Drug Positivity Rates Increase up to 300% During Pandemic

Sarasota, FL (WorkersCompensation.com) – If a recovering addict who’s been sober for two years has a bad night and uses marijuana does that mean he’s failed in his recovery? If he self-reports his drug use to his employer should he be terminated?

More than half of employers consider addiction a condition that justifies termination, according to a survey by the National Safety Council. The problem, according to experts, is that many employers — and the general public — have an all-or-nothing attitude about addiction. It impedes recoveries.

“We need to take a look at how we measure [that recovery]. It’s zero percent or 100 percent,” said Sean Riley, president and founder of Safe Call Now. “That’s not fair.”

During a recent webinar on the Secret Signs of Substance Abuse panelists delved into reasons for the increased use of drugs and/or alcohol and mental health conditions, and proactive ways employers can deal with the issues.

“We’re seeing a pretty significant uptick in positivity rates across organizations, and it’s also in populations that know they are going to be drug tested,” said Dara Wheeler, chief Marketing Officer for Axiom Medical. “It’s one thing if you’ve got a surprise test; but these are populations that are on regular testing and are still positive. That’s always concerning.”

“It speaks to the root cause and challenge that we really need to shift to a proactive approach from a reactive one, like the lagging indicator of a positive drug test, to checking in sooner,” added Scott Cherry DO, chief medical officer for Axiom Medical. “It speaks to the magnitude. We’ve seen a 200 percent to 300 percent increase in the positivity rate during the pandemic. This is something that really needs to be addressed.”

New Stressors

Mental health and substance abuse issues were an epidemic — though unrecognized as such — before the pandemic, the speakers said. Issues related to COVID-19 have only exacerbated the problem.

“One of the major factors we’ve recognized is the isolation piece,” Wheeler said. “Humans tend to be very social creatures … if you may be interacting at work on camera, on Zoom, it’s not quite that same human interaction as being on the office or on a regular basis.”

Increased trauma is another major stressor during the pandemic. That can be especially concerning for first responders.

“Trauma can rewire our brains,” said Riley, who was formerly in law enforcement. “When we have trauma over and over and over something’s gotta give at some point, so we’re going to try to look for some relief because we don’t have the coping skills. It’s when we get off the job and start processing the stressors.”

Another factor is the overwhelming amount of information available through all types of platforms. “There needs to be this idea of disciplining of the information you take in, similar to your diet,” Cherry said. “There may be a wide variety of what you eat, but you need some type of constraint. Being passive to information streams will literally negatively impact your health because negative news is more prevalent. We hang on to negativity.”

Many people have turned to alcohol and/or drugs during the pandemic to alleviate some of their stress. For employers, that raises questions of how to spot abuse and what to do about it.

Only a small fraction of people are actually able to spot symptoms of substance abuse, according to the National Safety Council’s survey. While anyone can be an addict, there is research indicating some workers who may be even more susceptible.

“There’s the concept called ‘high demand/low control’ type work, where the actual employee has very little control over how fast the work comes at them,” Cherry said. “Any time you can categorize large demand, where an employee doesn’t have any feedback in the flow of work, it can be quite deleterious to their mental health, and their physical health. We also see that with repetitive motion injuries. That’s something to be mindful of as we’re thinking about workplace stress signals.”

Proactive vs. Reactive Approaches

Performing drug tests, especially on workers in safety sensitive jobs, is imperative. But it’s also a reactive tactic. It’s what the speakers called a ‘gotcha’ way to deal with the issue.

“One of the biggest challenges is recognizing this before it becomes a problem,” Wheeler said. “Supervisors always ask, ‘how do I know if my employee is using drugs or alcohol’? It’s really difficult.”

The panelists say key to identifying and helping a worker who is struggling with substance abuse and/or mental health issues is deal with it as soon as there’s reason to believe there might be a problem.

“I always tell supervisors, [to be aware] if you have an employee who’s always on time, who is responsible, shows up and does their job every day, and then you see a deviation of that behavior,” Wheeler said. “It may not be substance abuse. It may be something else going on, and it’s not necessarily your job to be their therapist. But it is your job to be a concerned employer and a coach.”

Employers should ask non-threatening questions. ‘You’ve always been on time, what’s going on? How can I support you.’ “Having those conversations proactively is important,” Wheeler said.

A shift from a reactive to a proactive approach requires a paradigm shift, the panelists said. Checking in with employees regularly to see how they are doing, and asking questions if and when they exhibit unusual behaviors for them is critical.

Also, creating an environment where employees feel comfortable sharing problems they may be having is vital. “Privacy is of highest importance. It’s paramount,” Cherry said. “Because any professional who feels they need help but is not sure if their boss is going to find out, we absolutely have to have that firewall  … It’s talking a about work status, about limitations, about abilities, about a way to keep someone at work if possible, or when not, it’s about return-to-work.”

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