Many employers feel that what an employee does outside of work on their hours off is none of the company’s business. However, once that employee’s behavior begins affecting the way they’re able to do their job, their actions can quickly become a big problem for their employers. Especially in the case of substance abuse, dealing with employees who regularly abuse drugs or alcohol can negatively impact a business in a big way.
To show you how, here are three ways that dealing with employees who suffer from substance abuse could be hurting your business’s success.
Loss of Productivity
Issues of substance abuse either at or outside of the workplace can cause your productivity levels at work to fluctuate throughout your employees. According to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, it’s abuse that’s either happening at work or right before work that can be the most damaging to productivity. This can result in forgotten tasks, mistakes, minimal work accomplished, or missed shifts. So while you might know that one of your employees is going through a hard time and you want to help, your business may take the hit for it.
Questionable Business Practices
When someone has a dependence on a substance, it can call their judgement into question. This is something you’ll want to avoid at all costs in relation to work. NovelGuide.com shares that employees who have had problems with drug or alcohol abuse have been known to steal money from their employers to feed their habit. It is also within the realm of possibilities that questionable business practices and lapses in business ethics could take place merely because your employee in charge of making vital business decisions on behalf of your company has priorities higher than your business. Make sure you look out for these things if you have employees dealing with addiction issues.
Higher Health Care Costs
It’s great if your business is able to offer financial assistance in dealing with addiction issues through healthcare costs or insurance benefits. However, keep in mind that this additional use of medical benefits could result in your insurance premiums increasing in the following years. And with new legislation, this may not be an additional cost that you’re able to pass onto your employees, which could be detrimental to the sustainability of your business. For this reason, it’s good to be aware of how your benefits will be affected by offering assistance with addiction and recovery.
If you’ve been wondering how employing someone with an addiction could impact your business negatively, use the information mentioned above to help you make an informed decision about the future of your company.