Wholesale Recovery of Human Assets through Substance Abuse Awareness

• The wholesale industry consists primarily of small businesses. Unfortunately, small companies are particularly vulnerable to workers who abuse alcohol and other drugs. A recent government survey indicated that 71 percent of illegal drug users are employed;¹60 percent are with companies that employ 500 or fewer workers.²

• Small businesses may be particularly vulnerable to problems of drug abuse among their employees because drug abusers will seek work at smaller firms where the likelihood of drug testing is slim.³

• The wholesale industry traditionally draws heavily from the pool of 18- to 34-year-old job seekers, a segment of the American population that is at the heart of a nationwide increase in illegal drug use. Among young adults age 18-20, 18 percent are current illicit drug users; 12 percent of those age 21- 25 and 8 percent of those age 26-34 are also current drug users.⁴

• The future work force is also at risk for alcohol and other drug abuse. Substance abuse among American teens is increasing at an alarming rate—up 33 percent in the past year; up 78 percent in the past three years.⁵

• In the wholesale industry, 8 percent of full-time employees admit to using illegal drugs in the past month. More than 15 percent indicate they have used illegal drugs sometime during the past year, and approximately 10 percent admit to heavy alcohol use.⁶

• Employees in specific sectors of the wholesale industry report the use of alcohol and other drugs at the following levels:⁷

• Substance abusers do not make good employees. A study conducted by the U.S. Postal Service of workers who tested positive in pre-employment tests, but were hired anyway, revealed the following:

• nearly 70 percent were involuntarily discharged in less than two-and-a-half years;

• almost 60 percent were more likely to be heavy users of leave; and

• by the 33rd month, those testing positive were absent about 66 percent more often than those who had tested negative.⁸

• The wholesale industry may be particularly attuned to the costs and risks associated with workplace substance abuse. A reported increase in workplace injuries was centered largely in "wholesale and retail trade, finance, and service industries.⁹

• Peck Foods of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, reported an overall 50 percent decrease in injury rate, a 15 percent decrease in unexcused absenteeism, and a 75 percent drop in property damage incidents during the first year of the company's substance abuse prevention program.¹⁰

• From large international corporations to relatively small establishments, more and more wholesale companies are implementing and maintaining programs to ensure that their work forces are productive, their workplaces are safe, and the success of their businesses are not hindered by substance abuse.

• Available from Working Partners are sample case studies of wholesale companies that have effectively addressed workplace substance abuse.

Company Success Stories

One Source Warehouse Stocks Only Drug-Free Employees

Saving Jobs for Employees Helps Save Employees for Jobs

What it Feels Like to Say "NO"

Endnotes:

¹1995 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 1996.

²Drug Strategies, Washington, D.C., 1996.

³"Mangan, D. "An Rx for Drug Abuse." Small Business Reports 17, no. 5 (May 1993):1,32.

⁴1995 National Household Survey, 1996.

⁵Ibid.

⁶"Drug Use Among U.S. Workers: Prevalence and Trends By Occupation and Industry Categories,"

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 1996.

⁷Ibid.

⁸"An Empirical Evaluation of Pre-Employment Drug Testing in the United States Postal Service: Interim Report on Findings," Drugs in the Workplace: Research and Evaluation Data. National Institute on Drug Abuse, 1989.

⁹"Workplace Injuries, Illnesses Rose Sharply in 1992." Wall Street Journal (16 December, 1992):18.

¹⁰Current, W. "Does Drug Testing Work?," Institute for a Drug-Free Workplace, 1992.