An Analysis of Worker Drug Use and Workplace Policies and Programs

5.2 Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs)

Figure 5.4 indicates that 49.9 percent of full-time workers, age 18-49, reported that, through their workplace, there was access to employee assistance programs or other types of counselingprograms for employees who have alcohol- or drug-related problems. Figure 5.1 shows that a smaller percentage of current illicit drug users (34.5%) than non-users (51.3%) indicated that their workplace provided access to these programs. As with the provision of information and the existence of written policies, these percentages varied directly by establishment size (see Figure 5.1), and they varied—overall and among workers employed in small and medium-size establishments—by whether or not the respondent reported current use of illicit drugs. Among those who worked in small establishments (1-24 employees), only 14.8 percent of current illicit drug users and 25.6 percent of non-users reported that they had access to an EAP; these percentages rose to over 80 percent for workers in the largest establishment category (500 or more employees) regardless of whether or not they reported current illicit drug use. As with the discussion above on information and written policies, these differences are likely attributable in part to the distribution of workers into various occupations. As seen in Figure 5.4, nearly all workers in protective service jobs (85.5%) reported access to an EAP, whereas only about one in five workers involved in food preparation, waitstaff, or bartending occupations and one in four construction workers said that their workplace provided access to an EAP.

There is a strong positive association between reports of workplace information or written policies, and reports of employee assistance programs. However, an important result is that while 61.5 percent of workers in food preparation, waitstaff, and bartending occupations indicated the presence of information and written policies regarding drug or alcohol use, only 19.7 percent of these workers reported that they had access to an EAP through their workplace. Given the relatively high rate of current illicit drug and heavy alcohol use among workers in this occupation group (see Chapter 4), the reason for this relatively low reported access to EAPs should be explored.

This page was last updated on June 03, 2008.

SAMHSA, an agency in the Department of Health and Human Services, is the Federal Government's lead agency for improving the quality and availability of substance abuse prevention, addiction treatment, and mental health services in the United States.