To run a successful and productive workplace, you need your employees to be operating at their best every day. Addiction makes that nearly impossible and your business may suffer from absenteeism, profit loss, or increased expenses due to re-hiring for a position. That’s why it’s imperative that your company not only encourages your working professionals to get the mental health and substance abuse treatment they need, but also create a recovery-friendly workplace environment.

Implement a Drug-Free Workplace

Promoting a drug-free workplace is the first step in creating a recovery-friendly environment. Implementing regular drug testing of employees can discourage drug-use among workers. Drug trades can take place at work — employees giving or dealing drugs to others leading to the normalization of substance misuse. By regulating drug testing and employee well-being check-ins, it can help you determine which of your employees may need substance abuse treatment, so you can work towards a healthier workplace environment.

Offer Recovery Resources and Support Systems

If you work in your company’s human resources department, you can help create a recovery-friendly workplace by educating and offering resources to your employees.

EAP Referrals for Addicted Workers

If you work in HR, using a third party Employee Assistance Program will benefit both you and your employees. If an employee is struggling with addiction, they may not always feel comfortable coming to you to discuss taking time off of work for residential addiction treatment, but an EAP acts as an unbiased source for a worker to receive referrals.

If you work for an EAP, remember that addiction is a disease and needs to be treated with professional care just like any other facility. Proactively educate yourself on substance abuse, so you’ll be able to refer workers in need of addiction treatment to a program that will give them a true foundation for a lasting recovery.

Recovery Support Groups

Once an employee has received addiction treatment, don’t think that they are cured. Addiction recovery is a lifestyle that takes effort every day. For a worker who has returned to work after seeking addiction treatment, recovery support groups promote relapse prevention. Whether you’re an employer, in HR, or work for an EAP, encouraging and educating your employees about support meetings will help promote a recovery-friendly environment.

Many recovery support meetings are online today, making it even easier for your workers to “attend” a meeting right before work, during lunch, or right after. Supporting employees to take the time out of their day to go to a support group will sustain an employees after-care and lasting recovery.

Offer Stress-Reducing Resources

The well-being of employees within a workplace can drive the success or downfall of a company. Offering stress-reducing tips and resources to your employees will promote a healthy life-style, physically and mentally. Any job can be stressful no matter what it is and without a proper work-life balance, your employees’ work performance will not only dwindle, but increase the likelihood of your employees struggling with substance abuse. Providing regular employee events such as yoga classes, gym memberships or recovery-friendly events (other than happy-hour). Your company can even provide subscriptions to meditations apps such as Calm, so your employees can practice self-care or even a quick guided meditation during their break. For more ways to promote a recovery-friendly and positive workplace, give us a call.

Encourage Employees To Seek Residential Addiction Treatment

Working in HR, you should offer an open door policy to your employees and make them feel comfortable within their rights for seeking residential addiction treatment. Educate your employees during onboarding and have regular company-wide updates promoting the importance of mental health. A worker that takes a leave of absence and receives residential addiction treatment, may return as one of the best workers you have after learning the tools to cope with life’s stressors from a good residential addiction treatment center.

If you work for an Employee Assistance Program, you should mindful that sometimes referring workers to substance abuse counseling sessions isn’t enough. Recommending a residential addiction treatment program to a worker allows them time away from their substance of choice and to begin their personal healing process.

Seeking residential addiction treatment should never be judged or discouraged by a workplace. Decreasing the stigma surrounding mental health issues and addiction by stimulating a recovery-friendly workplace will help your workers struggling with substance abuse not only get sober, but to stay sober. If you have employees failing drug tests or seem to be acting off at work, give us a call today. Acqua Recovery can arrange for over-the-phone addiction assessments for your employees and educate them on the importance of seeking residential addiction treatment sooner rather than later.