It can be tough and demanding to be a construction worker. It can be even more challenging when your job causes you to succumb to addiction. It is important for construction workers to seek help for their addiction so that they can have a clear mind and optimal performance for work.
Study Reveals Addiction Among Construction Workers
A new study from NYU discovered that construction is a profession that is rife with addiction. Out of 290,000 workers in 13 different professions, 3.4% of construction workers were misusing painkillers. 1.8% of construction workers also revealed they were most likely to use cocaine. They were also the second most likely to use marijuana. The results found that construction workers have an overdose death rate six to seven times higher than the average. It is unclear in the study if construction workers are doing drugs on the job or at home.
What Triggers Drug Use in Construction
The high-risk and the physically demanding nature of construction and mining can be a likely explanation for their drug use. After experiencing an injury, their doctors may prescribe them painkillers and continue to use them even after the prescriptions stop. Workers could also be using cocaine to keep them alert as well as work better and longer. The nature of the work and the temporary employment can cause stress with workers using marijuana to unwind.
How to Treat Drug Addiction in Construction
Having workplace alcohol tests, drug tests during the hiring process, random drug testing, and firing an employee for a positive drug test can lower the odds of marijuana use. The same cannot be said for opioid use. Only written drug policies were associated with reducing the odds of cocaine use. You can still be a good employee despite drug use. Having a construction worker with a drug problem means they need to get help.
Doctors should point these construction workers towards physical therapy, acupuncture, or massage therapy. There also needs to be more education in the workplace to know the serious extent of drug addiction. Construction workers should go visit online resources like the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration(SAMHSA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIH). Construction workers help make the world go round so it is important they are healthy enough to be employed by going into treatment.
Located in Georgetown, Texas, Alta Loma is a transformative living center to help those struggling in early recovery to transition out of our Psychiatric and Substance Abuse inpatient center. Alta Loma believes that addiction is born from an untreated mental illness in which our facility is willing to help you. Our facility offers residency, medication management education, individualized treatment, life skills education, 12-step support, and more tools to bring patients the confidence to be able to live an independent life. For more information, please call us at 866-457-3843.
