Substance Abuse and the Workplace
“Mark, the cocaine addict, grew up in a small southern town. After two years of college, he found a good-paying job in a large city. For a while, his life seemed to be on a fast, upward track: But I lost it all because I got hooked on crack. I wanted to hang out with the fast people. But crack is a double-edged sword. It makes you feel great, but tears your life apart. I was always able to meet every challenge of my life. But I can’t beat this drug thing. My company paid tens of thousands of dollars to send me through two rehabilitation programs. I didn’t get any better, so they fired me” (Lauer and Lauer. 2008. p57).
The following will address the issue of substance abuse in the workplace, what can be done to alleviate substance abuse in the workplace and the benefits of the control factors. Before we delve into this issue let us first go over the effects of substance abuse, to better understand this growing problem. “Alcoholism is defined in terms of four symptoms (1) a craving or compulsion to drink; (2) loss of control to limit drinking on any particular occasion; (3) physical dependence, so that withdrawal symptoms (nausea, sweating, shakiness, anxiety) are experienced if alcohol ceases and (4) tolerance, the need to drink increasingly greater amounts in order to get “high”” (Lauer and Lauer. 2008.p60). Alcohol is the top substance problem, with marijuana following, this is because one drink can lead to slight impairment and mood change. Its easy accessibility, also, makes alcohol the most used substance. The effects of alcohol are also more difficult for an employer to detect because it does not last long in the blood stream. The effects of illegal drugs are more difficult to determine because illegal substances can have varying side effects on the user. Each illegal drug does have certain side effects that are inherent to the drug, but each person can have a different reaction according to...