One in three employees (34%) admit either to using or witnessing substance use or addictive behaviours during work hours, according to a survey.

The poll of 1,503 employees and 1,500 employers for Bupa uncovered what it called “a concerning” rise in addiction in the workplace.

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More than half of the employees surveyed (57%) said they had struggled with some form of substance abuse or addiction, including alcohol (15%), gambling (14%), and recreational drugs (7%). Others reported addictions to social media, prescription medication, and cryptocurrency trading.

The findings tally with national addiction treatment figures, which have also shown a significant rise in people seeking support for substance abuse, Bupa highlighted.

Between April 2023 and March 2024, more than 310,000 adults were in contact with drug and alcohol treatment services – a 7% increase on the previous year, and the highest number since 2009, it pointed out.

Almost half of the employees surveyed (48%) said they had turned to addictive behaviours as a way to cope with professional stress, while 46% cited work-related pressure as a contributing factor. For two in five (or 40%), it was the workplace culture itself that played a role in fuelling these behaviours.

However, despite the significant number of workers facing addiction, stigma remains a significant barrier to support, Bupa argued.

Almost half of employees (45%) would rather hide an addiction than discuss it at work, and 43% said they had avoided medical or professional support altogether because of a fear of workplace repercussions. More than half (51%) believed stigma prevented people from seeking help at work.

Nearly half (49%) of the employers surveyed reported noticing an increase in addiction-related issues among their workforce in the past year alone. As a result, 44% of employers reported performance issues and 33% recorded a higher level of absenteeism.

Similar to employees, a significant proportion of business leaders attributed the increase in addiction-related behaviours to mental health challenges (42%) and personal difficulties (42%), Bupa said.

Dr Robin Clark, medical director at Bupa UK Insurance, said: “It’s clear that addiction is a taboo topic in the workplace, this is often due to the stigma, lack of understanding and the fear of repercussions at work. However, both employees and employers see the impact addiction has on the individual and on the business as a whole.

“In the last five years at Bupa, we’ve had over 26,000 claims related to different addictions which shows how prevalent the issue is.

“While businesses acknowledge the growing scale of the issue, it’s important they create a culture where people can feel supported and comfortable opening up about what they’re going through and have access to confidential services to help them get treatment when they need it. If they don’t, they run the risk of not being able to retain valuable talent,” Clark added.

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