Increased Absenteeism from Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) Economically Impacts Workplaces
The Journal of the American Medical Association published a recent analysis of the responses from more than 110,000 fulltime employed adults over age 18 from the 2015 – 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health where researchers determined that persons with alcohol use problems had a disproportionate number of absentee days. In fact, the more severe the alcohol disorder, the greater the prevalence of absentee days. In 2019, 14.1 million Individuals in the U.S. with AUD produced more than 232,000,000 missed workdays each year.
These findings make the financial justification for employers to invest in substance use prevention such as a drug free workplace program that includes a written policy, drug testing, training, and employee assistance; referral for substance use treatment; and support for those in recovery.