Substance Free Workplace Blog

Is Your Workplace Recovery Ready?

There are over 23 million Americans in recovery from substance abuse. Because many individuals choose to experience their recovery privately, it is important for every workplace to establish a culture and systems designed to support those in recovery. Not only are those in recovery a valuable asset to your workplace, but your workplace can serve […]

“Zero Tolerance” is not a Solution

Many businesses want to be tough on substance abuse, so they enact a zero tolerance substance abuse policy. Although these policies may remove that substance abuser from their workplace, they do little to address the issues of substance abuse in the community. Instead of offering a solution to substance abuse, these policies essentially just make it […]

Don’t Let Legal Write Your Policy

You are probably adopting a substance free workplace program with a specific set of goals in mind. Your legal department or legal counsel has one goal: to protect you from liability. When tasked with writing a substance free workplace policy, their approach is to ensure that it complies with any local, state or federal regulations; […]

New Year’s Policy Purge

Is your Policy Handbook getting a little thick? When I’m asked to rewrite a company’s substance free workplace policy and they provide me with a handbook that is already 40 pages long, I start to feel a little guilty because I know that I am about to add at least a page or two. Then […]

Are You Prepared for Synthetic Drugs?

By now you’ve probably heard about synthetic marijuana and bath salts on the news. In fact, you may have even seen them for sale in convenience stores or online. These drugs are very frightening because of their unpredictable effects, and their easy availability. They also pose some unique difficulties for businesses because their chemical compositions […]

Stop Asking Too Much of HR

Don’t compromise the success of your substance free workplace program by asking too much of Human Resources. Often the most overtaxed and under-appreciated department in a company, human resources should not bear the sole burden of creating and implementing a substance free workplace program. On the other hand, a successful substance free workplace program will […]