An underreported impact of remote and hybrid work – –so I’m giving it attention.
Daytime drug and drinking habits are rising. Twenty-seven million working-age Americans — between 25 and 54 — have substance abuse disorders — a 23% jump compared with the pre-pandemic days, according to a study by the Atlanta Fed.
Why do we care?
Listener Scott wrote in when I asked about the dynamics of the job market with a helpful perspective. Quote “The workforce is also the consumer market. Advocates for suppressing wages seem to forget that increased wages for workers results in greater discretionary spending.”
It’s insightful and feels very relevant here. Not only are they the consumer market, they’re consumers, and they’re people.
Do you need to change your policies to address this? Are you expanding mental health and substance abuse assistance programs, offering flexible hours, or providing other forms of support? Consider that addressing that may also be not only right but cheaper than increased healthcare costs. Would prevention and intervention programs, such as Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), support employees struggling with substance abuse?
It’s increasingly difficult to be an employer and manager now – yet focusing on understanding them as people, and their struggles, feels like the superpower for smaller organizations to stand out.