Opioid Epidemic & Small Business

How Addiction Affects Small Businesses

The opioid epidemic impacts businesses of all sizes across the United States, causing:

A smaller labor force
Lowered productivity
Increased health care costs
Higher recruiting and training costs

What Can You Do?

Support your workers’ well-being and build a brighter future for your business by knowing how you can help. Start by understanding addiction and ending the stigma around it. Make it a safe topic to discuss at work, which in turn can create an environment where more people feel safe seeking and receiving treatment.

Rely on Your Benefits Providers

Often, your benefits providers have resources that can help protect your employees’ health and well-being. Their valuable employee insights can identify trends using medical, pharmacy and workers’ compensation data.

Ask your workers’ compensation and disability insurer to outline what they’re doing to prevent opioid misuse and foster recovery among employees protected by their insurance plans.

Offer an Employee Assistance Program

Nearly half of small businesses (47%) offer an Employee Assistance Program to their employees, but it’s one that all employers should consider.¹ An EAP can have a huge impact on improving your employees’ well-being by providing cost-free, confidential counseling sessions and professional referrals – not just to employees, but to their family members and domestic partners.

Give Your Employees the Support They Need

Don’t have an EAP but want to offer support to your team? Here’s how you can start:

Check with your existing benefits providers to see if they offer EAP services bundled with other products. For example, The Hartford offers Ability Assist counseling with its short- and long-term disability coverage.
Use this search tool offered by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation to find resources in your state to help those living with substance use disorder.
Leverage the free support and education programs by National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and Shatterproof.

THIS WEBSITE DOES NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE. The information contained on this website is not intended to be a substitute for, or to be relied upon as, medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This website is for informational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

¹ The Hartford, “2018 Opioids in the Workplace Survey”