A survey released by the National Safety Council (NSC) reveals that although 75 percent of employers have been directly impacted by opioid use, only 17 percent say they feel extremely well prepared to deal with it. About a third of employers surveyed say they have had absenteeism or impaired worker performance, an overdose, arrest or a near-miss or an actual injury because of opioid use.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, workplace overdose deaths involving drugs or alcohol have increased by at least 25 percent for five consecutive years. A person is now more likely to die from an accidental opioid overdose than from a car accident.

The “National Employer Survey 2019: Opioid Usage in the Workplace” conducted 526 interviews with three types of employer decision makes (HR decision makers, safety professionals and managers) who represented employers with 50 or more employees. Almost a third of the respondents represented employers with more than 1,000 employees.

Employers report they are more concerned about hiring qualified workers, employee benefits and workers’ compensation costs than they are about employee use or sale of legal or illegal opioids. Thirty-eight percent of employers experienced absenteeism or impaired worker performance. Thirty-one percent had an overdose, arrest, near-miss injury or an injury because of opioid use. Many employers (86%) believe taking opioids even when they are prescribed can impair job performance, and 60% have policies in place that require employees to notify their employer of prescription opioid use. A significant number of employers (79%) are not confident that their individual employees could spot warning signs of opioid misuse. About half, 41% of employers say they would return an employee to work after they received treatment for misusing opioids.

Read more from the NSC here and here.