Helping small businesses prevent substance abuse

Provides background information and a framework for the development and implementation of a prevention-oriented approach to workplace substance abuse.

The book examines the prevalence and consequences of drug and alcohol abuse and presents guidelines for establishing a substance abuse prevention programme for small and medium sized enterprises.

The number of small businesses with substance abuse problems is growing, having an increasingly detrimental effect on workers' health and small business productivity.

This publication examines the advantages of establishing workplace preventive programmes on substance abuse and shows how small enterprises can set up and implement their own programmes to deal with this growing problem. It also shows why the workplace is an appropriate place to launch substance abuse prevention programmes as a “win-win” proposition for employers and workers alike.

This manual provides practical background information and a step-by-step guide for developing small business substance abuse prevention initiatives. It is based on the findings and lessons learned from the experience of five countries who participated in the ILO’s pilot project on preventing alcohol and drug abuse at the workplace: Egypt, India, Malaysia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The volume offers numerous useful sample questionnaires, a plan of action, and a variety of self-assessment tools.