Drug Use Statistics - The Workplace

Here is some more information and statistics on drug usage.  The last post was about the general statistics of drug usage in America. This post focus on statistics based on drug usage in the workplace.  Drugs in the workplace most definitely affect the ability of employees to work, for companies to function and for products to be produced.

All Statistics were found at

http://drugrecognition.com/Use%20Statistics.htm

Here are the statistics:

Workplace Drug Use Statistics

• 8 percent of full-time and 10.2 percent of part-time employees abuse illegal drugs.  The 2010 National Drug Treat Assessment published by the U.S. Dept. of Justice notes an increase in workplace drug abuse, primarily prescription narcotics. 
• 32% of workers stated a co-workers drug/alcohol use affected their job performance. When an employee is impaired on the job, the company has not only lost one productive employee, but in fact has dramatically reduced the productivity of all the other workers who they interact with. Drug use in the workplace has a ripple effect. Not only is productivity reduced, but company morale is negatively impacted, causing good employees to leave the company to avoid drug impaired co-workers.
• Workplace drug use. An October 29, 2010 report from urine drug testing company Quest Diagnostics found 8 percent of full-time workers and 11.5 percent of part-time workers were current drug abusers.   US Department of Labor studies in 2006 found much higher worker drug abuse rates in the food services, construction and durable goods sectors.  One of the biggest changes in workplace drug use is the switch to prescription drugs. A 2008 report by Quest Diagnostic found more workers are now testing positive for prescription drugs than cocaine and methamphetamine combined!
• Semi-tractor trailer truck drivers test positive for drugs.  A 2007 study conducted in Oregon by the state police found nearly ten percent of randomly selected truck drivers tested positive for drugs, with both marijuana and methamphetamine rates higher than in similar checks in 1998. Federal government data shows drug use among truckers to be much lower than ten percent so what accounts for the discrepancy? A 2007 study by the Government Accounting Office (GAO) found it is easy to beat the mandatory urine drug test.  Congressman Jim Oberstar, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, who asked GAO to investigate, said the report was “frankly astonishing, shocking and dismaying. You can manipulate the tests, you can mask substance abuse and go undetected on the roadways.”
• Non-professional drivers drug use. Sales people and other non-professional drivers operating a company car also put their employers and the public at risk while driving with drugs in their system. A November 30, 2010 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration federal report showed 18 percent of fatally injured drivers tested positive for illicit drugs, an increase from 2005 to 2009. A self-reported study from the National Institute of Drug Abuse found 35.4% of drivers age 21-25 admitted driving while abusing more than one impairing drugs.  A Northwestern University study of 200 Chicago area traffic crashes found 54% of non-professional drivers were poly-drug users and none of the cases were detected by police investigating the crash!
• Impact of employee drug use: Workers who reported current illicit drug use were more likely to have worked for three or more employers in the past year and to have higher rates of unexcused absence and voluntary turnover in the past year than those who did not report drug use.
• Company Drug Policy Matters: Workers whose employer did not have a written drug policy were about twice as likely to report they used illicit drugs in the past month as employers with written policies about drug use.