Tobacco in the Workplace
Safework: Workplace Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention Programmes, International Labour Organization (ILO)
Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF)
(Information of interest to businesses whose employees operate motor vehicles)