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WHAT
AMERICAN EMPLOYEES THINK
ABOUT DRUG ABUSE
Introduction
The Institute for a Drug-Free Workplace
of Washington, D.C. commissioned The Gallup Organization of Princeton,
New Jersey to conduct a market research study. The objectives of
this study were to determine from workers, employed full-time outside
of the home, their attitudes towards drugs in the workplace, as
well as their experiences with drugs and drug testing.
Items included in the questionnaire
were mutually agreed upon by The Gallup Organization and the Institute
for a Drug-Free Workplace. The Institute was responsible for suggesting
question areas, and The Gallup Organization was responsible for
ensuring that the questions were technically correct and without
bias.
Methodology
In October 1995, The Gallup Organization
interviewed 1,006 respondents who were currently employed full-time
outside of their homeS. These respondents were selected from randomly
generated lists of telephone numbers created by The Gallup Organization.
Prior to data analysis, the data were weighted to adjust for any
demographic discrepancies with the United States Census statistics
for the United States.
At the 95% level of confidence,
the expected sampling error for a sample of 1,006 respondents is
+/- 3.1 percentage points. Simply stated, if 100 different random
samples of full-time employed workers were interviewed, 95 times
out of 100 the results obtained would vary no more than +/- 3.1
percentage points from the results obtained if the entire population
of full-time workers was interviewed.
To accomplish the objectives of
this study, The Gallup Organization used a telephone methodology
to conduct the interviews with qualified respondents. Gallup used
a multiple callback design in which five calls were made to the
same telephone number. This design was used to eliminate bias in
favor of those easily reached by telephone. Gallup provided experienced,
professionally trained interviewers under the exclusive employment
of The Gallup Organization. All interviewers involved in this project
were briefed specifically on the objectives and methodology of the
study. A minimum of 10 percent of the surveys were validated by
supervisory callbacks. In addition, telephone interviews were monitored
internally as part of the ongoing Gallup process for evaluating
interviewers. All completed questionnaires were edited and coded
independently as a quality-control measure. The Institute for a
Drug-Free Workplace has been provided with a complete set of tabular
results under separate cover. They represent each of the major segment
classifications by frequency and percentage. These tabular results
should serve as reference material and should be consulted before
strategic decisions are made.
Executive
Summary
Listed below are the key highlights
of the research conducted. These appear in no particular order of
importance.
- The number of respondents that
identified drugs as the greatest problem facing the United States
today was significantly small in 1995, when compared to 1989.
Six percent of those surveyed identified drugs as the greatest
problem the U.S. faces, down twenty-two percent from the level
reported in 1989 (28%). Crime, followed by unemployment or lack
of jobs topped the list in the 1995 survey.
- Most respondents surveyed opposed
the legalization of drugs such as Marijuana or cocaine and also
objected to the government dispensing clean needles to drug addicts.
Fifty-eight percent of all respondents surveyed disagreed with
the idea of legalizing the use of marijuana. An overwhelming ninety-one
percent opposed the legalization of cocaine. Additionally, when
asked whether the federal government should be supplying drug
addicts with clean needles, a majority (56%) said the government
should not.
- A majority of respondents surveyed
felt that illicit drug use was linked to both crime and violence
as well as to healthcare costs. Eighty-seven percent of all respondents
surveyed said that illicit drug use and dealing were major causes
of crime and violence in our society. Additionally, sixty-eight
percent of all respondents felt that illicit drug use was a major
contributor to healthcare costs in the United States.
- When asked to describe the prevalence
of drug problems in the workplace compared to five years ago,
most respondents felt that these problems had either increased
or stayed about the same. Thirty-seven percent of all respondents
said that workplace problems had increased in the last five years.
A like percentage (38%) felt that the frequency of such problems
was unchanged compared to five years ago.
- On the issue of drug testing,
a majority of respondents supported drug screening tests for all
occupations tested. In general, it appears that respondents place
the greatest emphasis on drug testing for those employed in occupations
where one person has direct responsibility for many. Respondents
were more likely to support drug screening for those employed
as airline pilots, school bus drivers, or doctors and such than
they were to support drug screening among those employed as factory
workers, construction workers, or office workers and such. In
general, however, a majority of respondents supported periodic
drug-screening tests for all of the job categories tested, including
those employed in the respondents' own occupations.
- It appears that in the six years
since the last research, respondents have strengthened their opinion
that drug testing is a necessity. Thirty-eight percent of all
respondents in 1995 said they felt that drug testing was a necessity,
an increase of twelve percent from the 1989 research.
- Respondents' on the job contact
with illegal drugs increased significantly from 1989. Respondents
were significantly more likely to report awareness of both on
the job illicit drug use by co-workers and before or after hours
illicit drug use than was the case in the 1989 study. The percentage
of respondents who indicated that they had been offered drugs
to use while on the job, or had been approached to buy drugs while
on the job, remained unchanged.
- Seventy-one percent of all respondents
indicated that they worked for a company that had a policy regarding
workplace drug use. This was a significant increase from the fifty-nine
percent reported in the last study. The attitude toward that policy
was basically unchanged from 1989. Among those respondents who
worked for a company with a drug use policy, three-quarters felt
that the policy was adequate to deal with the problem
- In general, respondents were very
clear as to the effect that drug use has on their workplaces.
Respondents said they felt that drug use had a great effect on
the image of their company. Additionally, respondents said that
the attendance of employees, workplace safety, and the quality
of products and services were all affected by drug use. Finally,
respondents tended to feel that the healthcare problems of substance
abusers had a direct effect on their personal healthcare costs
and coverage as well as on their companies' healthcare costs.
Respondents' attitudes towards drug testing were very clear. The
majority of those surveyed said they felt that companies should
have the right to test both job applicants before they are hired
as well as current employees who are suspected of drug use. Respondents
also tended to support a company's right to randomly test employees.
Most felt that random testing served as a deterrent to employee
drug use, and that such periodic testing tended to reduce accidents
and problem defects. Survey participants tended to feel that drug
testing, if conducted properly, was accurate, and they did not
tend to believe that such testing violated an employees' civil
liberties.
- Respondents were also very clear
with regard to their opinions on the treatment of drug users.
Most agreed that there were some jobs which were so safety-sensitive,
that persons who fail drug or alcohol tests or have a history
of substance abuse should never be eligible for employment in
those positions. Additionally, most respondents felt that drug
users who were unemployed should not be eligible for employment
compensation benefits. Respondents also felt that drug users who
were injured because of their own drug abuse should not be eligible
for workers' compensation.
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