What the numbers say
Before we crunch some numbers, let’s review some important statistics. We’re going to refer to a lot of numbers, so to help keep it all straight we’ll present the information in question-and-answer format:
Let’s start with the magnitude of the drug problem. How many people use drugs?
- According to an annual report from the federal government there are 59.3 million Americans 12 and older who admit to using illicit drugs.vii
- Additionally, 138.5 million people admit to being current alcohol users with 61.6 million being classified as “binge” drinkers (5 or more drinks on at least 1 occasion in the past month) and 17.7 million being heavy drinkers (5 or more drinks on at least 5 occasions in the past month).viii
How many drug users are employed? The National Safety Council reported at the end of 2020 that 75% of “people with a substance abuse disorder are employed.”ix That equates to about 15% of the workforce.
Which industries are affected the most? It is important to understand that all industries, including transportation, construction, manufacturing, and professional/scientific/technical workplaces, for example, are affected by substance abuse, some more than others. According to a report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA),x the following industries are the 5 with the highest rates of worker substance abuse:
- Mining at 17.5%
- Construction at 16.5%
- Accommodations and food services at 11.8%
- Arts, entertainment, and recreation at 11.5%
- Utilities at 10.3%
How many use drugs at work? A survey of employees conducted by American Addiction Centers found that 22.5% of employees admit to using drugs or alcohol at work, with 14.7% of at-home workers and 3.3% of those who go to a workplace admitting to being “high” on the job every week.xi
How is this affecting workforce trends? According to the 2022 Quest Diagnostics Drug Testing Index® (DTI), an annual report based on the results of more than 6 million drug tests conducted at Quest laboratories, the “rate of positive drug test results among America’s workforce reached its highest rate last year [2021] since 2001 and was up more than 30% in the combined US workforce (mandated and non-mandated situations) from an all-time low in 2010-2012.”xii
Has the pandemic had an impact? “Nearly one-third of people in the US who drink alcohol have increased their consumption since the pandemic began,” according to a May study by LifeWorks and the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. “Nearly 30 percent who use drugs reported an increase in that activity.”xiii
What does this cost employers? According to the findings from a study conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago and the National Safety Council (NSC), each substance abusing employee costs his or her company an average of $8,817 annually.xiv
Okay, those are a lot of numbers. What’s the bottom line? Simply put, every industry is affected by substance abuse, many employees are using drugs on the job or admit to being under the influence while working, positive drug results have increased significantly in recent years, and substance abuse costs employers a lot of money annually. Using the numbers presented above, if 15% of your workforce are substance abusers and you have 100 employees, then you have 15 substance abusers on your payroll. If each of them is costing your company an average of $8,817, then substance abuse is costing your company approximately $132,255 annually.
That’s a simple calculation. In reality, there’s a lot more that can be factored into measuring your drug testing ROI such as your industry, your state location, applicable state drug testing laws, and the level of liability held in any one position within your company from front-line to C-suite.
The Quest ROI Calculator
Substance abuse can negatively impact job performance in different ways. As a result, employers conduct drug testing for many reasons, including to comply with legal requirements, improve safety, lower accident rates, control the costs of workers’ compensation insurance, and increase productivity. Additionally, though it may be difficult to gauge the direct cost of substance abuse on a company’s reputation and employee morale, those are 2 key factors that can be positively affected by maintaining a drug testing program.
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