Substance abuse impacts 70% of Missouri employers and the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry is blaming the coronavirus.
“COVID is having an impact on people's mental states and the pandemic has increased the use of alcohol and it has increased the use of drugs as well,” said Karen Buschmann, vice president of communications and strategic initiatives at the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “It just seems to be a problem that continues to grow.”
The rise is highlighting the need for proactive policy and employer programs, according to a survey conducted by the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry in partnership with the University of Missouri Extension, Missouri Hospital Association, the Missouri Department of Mental Health, and the Missouri Rural Health Association through the Recovery Friendly Workplace (RFW) initiative.
“There are a lot of large employers, especially, that have different programs and safety nets in place to help their employees,” Buschmann told the St. Louis Record. “It's harder for small employers.”
The survey disclosed that 93% of Missouri businesses with more than 300 employers provide an employee assistance program compared to 59% among businesses with 25 to 99 employees and 27% among those with fewer than 25 employers.
“It's more difficult for small employers to provide these services,” Buschmann said. “Large employers can spread the cost of those types of programs across their employees. It's much harder when you have a small organization.”
The survey further found that the problem is especially acute in the manufacturing sector. More than 70% of manufacturers surveyed said that substance use disorder has caused absenteeism in their workplace, 48% have seen decreased productivity and 33% can link accidents to substance use disorder. Health insurance costs have increased for 22% of the manufacturers surveyed.
“We found in our survey that manufacturers actually test their employees more than other occupations, just because many of these employees are working around heavy equipment and they have more testing protocols already in place,” Buschmann said.
The survey of 619 Missouri business owners and human resource professionals exposed the fact that the use of prescription pain medication and alcohol tied as the most reported problem by employers followed by marijuana, amphetamines, heroin, and cocaine.
“There are some employers’ health insurance programs that have drug and alcohol rehab built-in but some may not,” Buschmann added. “It depends on the employer to a great part. This survey serves as a wake-up call. It’s the first step in a program that we're working on with the University of Missouri to provide training, tools, and resources to businesses so that they can identify the problem and also train their supervisors to be able to address the problem and get the employees who need help, the help they need.”
Business owners can learn more about the RFW initiative by visiting their website at recoveryfriendlymo.com.