Addictions and the Workplace
May 3rd, 2010 by Leigh“Addiction Treatment: Past, Present, and Future” was the topic for the April meeting of the New York City Chapter of the Employee Assistance Professionals Association (EAPA). I’m a member of the organization and Co-Chair of the EAPA-Women’s Issues Committee and I found the meeting an interesting historical look at the evolution of treatment centers and the predictions the audience made on how to address unmet and complex needs of addicted individuals and families.
EAPA’s purpose is to help meet an employee’s needs to fulfill their responsibilities at work by providing referrals to counselors and offering educational and wellness programs to those who are having problems with their job performance. Addiction is a major reason for employee referrals. In addition to alcohol and drug addictions, current approaches to addiction issues include the expansion of treatment of food, gambling, sex, and other process addictions—including work. Yes, people can work too much—and that can be a sign of substituting work for nurturing relationships in one’s personal life.
Todd Whitmer, Vice-President-Development, Caron New York and Caron Treatment Services, engaged the audience as almost co-presenters of the program. Whitmer’s effective approach led to an interactive and very interesting meeting during which he asked the many people he knew in the audience to give their input on the history of field and the current parameters of treatment. There were at least two professionals in the audience—which included EAP providers, psychotherapists, marketing directors of treatment centers, etc.—who had been in the field for over 30 years.
The professional reason I joined EAPA and attend meetings such as this was to expand my knowledge base. Since 2000, I’ve both coached psychotherapists and gotten numerous client referrals from psychotherapists to address the workplace dimension of their clients’ lives. I also attend these meetings to gather and pass on relevant information to my executive clients about why one of their employees might be acting the way they are and not living up to expectations. And, I go because I want to gather and share statistics and treatment options with my undergraduate management students at the Zicklin School of Business for their own development and in their roles as managers.
According to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependencies, Inc., (NCADD) about 22.2 million people in the U.S. are addicted to alcohol and other drugs. Of that number, 15.4 million are addicted to alcohol alone, 3.6 million illicit drugs—no alcohol, and 3.3 million illicit drugs and alcohol.
The annual cost of alcohol and drug problems—productivity, accidents, etc.? $400 billion!
Whitmer spoke about the treatment options that Caron offers, including a young adult program for 18-26 year olds. When I asked, “How many young adults are addicts?” he replied, “Lots.” No one in the audience knew. This specific population is not easy to quantify yet probably easy to identify by family, friends, and educators. In fact, a growing topic of discussion and action is, “Internet” addiction, something that is making headlines—and it’s not just the behavior of young adults that is drawing attention.
Nearing the end of the program, Whitmer asked the audience to form into groups of four and brainstorm to “Predict five years from now addiction treatment will be improved by__________.” This was an interesting and insightful process with many groups coming up with innovative and thoughtful ideas. In my group, we emphasized a continuous need for tools for treatment of this chronic condition, treatment that would be supported by health insurance; a chip that could be implanted in an addict’s brain (not my idea) that would help manage the impulses for addictive behavior; and, my idea enhanced by my group, videos and digital games that could be used to address both prevention and treatment.
Thanks, Todd, for a great program. It obviously has helped my working to be a better leader.







