Creating recovery-friendly workplaces

People who work in manual labor have higher rates of injury and overdose Our country’s ongoing opioid crisis has many faces, from teenagers on Cape Cod to middle-aged parents in West Virginia. A recent report from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health provides another demographic affected by opioids: people who work in the trade industries, namely construction. The report broke down overdose deaths by industry, and construction workers were involved in almost a quarter of overdose deaths recorded in the state over five years. Farming, forestry, and hunting, along with fishing, are the next most dangerous industries. And there are relatively high overdose death rates for women working within health care support and food services. This research supports what we have seen in our own work treating patients for substance use disorders who work in manual labor jobs. On-the-job hazards and related injuries are common, and pain medications of all kinds tend to be readily available as workers informally share and sell them on worksites. The need for recovery-friendly workplaces A recent National Safety Council report found that 70% of surveyed employers have been impacted by prescription drug misuse, but fewer than 20% feel extremely prepared to deal with it. The financial cost to employers in lost productivity is significant: in Massachusetts alone, opioid addiction cost businesses $2.5 billion annually from employees who aren’t functioning at full capacity, and $5.9 bill...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Addiction Source Type: blogs