Substance abuse prevention programme – part of the early support model

A substance abuse prevention programme is part of your company’s early support model. It describes what you should do in issues related to drugs and alcohol at the workplace. The goal is to prevent problems and encourage conversation. Design the substance abuse prevention programme together with the management, supervisors, employees, and occupational health services.

What does the substance abuse prevention programme involve?

Describe in your substance abuse prevention programme your company’s attitude towards alcohol and other drug use, smoking or gambling at the workplace. Describe, for example, when someone should interfere, when issues should be addressed, how the referral to treatment will progress, how the situation will be monitored and what the consequences are if the referral-to-treatment agreement is not complied with. It is also important to describe the responsibilities, i.e., who is responsible for which measures and monitoring.

You can use this tool to create a suitable substance abuse programme for your company’s needs: Substance Abuse Programme Tool (hyvatyo.ttl.fi).

Substance abuse prevention programme helps the management work

The substance abuse prevention programme is an important tool for practical management work. When you have agreed on practices beforehand, there is no need to come up with something on the spur of the moment when faced with an employee’s substance abuse prevention problem. It is also helpful for addressing issues and holding discussions when the employee concerned knows that the same practices apply to everyone.

A substance abuse problem affects a person's ability to work in the same way as any other physical or mental health problem. That is why the early support model for work ability, work ability assessments and work ability negotiations are good tools to use when dealing with an employee's substance abuse problem.

  1. Early support model

    The early support model for work ability gathers the workplace’s practices and guidelines on work ability management, monitoring and early support. The substance abuse prevention programme is part of early support.

    Read more about the early support model