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Insurance, Benefits and Risk Management

Greg Barratt

Is Substance Abuse an Issue in Your Workplace?

By Greg Barratt - 13 months ago

Seminar will provide a legal overview, a clinical and medical overview as well as an early intervention strategy.

Regardless of industry or position, you may know of - or had to deal with - an employee struggling with a substance abuse problem. And if you do, that employee is not alone. Up to 20% of Canadians use alcohol before going to work or while at work.* The current economic turmoil also doesn’t help. When the market tanked last October, sales of wine, beer and spirits at large retailers increased by 17.3% over the same month in 2007**.

 

Cowan recognizes that substance abuse in the workplace is a growing challenge for employers and employees. That is why we have designed a seminar that will provide attendees with:

 

  • A comprehensive overview of the roles and responsibilities of the employer and the employee
  • A statistical look at the prevalence of this issue for employers
  • An inside look at some employee stories
  • Valuable tips to guide employers in preparing and dealing with substance abuse in their workplace

Date: Wednesday, March 4th, 2009

Time: 8-11:30 a.m.

Location: Cowan Head Office, Cambridge

Key contact: Shannon Geil – 1-866-91COWAN (1-866-912-6926) ext. 51409 or shannon.geil@cowangroup.ca

 

For more information, please visit the Seminars and Events page on www.cowangroup.ca.

 

*Dr. Maurice Siu, Seminar on Managing Workplace Mental Illness and Disability, November 15, 2007

**Statistics Canada

Article Rating

Average: 4  out of  5 (1 vote)  

7 Comments

 
Post #1
Dan Latendre Dan Latendre - 13 months ago

Interesting... I wonder what or if there is a correlation there might be to the number of hours people are working...

 
Post #2
Greg Barratt Greg Barratt - 13 months ago

One of the speakers will be providing demographics and statistics around the prevalence of substance abuse in the workplace. This is an interesting question, and one we’ll be sure to pose to the speaker. From my own perspective, I suspect it may have to do with the stress arising from an economy in downturn. The seminar has had a lot of traction so I suspect many are wrestling with these issues and looking for further insight as to what to do.

 
Post #3
Greg Barratt Greg Barratt - 12 months ago

Dan – We hosted the Substance Abuse seminar on Wednesday, and I wanted to make sure I got back to you about your comment. As you suggested, employees being asked to work longer hours, or just to do more in general, is definitely a factor with this issue. The economic downturn has also not helped. But it was very much emphasized that even before the economy began to unravel a year ago, people were reporting higher and higher stress levels. Hope this answers your question. We’re holding a follow-up seminar on June 3 rd if you’re interested…

 

 
Post #4
Dan Latendre Dan Latendre - 12 months ago

This does not surprise me. The pressure to do more with less has never been greater. Not to mention the stress of not knowing if you have a job or not. How people cope with this stress will vary... but substance abuse I think will definitely be on the rise.

 
Post #5
Ashley Demers Ashley Demers - 11 months ago

I'm curious to know - did you discuss drug and alcohol testing for the workplace (mainly those with very safety sensitive positions)? I know of many manufacturers, mostly the larger companies, that perform pre-employment and random drug and alcohol testing for all employees. With the downturn bringing on increased levels of workplace stress, in addition to alcohol abuse, the use of stimulants to keep a worker feeling alert and more productive on a long shift could also increase significantly. I know that it's already a major issue for those in transportation.

 
Post #6
Dan Latendre Dan Latendre - 11 months ago

That is a great question... I wonder if Andrew from ACT could chime in here... from a workplace safety perspective as well...

 
Post #7
Greg Barratt Greg Barratt - 11 months ago

Ashley – Excellent question. Two of the speakers at our seminar discussed drug and alcohol testing in the workplace. Ailsa Wiggins, counsel for Gowlings, Lafleur, Henderson LLP, spoke specifically about the role of testing for safety sensitive positions. She focused on case studies from her previous role as in-house counsel to Imperial Oil Limited, and the legal implications of testing in a union and non-union environment. There is a movement towards classifying more jobs as safety sensitive with accompanying workplace policies on drug and alcohol testing. (Overall, drug testing in the workplace is a sensitive subject, and we encourage employers to seek legal advice before implementing a drug testing policy to ensure they are complying with all legal considerations.)

In addition, Cowan’s medical consultant, Dr. Graeme Magor, spoke about the application of drug testing as it pertains to what we can offer as a third-party adjudicator. Dr. Magor was referring to managing specific employees with identified substance abuse issues, wherein a voluntary contract agreement would include regular substance use testing to ensure compliance with the treatment program.  If you’re interested in learning more, we are rerunning this seminar on June 3 rd. The details are  listed here. Thanks again for your comment.

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