Sober Second Chance
Confronting substance abuse can save your company money and liability, and help workers out of the abyss.
by Dina O’Meara
David Goertz knew he was going to die. His drinking and drug problems were out of control. Everything revolved around the next fix. Within half an hour of getting paid, the bandsaw operator would blow his cheque on crack and booze, leaving nothing for food or rent. He lived in a hovel, was belligerent on the job at Calgary’s Scott Springfield Mfg. Inc. and felt increasingly isolated from the world. Goertz was abusing his body, his family and his employer’s trust.
“I thought I was a lost cause,” he says with a grimace. “The only thing I had in the fridge was water, and I used that to cook the coke.”
Most companies, one might assume, wouldn’t think twice about axing a worker like Goertz. Why bother trying to help the hopeless, right? But Goertz’ employer intervened. Why? For two main reasons, says production manager Mike Dressler: not only is it good for the community, it’s also good for the company. Every two years the air equipment manufacturer experiences 100% staff turnover on its production side, between 55 and 85 people, after investing up to six months training each employee. Oil rigs lure away some floor workers; others drift to another job in another city. Retaining skilled workers makes economic sense, as does helping people remain productive members of society.
With competition pushing business owners to produce more efficiently, not to mention the huge issue of liability, alcohol or drug use at work is simply not acceptable in 2005. A recent Alberta study reflects this shift in attitude: in workplaces surveyed, the presence of booze in the office has dropped from 56% in 1992 to below 19%, with liquid lunches dropping from 28% to 11%.
Goertz did more than down a few beers at noon. The 43 year old started boozing and taking drugs in his mid-teens after leaving his adopted home in Calgary to search for his roots in Vancouver. Over the years he served time in jail for break-and-enters, lived on the streets, got involved with biker gangs and lost everything, from his truck – which he traded for cocaine – to his self-respect. One day at work, however, a casual question from Dressler, and his unexpected support, saved Goertz’ life. Dressler simply asked Goertz how things were going.
“I started to say, ‘OK,’ but something told me to tell the truth,” Goertz recalls. “When I told him what was going on, I thought he would say, ‘Well there’s the door, don’t let it hit you on the way out.’” But Dressler didn’t fire Goertz; he asked about his next step. “I said, ‘I don’t know – that’s why I came to you. I don’t know where to look for help,’” Goertz says, memories of the moment flashing across his face. “And then he just said he’d help. As soon as I realized they were willing to back me, and help me sober up, it was like, wow. . . I didn’t think there was anyone in the world who cared.”
When Goertz was sharing his story, Dressler didn’t see a down-and-out addict. He saw a valuable employee who could be steered back on track. But Goertz had to want help, and Dressler’s no pushover. It’s company policy at Scott Springfield that people who aren’t ready or willing to work towards their own recovery will be fired. “You have to step up to the plate first,” says Dressler. “Then we will help you. You have to stand by anybody who asks for your help. You do get burned, but you learn and get a sense of what’s right.” Dressler helps employees identify their options, gives them time off and welcomes them back after treatment. “I guarantee if we put a dollar figure on it,” he says, “it would be less than training someone new.”
Every year, substance abuse rips a billion-dollar tear through Alberta’s social and economic fabric. The price tag totals more than a billion dollars when lost time and health care costs, and the impact on families and communities, are tallied together. “Substance Abuse and Gambling in the Alberta Workplace,” a 2002 Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission study, determined that roughly four million work hours a year are lost to substance abuse and gambling, with substance abuse alone costing businesses $400 million every year.
When employees come to work late, get the “Monday flu” or are inattentive and hand in sloppy work, productivity drops. Frequent or long breaks, irritable behaviour, weight loss and anxiety are some of the signs that someone might be struggling with an addiction. But once drug or alcohol problems are identified, what can companies do?
Most large- and medium-sized companies invest in employee assistance programs (EAPs) to deal with troubled workers, but smaller businesses like Scott Springfield generally don’t budget for EAPs. Companies can consider EAPs on a case-by-case basis, but that doesn’t preempt the need for internal substance abuse policies, which provide road maps for businesses and should be in place before incidents arise. “Companies are accountable, as situations arise, to respond appropriately,” says David Nesbitt, the manager of AADAC’s business and industry clinic in Grand Prairie. “A policy will tell you the steps to follow.”
The Grand Prairie clinic was opened in 1994 as a result of requests from the business community for a treatment centre that could deal with workplace specific issues. It offers quick enrollment in its 30-day alcohol treatment program, or the 50-day cocaine treatment program for $175 per day, plus months of follow-up, helping 180 clients a year return to work as soon as possible.
If they don’t have a substance abuse policy, most large corporations won’t sign on with a sub-contractor because of liability concerns, Nesbitt says. Even if a policy is in place, companies should ensure it’s specific to their business and common knowledge among supervisors and employees. Substance abuse policies are often pulled off the generic shelf and have little relevance to the situation at hand. A policy that works for a retail furniture store, for instance, won’t be adequate for a small furniture manufacturer because the liability issues differ.
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