Josie got used to drinking several glasses of wine during the workday when working 100% remotely for the past three years. There were no colleagues in the room to question her behavior or report her to management, and no supervisor to notice her faltering gait or slurring words. Now, ordered back to the office three days a week, Josie’s secret substance misuse practices are becoming harder to hide.
Pre-pandemic, Jerry was an outstanding employee: motivated, participative and vocal in meetings, and highly visible within the organization. He was generally liked by his coworkers, and he would sometimes join them for drinks after work. It was also no secret that Jerry enjoyed the occasional edible during non-working hours. Now that his job is 100% remote, Jerry no longer initiates contact with his colleagues, is slow to respond to messages and emails, no longer speaks during videoconferences, and during the infrequent times his camera is on during meetings, he looks strangely unkempt. No one has seen or heard of Jerry abusing drugs or alcohol, but his colleagues are starting to wonder about his change in habits.
Both anecdotal and statistical evidence suggest that remote and hybrid work have given rise to increasing use and abuse of drugs and alcohol while on the job — but out of view of co-workers and management. A recent Sierra Tucson survey reported that 20% of U.S. workers admitted to using recreational drugs while working remotely and 22% of...
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