Alcohol, Drugs, Violence and Obesity in the Workplace
• More than three in four small-business owners have a drug and alcohol policy. Those employing 20 or more people are substantially more likely to have one (92%) than are those who employ fewer than 10 (73%).
• About 35 percent of small employers say that they typically check a potential employee’s background for drug and/or alcohol abuse prior to employment.
• Drug testing occurs infrequently in small enterprises. Eight percent of small employers have required one or more employees to take a drug/alcohol test in the last three years. The most frequent triggers for tests are random checks (76% of those testing) and a new hire (70%).
• The preponderance of drug/alcohol testing occurs because small employers find it advisable or necessary to do (59%). However, 28 percent say government effectively forces them to conduct tests through such mechanisms as regulations and contract compliance. Another 15 percent claim that insurers either require them or provide financial incentives to test.
• Comparatively few small employers express serious concern over drug, including marijuana, and/or alcohol abuse among their employees. Substantially fewer than one in 10 say either is a constant concern. Another 11-15 percent say that it is an occasional concern. Almost six in 10 say that they are never a concern.
• Fourteen (14) percent of small employers report one or more incidents in the last three years where they were required to warn, counsel, discipline or fire at least one employee for drug and/or alcohol-related incidents. The incidents were split almost equally between drugs and alcohol. Forty-one (41) percent of the time, it was the third (or more) instance that the small employer had addressed the situation. The ultimate resolution of the issue saw the employee get fired in 58 percent of cases.
• Violence is rare in small businesses. In the last three years, 2 percent have had an employee physically accosted on the job. Less than 1 percent have had one of their employees, while on the job, physically accost someone else.
• By more than a 2 - 1 margin, small employers believe that obesity, or an excessively overweight condition, among employees is a personal matter that employers should dismiss rather than a business matter requiring their active involvement.
• Small employers attribute only about 6 percent of recent workers’ compensation or disability claims to obesity and/or conditions related to excess weight. Few indicate that they have been forced to rearrange or lighten duties for one or more employees due to employee weight-related conditions.
• Just 7 percent say that they are very concerned that obesity or excess weight among employees is driving up their insurance costs. Another 15 percent are somewhat concerned, though the majority are not. Meanwhile, 5 percent indicate that an insurer has provided them information about what small employers can do to minimize employee weight-related health problems.
