‘Clear playbook’ needed to address substance use at work

Is it really HR’s responsibility?

Jordan Foster, director of marketing and communications at HRCI, clarified that it is not an organisation’s responsibility to keep a person sober.

“But it does behove the employers, the managers, leadership, and the business to make sure we are creating environments in which people can thrive, regardless of whether they’re experiencing a substance use issue, whether they are returning from maternity leave, or whether they are undergoing cancer treatment,” Foster said in the report.

Training managers to respond to SUD cases in the workplace is also necessary to achieve business success, according to Dufrane.

“HR leaders are going to have to advocate,” she said in the report. “They are going to have to build the business case for making recovery – and the training that goes with it – a workforce issue that is worthy of investment.”

Four-part framework to address SUD

HRCI is recommending a four-part framework to help managers address SUD in the workplace. The four steps are: