Employee drug use, demographic characteristics, work reactions, and absenteeism

Altered States or Much to Do About Nothing? A Study of When Cannabis Is Used in Relation to the Impact It Has on Performance

As more local, state, and national governments change laws regarding the legality of cannabis use, it is essential for organizations to understand how the workplace may be influenced by these changes. The current study begins to answer this question by examining the relationship between three temporal-based cannabis measures and five forms of workplace performance. Using data from 281 employees and their direct supervisors, our results indicate that cannabis use before and during work negatively relate to task performance, organization-aimed citizenship behaviors, and two forms of counterproductive work behaviors. At the same time, after-work cannabis use was not related (positively or negatively) to any form of performance as rated by the user’s direct supervisor. We discuss methodological, theoretical, and practical implications for researchers, organizations, and governmental agencies concerned with cannabis use.

Illicit drug use and work in a model therapeutic workplace

BACKGROUND

The link between illicit drug use and impaired employee performance in the workplace has been assumed, but the relation has not been demonstrated clearly in research. This study was an evaluation of the relations between cocaine and opiate use, attendance, and performance in a job skills training program in a population with high rates of drug use.

METHODS

Out-of-treatment injection drug users (N = 42) attended a model therapeutic workplace where they could earn a maximum pay of around $10 per hour, 4 h every weekday, for 30 weeks. At the workplace, participants could complete practice trials on computer-based typing and keypad training programs. Participants were asked to provide urine samples thrice weekly, which were tested for opiates and cocaine.

RESULTS

Participants worked for more hours on a program that resulted in a flat hourly wage when their urine was negative for opiates and cocaine than when their urine was opiate and cocaine positive. Attendance was positively associated with opiate-negative samples during the study. When participants attended the workplace, however, their performance was not related to drug use. Participants completed the same number of practice trials, performed at the same accuracy, and typed at the same speed when they were positive and negative for cocaine and opiates.

CONCLUSIONS

Contrary to common expectations, this study failed to show that the use of opiates or cocaine affected in-training performance, even though opiate and cocaine use predicted reduced attendance under some circumstances.

Chapter 7. Sickness absence and psychiatric disorders

There is limited scientific evidence that women have a higher frequency and incidence of sickness absence due to psychiatric diagnoses. Because of conflicting findings, there is insufficient evidence on gender differences in the duration of sickness absence. Because of conflicting findings, there is also insufficient evidence on the association between age and sickness absence with psychiatric diagnoses. There is insufficient evidence on the association of sickness absence due to psychiatric diagnoses with work-related factors, factors related to family and social networks outside of the job, and psychosocial factors in childhood and adolescence since none of the individual factors were investigated in more than a single study. The results were conflicting (insufficient evidence) in five studies that investigated whether individuals with psychiatric disorders were at greater risk for sickness absence and disability pension, irrespective of the diagnosis on the sickness certificate. The four studies that used alcohol diagnoses to identify alcohol problems found increased sickness absence irrespective of the diagnosis on the certificate (expressed as more sick-leave days or an increased risk for prolonged sickness absence in individuals with alcohol problems). Furthermore, two of the studies found an increased risk for disability pension in women diagnosed with alcohol problems. There is insufficient evidence because of too few studies. The results are conflicting with regard to the association between high alcohol consumption and sickness absence, irrespective of the diagnosis on the certificate (insufficient evidence).

Psychosocial work environment, interpersonal violence at work and psychotropic drug use among correctional officers

The aims of this study were to establish the prevalence of psychotropic drug use, measure the association between job strain, extrinsic efforts-rewards ratio, interpersonal violence and psychotropic drug use among officers working in correctional facilities in the province of Quebec in Canada. This study also examined if interpersonal violence at work is an intermediate factor in the causal chain between psychosocial risk factors at work and psychotropic drug use. A cross-sectional study was performed which included 1288 Quebec correctional officers. The participants answered a self-administered questionnaire in 2007 assessing psychological demands, decision latitude, extrinsic efforts, rewards, overcommitment, intimidation, psychological harassment, social support in the actual job, psychotropic drug use during the month preceding the questionnaire and sociodemographic variables. Binomial regressions were performed for the principal associations and a bootstrap analysis was performed in order to evaluate interpersonal violence as an intermediate factor between psychosocial risk factors at work and psychotropic drug use. The prevalence of psychotropic drug use among correctional officers was 14.7%. The prevalence ratios (PR) for the associations between job strain, extrinsic efforts-rewards ratio, social support from colleagues and supervisors, intimidation and psychological harassment adjusted for age and gender were respectively 1.4 (95% CI 0.9-2.2), 1.6 (95% CI 1.2-2.2), 1.7 (95% CI 1.3-2.3), 1.4 (95% CI 0.9-2.4) and 1.5 (95% CI 1.1-2.0). The value of the indirect effect evaluating psychological harassment as an intermediate factor was not statistically significant (value=0.0087, 95% CI -0.0033 to 0.0207). An imbalanced extrinsic efforts-rewards ratio, low social support from colleagues and supervisors and psychological harassment at work were separately associated with psychotropic drug use among correctional officers. Psychological harassment was not found to be an intermediate factor.

A literature review on sick leave determinants (1984-2004)

OBJECTIVES

A literature review for the years 1984-2004 was performed to identify the determinants of the sick leave frequency and duration over that period and to establish the continuity in the character of those determinants.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The review referred to national and international studies on the determinants of the frequency and duration of sick leave.

RESULTS

The review presented a highly consistent picture of the factors determining sick leave frequency and duration.

CONCLUSION

Over the study period, the frequency and duration of sick leave were determined by a broad range of factors, a substantial number of which had a similar influence on both the study parameters.

The influence of sick leave frequency determinants on homogeneous groups in two socio-economically comparable, but socio-culturally different regions in The Netherlands

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to explore the influence of sick leave frequency determinants on in terms of age and profession homogeneous groups in two socio-economically comparable, but socio-culturally different regions in The Netherlands, i.e., Utrecht (mean frequency 1.10 spells) and South Limburg (mean frequency 1.92 spells). In addition, to get an idea of the study's topical interest, a literature review on sick leave frequency determinants covering the past few decades was performed.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

184 participants in the Utrecht and South Limburg regions were interviewed on work, individual and health characteristics. Sick leave frequency data were obtained from a social fund. For the literature review (inter)national scientific journals, academic theses and Medline were consulted.

RESULTS

A comparison of sick leave frequency in the two regions showed that, in South Limburg, the determinants called 'opinion on social-medical support during sick leave', 'type of appointment' and 'annual number of visits (family doctor)' were associated with sick leave frequency whereas this was not the case in Utrecht. The literature review presented a highly consistent picture of determinants of sick leave frequency over the last few decades.

CONCLUSIONS

In the two regions studied, different determinants appeared to be associated with sick leave frequency. This phenomenon is attributed to the different socio-cultural characters of the regions. As per region different determinants appeared to be associated with sick leave frequency, nationwide interventions to reduce sick leave frequency should take into account the potential influence of regional differences in determinants that predict sick leave frequency. Sick leave frequency determinants have not changed in the past few decades. Although the study was performed in the nineties, its results are still relevant.

Drug testing, drug treatment, and marijuana use: a fairness perspective

The authors conducted a random statewide telephone survey of 1,484 individuals to study the relationship between marijuana use (in terms of participants' history of marijuana use) and reactions to drug testing and to study 2 hypothetical drug-treatment policies. Job safety sensitivity was related to perceived fairness of drug testing for the participant's job, and more recent marijuana use was associated with more negative reactions. Safety sensitivity was related to perceived fairness of drug treatment. Organizations with voluntary treatment were more attractive than ones with monitored treatment. Marijuana use interacted with drug treatment policy type in predicting reactions to drug treatment. Results suggest that organizations should consider job and employee characteristics when developing a drug treatment policy.