Illicit drug use and
heavy alcohol use are associated with higher levels of absenteeism and
frequent job changes, the report said.
For example, nearly
twice as many current illicit drug users skipped one or more days of work in
the past month compared with workers who did not abuse drugs. Drug users
were also far more likely to report missing two or more work days in the
past month due to illness or injury compared with workers who did not abuse
drugs.
Substance users also had far higher job turnover rates. Among full-time
workers who reported current illicit drug use, 12.3 percent said they had
worked for three or more employers in the past year, compared with 5.1
percent of non-abusing workers.
Another major finding was that current drug users were more likely to work
for employers who did not conduct drug or alcohol testing programs. Nearly a
third of current illicit drug users said they would be less likely to work
for employers who conducted random drug testing.
The study showed that an annual average of approximately 9.4 million current
illicit drug users, (including 7.3 million current marijuana users) and 10.1
million heavy alcohol users were employed full-time in 2002-2004. Among
full-time workers using these substances, 3 million met criteria for illicit
drug dependence or abuse, and 10.5 million were dependent on or abused
alcohol.
The full report is available at:
http://oas.samhsa.gov/work2k7/toc.cfm.
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