Do you have a “recovery-ready workplace”? Here’s how to cultivate a culture inclusive of people with histories of substance use for a happier, healthier, and more productive workforce.

Key takeaways

  • Millions of Canadian workers have histories of substance use. But since they often don't speak up for fear of backlash, the issue may be more widespread at your company than you realize.
  • Creating a recovery-ready workplace can increase feelings of inclusion and belonging, which drive work wellbeing. It can also reduce healthcare and turnover costs and boost performance.
  • To build psychological safety, offer peer support, normalize discussing mental health and substance use disorders, and update inclusion and belonging initiatives. 

It was his first company happy hour since getting sober, and Indeed Director of Workplace Operations and Facilities Chris Powell found himself in an awkward position: A well-meaning coworker kept offering him a drink. After two polite refusals, he finally put it bluntly: “No, thanks. I’m an alcoholic.”

It's a scenario many in recovery know well. For Powell, it was a turning point.

“I always feared people would see me as less. But after that interaction, I realized that the biggest critic was myself,” Powell says. Rather than shunning him, his coworkers were more considerate from then on, giving him the confidence to be transparent about his recovery at work. “It wasn't about the alcohol,” he adds. “They just wanted me to feel included.”

While Powell says Indeed has created a safe space for employees like him, this often isn't the case. Even in a welcoming workplace, stigma can still pose a silent barrier that prevents people from seeking the help they need, potentially putting their lives at risk.

“When I hit rock bottom, I didn't know what my options were, and I was terrified of going to HR,” says Michael Kenny, a technical lead with Indeed's Business Operations and Support Solutions (BOSS) team. Weighing the option of entering a rehab facility, he inquired about taking FMLA leave, mentioning only a vague “health issue” (FMLA is up to 12 weeks of US federally protected unpaid leave for various health concerns—varies by province and territory in Canada, according to the Canada Labour Code). 

Ultimately, Kenny elected to detox at home for six days using Indeed's open paid-time-off (PTO) policy—then went right back to work. Detoxing at home without medical supervision can lead to severe complications like seizures, hallucinations, heart palpitations, and worse, while detoxing without further recovery treatment makes relapse more likely. Kenny says that, looking back, he and his family wish he’d taken a longer leave. But the fact was, he was wary of putting his job at risk for rehab, describing the fear of having a target on his back if word got out.

“If people are struggling, and their one reason for not getting help is that they're afraid of losing their job, that could be the difference between life and death,” Kenny says. Even well into his recovery, he was still hesitant to disclose his experience at work. “I didn't want to threaten promotions, opportunities, or relationships,” he says. “I was afraid of being singled out.” 

While everyone's recovery journey is unique, these experiences are common. Nearly 50 million Americans (and about 5 million Canadians) have one or more substance use disorders (SUDs, including alcohol use). Roughly two out of three US adults with SUDs are employed (over half in Canada), not to mention countless others who are close to someone in recovery or active addiction.

“There's a misconception that having a history of substance use impacts a particular group of people, but it knows no bounds,” says Global Work Wellbeing Team Lead Sarah Sloan in the Total Rewards organization at Indeed. “It impacts every culture, gender, and socioeconomic status. It does not discriminate.” 

The benefits of a recovery-ready workplace can be life-changing for employees. It can mean the difference between opportunity and barriers to better work, between better lives and continued struggle. It can improve work wellbeing and productivity, as an example, in the US, employers can save four dollars in healthcare costs for every dollar invested in treatment programs. Compared to other workers, those in recovery in the US take “nearly 10% fewer days of unscheduled leave per year” on average, while accounting for 12% lower turnover compared to overall turnover rates.

Here are four ways to help remove the stigma in your workplace and support employees in recovery. 

Four ways to create a recovery-ready workplace

1. Cultivate a community supportive of recovery

Peer support networks can help break the silence around SUDs and improve inclusion and belonging. Given the sensitive nature of recovery, it doesn't have to be a formal organization with face-to-face meetings. 

For example, Recovery at Indeed is a “community group,” an informal gathering of employees who share interests and experiences, that exists only as an internal Slack channel. The group welcomes both people with a history of substance use and their friends and families. Members monitor the channel to lend encouragement to those who need it; while they say it can be quieter than others, its impact is significant. 

Amy Maldonado, an Apprenticeships Program Associate at Indeed, says the group became a safe space and sounding board that has seen her through early recovery and beyond. “The more vulnerable I became, the more vulnerable other people would become,” she says. “The Recovery at Indeed community understands. They know exactly what you're going through, and there is no judgment." 

2. Consider substance use in your inclusion and belonging initiatives

However, don't place the burden of cultivating a safe environment at work on employees in recovery — take action with inclusive strategies. Neglecting to factor substance use into your inclusion and belonging efforts can have an outsized impact on minority groups. Research shows that the intersection of race, gender, and sexual orientation influences the risk of substance use problems, with sexual minorities generally having an increased risk. 

As you audit your initiatives, consider these three primary areas:

  • Work environment: Do your company happy hours and holiday parties include activities other than drinking (think crafting, trivia, or games), as well as food and non-alcoholic drink options? These practical gestures, not platitudes, make a meaningful difference.
  • Education and training: Consider creating a company glossary of inclusive language in a “say this, not that” format so everyone in the organization is on the same page and can avoid using harmful language that might stigmatize others. Additionally, ensure your psychological safety and unconscious bias training courses (for both people managers and individual contributors alike) address mental health and substance use disorders. At Indeed, employees can also access optional training that supports greater work wellbeing and inclusivity. For example, Maldonado credits Rajkumari Neogy's Biology of Belonging Bootcamps with enabling her to learn coping strategies, make connections, and get to a better place in recovery. (Learn about Neogy’s strategies for supporting psychological safety in the workplace.)
  • Benefits and resources: Review your employee health benefits and Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to determine whether they unfairly exclude or stigmatize those with health needs related to substance use. What substance use treatments do they cover, and which do they exclude? Could your plan be more inclusive of this need? Do you offer online counselling and telehealth options through your plan or EAP that people with SUDs (or their household members) might be more willing and able to use?
In the 2023 Indeed-produced ad "Happy Hour," a worker recognizes and supports his colleague’s sobriety while co-workers enjoy a typical office happy hour nearby.

3. Normalize recovery in conversations about company benefits 

Even if your benefits are inclusive, many employees in recovery may be unaware of their options — or afraid to ask. Provide greater clarity around recovery-related health resources, such as how to take extended time off to enter rehab or access mental health services. Be specific in your language, using words like “recovery,” “substance use,” or “alcohol-use disorder” about general health benefits that might be used to address these issues. Then, boost their visibility through employee newsletters and internal messaging channels. 

Powell suggests highlighting your recovery-friendly resources and work culture during onboarding to set more people up for success. “Make it something that goes out to every new hire so they know they’re in a safe environment and can learn how to reach out with questions or to get help,” he says. “Call out the things that could be uncomfortable and take that stigma out of it.”

4. Lead with empathy and transparency 

Creating a recovery-ready workplace is a top-down undertaking, so encourage your executive team to talk openly about it. Members of Recovery at Indeed say the simple act of company leadership sharing their own recovery stories helped them feel more confident in their recovery at work. 

However, managers can often make the most difference in someone's daily life. For instance, Talent Attraction Coordinator and Facilitator for Recovery at Indeed Rebecca Foster says having a manager who supports her sobriety gives her the flexibility to attend recovery meetings. 

“My manager considers my recovery to be the most important aspect of my life, as it directly affects my mental, physical, and spiritual health,” she says. 

Strengthen your workforce with recovery-ready practices

Though biases about the risks of employing someone with a history of substance use persist, "having a substance use disorder is not a moral failing or weakness, nor does it indicate a lack of talent," Sloan says. Anyone can experience mental or physical health challenges at any time, and people in recovery are no different or less deserving of support. They have often overcome significant obstacles while engaging in deep, ongoing personal development, making them an asset to organizations. 

Drawing from their personal experiences, members of Recovery at Indeed say people in recovery bring many positive qualities to the table, including passion and focus, the ability to remain calm under pressure, earnestness, and conviction. Some say they now have enhanced emotional intelligence, better communication skills, and the ability to empathize. Others say they have become more efficient and productive, earning promotions at work.

“The ability to make a massive change in their lives takes a lot of guts and will.” It's a really scary thing to do. It takes a lot of consistent work, and I think that benefits employers,” Powell says. 

Thinking back to his first Indeed office happy hour years ago, he wonders how things would have been different in a less supportive work culture. 

“I would hate for someone else to have to go through the same scenario I did and not feel safe enough to say, ‘I'm an alcoholic,’” Powell says. “If I didn't open up back then, the next time it would have been harder to open up, the next time it would have been even harder, and I doubt I'd be sober today.”