How can employers help their employees who have undergone drug/alcohol rehabilitation treatment when they return to work?

Heading back to work after spending time at an addiction treatment center can be a tough transition. Employers have the opportunity and the obligation to make that transition as smooth as possible. Read on to see what advice corporate leaders have to offer on the subject.

Six Things an Employer Can Do to Help

Be compassionate
As a leader, it is important to remember that addiction is a disease and so the affected employees should be treated with as much compassion and support as any other member of the team who required extended sick leave. There is still a stigma attached to addiction and this could make it difficult or embarrassing for employees to return to work following treatment.

Allow time for meetings and support groups
Make sure you give time (if needed) for someone to attend AA, NA (either, both), and other support groups. This would require a flexible approach to their working or maybe reduced hours to accommodate attendance.

Ensure there is regular contact with their Line Manager
Facilitating regular meets with their line manager to ensure that they are okay, managing workload (no unnecessary pressure), managing meeting attendance. Often just having someone to talk to about mounting stress or pressure can help to alleviate it and put steps in place to manage this before it becomes a bigger issue. It is also important to ensure the line manager feels equipped to support someone who might need mental health first aid.

Randomized testing
Consider agreeing to random drug and alcohol testing with the individual, as they often find that the thought of a random test helps to keep them clean. It is important not to single them out publicly when issuing the tests and to reassure them that the tests are in place as a method to help them stay clean and not to catch them.

Sign post further support
Substance abuse is often used as a form of self-medication (although not helpful or healthy) to cope with other forms of mental ill-health, so it is vital that staff feel supported when they return so that they do not relapse due to stress. Arranging or at least signposting further support through EAP, Occupational Health, counseling, and support for emotional needs in the short term. They may or may not have support in place through their treatment program but they must know where to access further support should they need it. Regardless of their situation, an Occupational Health referral may be appropriate to assess the initial situation.

Assess what other support they might need
Understanding what other support someone might need to deal with the consequences of their addiction such as financial guidance, budgeting tools and consolidation of debt might be helpful and most EAP services would offer this.

Be Open and Flexible to the Requests and Needs of Employees

Employers should be thoughtful and deliberate about creating a system for periodically checking in on the health and well-being of employees that are in recovery from drug and alcohol rehabilitation. This should not feel like the employee is being closely monitored, but that leadership is invested in how the employee is faring upon their return to work.

Employees returning to work after drug/alcohol rehabilitation treatment are often worried about the rumor mill at work and wondering if people are gossiping about their struggles. It’s important for employers to create and maintain a culture that does not promote gossip, and to swiftly and firmly address gossip when they hear it.

Employers should also, more than anything, be open and flexible to the requests and needs of the employee returning to work after drug/alcohol rehabilitation. Different employees have different needs when returning to work, whether it is a requested change of job location, or needing to go to AA/NA meetings during lunch. Keeping the channels of communication open helps to ensure a good and smooth transition back into the workplace.

Create a Recovery-Friendly Workplace

As business owners and employers, we have to make sure that there is a recovery-friendly workplace for these employees.

A recovery-friendly workplace attempts to reduce vulnerability to workplace variables that may develop or perpetuate a drug use disorder while also decreasing hurdles to accessing, acquiring, and sustaining recovery. It informs its executive team and employees on drug use problems in order to eliminate the all-too-common stigma associated with this issue.

Don’t Change the Way You Interact

The most important thing is not to treat them any differently. Your employee is likely worried about how they’re going to be seen when they come back—you need to reassure them that they’re accepted and welcome in your workplace.

You can do this by focusing on connecting with your employee. Voice your appreciation for the work they do. Invite them out for lunch or coffee. When you’re conversing with them, follow their lead. Don’t ask, “So how was rehab?” Let them share as much as they feel comfortable sharing.

Helping the employee feel safe and not judged will go a long way in helping them on their recovery journey.

If you’re having a hard time feeling comfortable around this person, remember that addiction is no different from other types of personal conflicts people deal with in their lives. Being addicted to a substance doesn’t make someone a bad person—it just means they weren’t equipped to handle the anxiety or emotions that were piling up for them.

Your employee has taken an active step in bettering themselves, and that’s something that they should be proud of.

Five Things an Employer Can Do to Help

1. Reject Toxic Myths about Addiction
Of course, no one knows what they don’t know. Diving into what not to do can provide as much insight as what to do. Employers should recognize the concept of tough love often does more damage than good. Many believe that the more individuals struggle because of their addiction, the more motivation they will have to discontinue using substances. More times than not, tough love has the opposite outcome. It only causes more distress and disconnection – which is a large contributor to wanting the substance use. The rest of these employer suggestions will indicate what route to take to foster a supportive environment.

2. Welcome Communication and Relationship
Depending on the circumstances that led to the rehabilitation admission, fear and embarrassment are common for employees returning from treatment. Employers can relieve these worries by opening the lines of communication and expressing your intention of a supportive relationship.
Employees want to know where they stand in the eyes of management when they return – are there hard feelings? Are they looked at as a liability? Are people judging them? All of this wasted energy can be redirected to more productive ways simply by addressing it. Employers and employees can sit down together for a conversation to connect about goals, expectations, and needs (using the tips to follow for best practice). Above all else, be sure to emphasize the desire for your employee to share how they need to be supported as they recover. Chances are the requests and accommodations will be simple and attainable.

3. Recognize Needs
Every person returning to work after addiction treatment may have a different approach to maintaining recovery. Every recovery program has a unique approach and may require outpatient counseling in a range of intensity levels and may recommend self-help meetings as well. This is typically not at the fault of your employee but is strongly recommended by their treatment team. Finding a work-life-recovery balance is one of the biggest challenges after leaving inpatient drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers. Being spread too thin without support is the cause of many preventable relapses. As an employer, you have the unique ability to grant flexibility in work. Employees may need to flex their time and come an hour late and leave an hour early (or other variations), and allowing them this can be the difference between strong employee retention and cyclic turnover.

4. Hold Them Accountable
Recovery and accountability go hand in hand. Luckily, being a supportive employee doesn’t mean you need to let go of your boundaries and expectations. It simply means you need to ensure clarity and moderate flexibility to your preexisting agreements. At the end of the day, people in recovery are a part of a team and are responsible for their actions. Employees may be returning to a position in which they were having difficulties fulfilling obligations previously. It is better to engage in nonjudgmental, but honest communication about new expectations. Employers can collaborate with returning employees on a plan to support better work practices. Give the employee space and time to improve, like anyone else. Emphasizing the desire to help them be successful is important. Should they begin to regress like before treatment, it can be a sign they need some support getting back on track again. Maintaining employment is critical for those in recovery. Spending time on a productive and rewarding task can reduce the amount of free time in early recovery and provide a vision for future success.

5. Destigmatize by talking about it, if they want to (within limits)
Anxiousness about saying the wrong thing is common for employers working with employees returning from treatment. Some of this may be due to worry about asking questions that may be against policy or law. It is best to check into what stance your state takes on conversing about health concerns. As long as it is appropriate for the culture of your workplace, you can foster relationships and trust by asking about to what extent they wish to share about their experience, their status of recovery, and needs. It is your role as an employer to maintain confidentiality about the private matters of your employees. Emphasize your compassion for those who have faced addiction and remind them that their experience will stay confidential unless they choose to share it with others.

Allow Them to See a therapist

As a recovering addict myself, the best way to help these employees is to show your full support. This will enable them to stay on the right path. Allowing them time to go to meetings or allowing them time to go see a therapist are a couple of things you can do to help recovering employees. Knowing that the people around them support them makes all the difference in the world. So many people do not have this benefit. Even just allowing them to come back to work after rehab is huge.

The majority of companies would not allow this type of leave to occur. When this becomes more of a stipulation rather than a stigma, we are going to see a real change in the recovering workforce. Recovering addicts need and want to work, and giving them the ability to do that without being judged for their illness will start to turn that stigma around and help these people immensely.