Are Younger Employees Using Alcohol Or Drugs At Work? You Make The Call

Researchers analyzed data from a national survey of 5,465 U.S. workers in their early thirties to measure substance use right before or during work.

In the past month, 8.9 percent of respondents reported workplace substance use, including 5.9 percent using alcohol, 3.1 percent using marijuana, and 0.8 percent using cocaine or other hard drugs.

Substance use on the job was most common among workers in food preparation and service and in safety-sensitive occupations such as construction, transportation, installation, maintenance, and repair.

Elevated alcohol use was also found among white-collar workers, while both alcohol and marijuana use were more common in safety-sensitive roles. The findings raise concerns about the potential impact of workplace substance use on injury risk, public safety, and job performance.

Sources: https://news.osu.edu/9-of-young-us-employees-use-alcohol-drugs-at-work-study-finds/; https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40372126/; https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12242107/

So, the question for our readers is: Are Younger Employees Using Alcohol Or Drugs At Work?

Here is the opinion of one of the McCalmon editorial staff:

Jack McCalmon, Esq.

I have no reason to dispute or confirm the findings. I suspect that more alcohol and drug use occurred during the lockdowns and may have continued to the present day.

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