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Getting Businesses to Start Talking!
(Spring 2015) Recognizing the need to help Ohio businesses address substance abuse and addiction in the workplace, the Kasich Administration marked the one-year anniversary of its Start Talking! statewide youth drug prevention initiative by unveiling Start Talking! BIZ (Business Impact Zone) – a new program component promoting drug-free workplaces and workforce readiness. Start Talking! BIZ offers businesses free tools, such as videos, presentations and a bi-weekly email entitled Start Talking! BIZ Tips, to inform employers about current drug trends, provide guidance on how to generate conversations with employees about drug-free workplaces, assist employees who need help and encourage businesses to be a part of the solution.
“Every year, the misuse and abuse of drugs and alcohol robs workplaces of their most valuable assets: present, clear-thinking, productive working adults,” said Dee Mason, founder and president of Working Partners®, a Columbus-based consulting firm helping with the project. “Through this partnership, Ohio is showing its commitment to the business community and providing employers working knowledge and tools to protect their bottom lines.”
Ohio businesses have a vested interest in getting involved, Mason said. Studies show that substance abuse costs American employers more than $81 billion in lost operations annually. Additionally, substance abusers are one-third less productive than non-abusers, are 10 times more likely to miss work than non-abusers, use 300-400% more medical benefits, account for 50-80% of workplace shrinkage and theft, have 3.6 times more accidents on the job and 5 times more accidents off the job and account for 51% of workers’ compensation claims.
Alcohol and other drug abuse in the workplace is on the rise. For the first time in 10 years, Quest Diagnostics, based on over eight million workplace drug tests, reported an increase in positive results for employee drug tests. Employers across the nation, including Ohio, are reporting on their inability to find qualified job applicants who can pass entrance drug tests.
Prescription drug abuse is still at epidemic levels in the nation. In fact, the rate of abuse for prescription drugs is higher than rate of abuse for all other drugs, excluding marijuana. Prescription drugs account for 19% of workers’ comp medical costs and their abuse costs employers $42 billion in lost productivity. This is a problem for Ohio employers, but it is also the type of problem that Start Talking! BIZ was created to help address, said Mason.
Start Talking! is an effort initiated by Gov. Kasich and First Lady Karen W. Kasich in January 2014 aimed at preventing drug abuse among Ohio’s most vulnerable citizens – our children. Research shows when children talk about substance abuse with parents and other adults, they are up to 50% less likely to use. This initiative encourages Ohioans to embrace prevention-focused programs aimed at raising awareness and encouraging conversation, all in an effort to stop drug abuse before it starts. Adding a business component through BIZ exponentially expands the reach of Start Talking!
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