After years of providing resources to workers facing challenges related to opioid use, the Keystone Contractors Association was “trending in the right direction” with regard to the number of employees asking for assistance and receiving help.
But then “2020 came along and screwed everything up,” said Jon O’Brien, executive director of the statewide commercial construction trade association in Pennsylvania. “In a way, it feels like we might be back to square one.”
For O’Brien and others dedicated to worker safety and health, the far-reaching impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused plenty of concern about opioids.
On June 9, the National Safety Council issued a statement calling on employers to prioritize employee stress and mental health. The council warned that heightened stress and mental health issues related to the pandemic among workers would likely lead to an increase in substance misuse.
“(It) could be a serious threat to worker safety and cost tens of thousands in productivity losses, absenteeism and presenteeism, and worker’s compensation claims,” NSC cautioned.
Stark statistics
Provisional data released in December by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention underscores NSC’s warning. In the 12-month period ending in May 2020, 81,230 drug overdose deaths were recorded – the highest number ever recorded in such a time frame.
Calling it a “concerning acceleration” of overdose deaths, CDC noted rapid increases involving synthetic opioids, “likely illicitly manufactured fentanyl.”
According to NIOSH, 37% of all opioid overdose deaths involve a prescription drug.
For Rachael Cooper, senior program manager, substance use and harm prevention safety, at NSC, the goal is to encourage the safe use of opioids.
“With opioids, we want people to use them safely if they’re prescribed them,” she said. “We’re not trying to prevent all use.”
The difficulty faced by many workers was that 2020 was anything but normal.
“The biggest challenge was the disruption to daily life,” O’Brien said. “We have workers seeking help, seeking treatment. They might go to meetings or even training.”
However, many recovery centers had to change their usual in-person recovery meetings and numerous training centers had to close to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Those changes in particular, O’Brien said, took away everyday support systems from workers who rely on them.
That loss, along with uncertain employment situations, caused immeasurable stress for some – and continues to do so.
“The stress has been something else,” Cooper said. “If you happen to be in one of the models of recovery that has a lot of in-person meetings, all of a sudden that support got taken out from under you.
“And, there’s incredible isolation. That’s an increased risk factor for relapse, and relapses are extraordinarily dangerous in terms of potential for overdose. People who have not been using for a while, their bodies aren’t used to using anymore.”
With some workers more isolated, telling a friend, family member or colleague about their opioid issues isn’t as likely, Cooper added.
“When people feel isolated or embarrassed or ashamed of what they’re doing, they’re not going to tell somebody what’s going on,” she said. “Then, people aren’t going to know. People can’t intervene.”
How to find help
To help workers with opioid issues, particularly during the pandemic, KCA has recorded more toolbox talks on the topic and assisted workers in recovery gain access to online meetings.
“We didn’t just sit in the corner and hide,” O’Brien said. “We’ve tried to do as much as possible.”
CDC, NIOSH and NSC also provide resources for workers and employers.
Despite reduced capacity at treatment centers because of physical distancing protocol and delays or cancellations of in-person treatment, Cooper said some states have increased online options.
“The bright side of it – if there is such a thing as a bright side – is a lot of state governments took some exceptional action to increase telehealth mechanisms, and that includes treatment facilities,” she said. “It’s on us now to make sure those stay permanent because they were really helpful.”
Cooper said employers should focus on clear, consistent and supportive communication to help guide workers.
“Try to establish a tone that helps people and consistently provides resources,” she said. “You want to get people the help they need.”
Employers also should promote employee assistance programs and provide trusted resources for assistance. These can include NSC’s Addressing the Opioid Crisis and NIOSH’s Opioids in the Workplace, as well as 24-hour hotlines such as the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Helpline – (800) 662-4357.
According to NSC’s downloadable Opioids at Work Employer Toolkit, complexities exist when employers target an entire workforce via a prevention program. Workers can face very different risk factors – biological, psychological and social – so they’ll respond differently to intervention efforts.
“There’s a lot of tools in the toolbox,” O’Brien said. “There’s not just one solution for a person. Just because you try one of the tools and it doesn’t work – maybe you relapse – don’t think it’s a dead end. There are other tools and solutions out there.”
Up to the task
When O’Brien sees numbers like the ones reported by CDC, he doesn’t get angry or sad. “I feel motivated,” he said. “We want to keep fighting this battle until it’s eliminated, until it’s gone. We’re ready for the challenge.”
One of the most encouraging changes O’Brien said he has seen in recent years is more construction employers confronting the opioid issue head-on.
“The way I grade it is feedback and comments I hear,” he said. “One employer is in his 70s. He said, ‘It’s the first time workers are coming up to me, and we’re talking about their health issues and addiction battles.’ This would’ve never happened four, five years ago.”
O’Brien said employers view their workers as family and want to know what’s going on in their lives.
“When I hear comments like that,” O’Brien said, “it fires me up to do more work.”
