The effects of substance use disorder ripple far and wide in today's workplace. They include driving up healthcare costs, lost productivity and absenteeism. But the shifting employee assistance landscape, including the renewed emphasis on chronic disease management, provides opportunities for creative solutions. This session will share the successful experience of an EAP in collaborating with a recovery community organization, employers, and insurers to better support recovery from substance use disorder in the workplace. The "Face It!" Employers Action Group, designed to help employers cut costs and retain skilled employees, reaches more than one-third of the community's total workforce.
1) Create partnerships with employers, health plans, providers, and community organizations to improve recovery support services in the workplace; 2) Develop recovery support services to help organizations celebrate recovery and better manage costs related to substance use disorder; and 3) Design services to help employees and their families better understand substance use disorder as a chronic disease.