Supporting employees with addiction issues

Supporting employees with addiction issues

By Jo Faragher on 10 March 2025

When it comes to accessing support for substance and alcohol misuse in the workplace, stigma is still a huge barrier for people. This is despite the fact that alcohol-specific deaths in the UK have reached an all-time high, according to government figures, and that 310,863 adults were in contact with drug and alcohol support services in the year between April 2023 and March 2024. A poll by The Forward Trust in 2022 found that the cost-of-living crisis had been the most significant trigger for relapse for almost two-thirds of respondents, so rising costs in recent years have taken their toll.

Dr Georges Petitjean, a clinical director in drugs and alcohol services in the NHS, says he began to see more working people approaching his team for support around a decade ago. “Lots of people had problems but were scared of telling their employer. They would go to rehab but say they were on holiday. It feels as though employers will support a lot of health conditions but no-one wants to touch addiction treatment,” he explains. Where organisations do offer support, he adds, it is often couched in health and safety language when in fact support for substance users is a wellbeing and inclusion issue, with real business benefits such as reducing absenteeism and boosting productivity. “The first thing we need to do is change the language – words such as substance ‘abuse’ are not inclusive. Around 8% of your workforce could be struggling with substance use disorders (likely more if we include behavioural addictions) and only 10% will seek support. This is a chronic health condition that is treatable,” he says.

Dr Petitjean believes we need to normalise the conversations around substance use. “After all, we all ‘use’ substances. In the 1500s, nutmeg was more expensive than gold and people realised it could create hallucinations in the right doses. Now we put it in our mashed potato. Why people use substances or continue behaviour despite the negative consequences is a more interesting conversation,” he adds. Training managers to challenge their own biases about addiction (as with any aspect of D&I) is crucial, and ensuring they frame it as a health condition for which they can signpost the employee to help rather than punishing their colleague, will also boost inclusion on this issue. An intersectional approach is also useful – some groups will have different levels of stigma around substance or alcohol use, meaning they face compound stigma and could be more at risk of feeling excluded.

Courage to speak up

If an employee does share an issue with you, it’s important that the organisation deals with it with empathy and sensitivity. “It takes an enormous amount of courage and trust to ask for support with any addiction,” says Rachel Suff, senior wellbeing adviser at the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development. “Employers should start by thanking the employee for their disclosure and assure them that the organisation will support them in getting help. Managers should respect people’s confidentiality and avoid judging or labelling an individual who has addiction issues. They should also avoid trying to fix the problem but be prepared to listen with empathy and signpost to helpful sources of expert support.”

Suff adds that substance and alcohol issues will be different in every situation, such as someone’s role or the sector they work in. “Nevertheless, a clear policy is important to make employees aware of how the organisation will approach an issue and the types of support they can expect, as well as clarifying the types of behaviour that may result in more serious action being taken.” In terms of signposting support, employers could direct staff to their employee assistance programme (EAP), or relevant charities or local community services. On a practical level, she advises, they may need to adjust the role or prevent the employee from working in case there is a health and safety risk, and this will need to be considered within typical sickness absence procedures. Dr Petitjean urges organisations to ensure their substance policies are not just legal or risk-focused: “They should come from the perspective of ‘we would rather know than not know, and if you engage in treatment we will support you’,” he suggests.

Raising awareness

Education and awareness-raising will support any workplace policies on substance use, says Debra Clark, head of wellbeing at Towergate Employee Benefits. “Employee benefits can also be a support for people to signpost. Most EAPs, whether stand-alone or embedded in a proposition, offer some immediate mental health support but this is often for short-term, low- to medium-severity episodes,” she advises. “With addiction it could be that specialist mental health or addiction support is needed and there are specialist providers that can offer this to employers outside of a traditional EAP.” The same applies to mental health support for addiction on private medical insurance cover, she adds. This is sometimes excluded under general terms and conditions because of the complex nature, so employers should check that their policy covers it, particularly if they work in an industry where substance use is more common.

Clark adds that managers should avoid making assumptions, asking open-ended questions about employees’ overall wellbeing rather than jumping to conclusions. She says: “Instead, reach out and say you have noticed ‘x’: maybe a change in their behaviour, not being as involved in team meetings, missing deadlines, arriving late – and that you just want to check if everything is alright. Give them the opportunity to talk without fear of judgement. This means having an open culture where people feel psychologically safe in the first instance.” Employers might also consider whether there are factors in play that might be exacerbating addiction issues. According to charity Alcohol Change, 27% of people say that workplace stress makes them drink more. Similarly, many workplace cultures encourage drinking, so it might be worth looking at changing the ‘norms’ around how workers network and socialise.

Dr Petitjean argues that businesses have “an enormous opportunity” to make a difference by treating this as an inclusion rather than a health and safety issue. He would like to see a structured approach to supporting employees with substance use issues similar to what we see with mental health first aid – where there are champions in the organisation people know they can speak to and there is a culture of psychological safety around disclosure. “How can you offer support for cancer but not for this? Employees are not just people who are in your office between nine and five,” he says. “General education about prevention of misuse is crucial, and employers have a great platform.” Suff at the CIPD agrees, concluding: “Many individuals are balancing work with personal pressures and health issues. By recognising that and providing support when people need it, employers can build more compassionate and inclusive workplaces. In turn this can boost employee commitment and performance, thus benefiting the employer too.”