Evidence shows there's an ever greater number of workers today with some type of substance abuse problem. Thanks to many decades of issues with previous generations of workers, employers, and the legal system, we are seeing a rise in zero tolerance policies and stiff criminal penalties attached to substance abuse. While those policies and laws are well-meaning, they can also backfire when they take aim at abusers who haven't necessarily reached destructive points in their use of drugs or alcohol. What results can be career- and life-changing disciplinary action when someone is just on the cusp of escaping the clutches of their abuse. And, it's difficult to get away from work commitments to seek treatment. Saying "I need time off to go to drug rehab" is likely to land you all the time you need - by way of a pink slip. That is a cruel irony. One of the reasons a person is seeking treatment is to try to hang on to a good job, and too often that pursuit of help actually accelerates the loss of the job. Abusers find themselves drawing the conclusion that there's no way they can seek help while working, so they'll just muddle through and seek help after inevitably getting fired. Of course, getting fired for drug abuse makes them highly unattractive to employers once they get clean, so they're still out of work. It doesn't have to be this way. Outpatient treatment centers are now cropping up around the country. These facilities allow users to seek help with their addictions without exiting a positive career situation. This field is growing steadily in an economy where other industries are contracting. One of the firms demonstrating this trend is Morningside Recovery in Southern California, which has the hallmarks of modern outpatient treatment needed for an on-the-job recovery. Its outpatient system permits patients to seek treatment when their schedule allows, while still maintaining outside activities. Their Malibu location is also a manageable distance from a large workforce. Fortunately, that doesn't have to be your only labor market. If you punch a clock in the Windy City, you can still find facilities nearby that follow the same model that Morningside recovery does. There are outpatient clinics coast to coast that can help you or your co-workers deal with chemical dependency issues.
