Joannie Corbett remembers that many Alberta workers turned to alcohol and drugs in a “significant way” in the late 1980s and early ’90s.

It was a time of corporate bloodletting and unusual stress. But as the decade unfolded, she says, people got hold of their issues – at least in the workplace.

Today, she sees the problem creeping in again.

“Anecdotally speaking, in the last three years or so I’ve started to see an increase in people who are using alcohol and drugs that are getting them into trouble on the worksite,” says Corbett, a partner and chartered psychologist with Janus Associates.

Her comments come in the wake of a recently published major Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission (AADAC) workplace survey that compares trends in 2002 and 1992. The survey concludes that the majority of workers don’t drink or do drugs at work.

But Corbett worries times may be changing. “There are more people describing to me that they are using drugs and alcohol more frequently to medicate their stress. They are doing it on their personal time – and from what I hear, it is spilling over into the workplace. Some are showing up hung over . . . some are coming in high.”

Based in Calgary, Corbett manages employee assistant programs (EAPs) for large and medium-sized firms. She specializes in occupational and workplace-related issues and performs many initial assessments around alcohol and drug issues.

In serious alcohol and drug cases, she often refers workers to AADAC’s business and industry clinic in Grande Prairie, a facility that opened in 1994 at the urging of the Alberta business community.

Clinic manager David Nesbitt says AADAC’s study comparing 1992 and 2002 substance abuse trends shows alcohol and drugs remain a concern.

David Nesbitt

“I would say that 10 years ago, alcohol was the biggest problem,” Nesbitt says. “It is still our primary concern, but now we’re seeing that drugs (primarily cocaine and cannabis) combined with alcohol are a problem as well.”

The $175-a-day clinic offers a 30-day alcohol treatment program and a 50-day cocaine treatment program.

Business people had called for such a facility for years. The idea is to treat people as quickly as possible – clients are usually accommodated within seven to 10 days of a referral – and then get them back to work.

They approach employees by getting them back to work before they can build up emotional “obstacles” that can often hamper their return.

Nesbitt estimates that organizations pay for approximately 70 per cent of the 180 people who use the facility each year.

“What is clear from the 2002 study is that the workplace is taking a different view about alcohol and drug problems,” Nesbitt says. “In the past, they weren’t necessarily viewed as a problem. It’s clear that certain things are not condoned or supported anymore.”

The study – Substance Abuse and Gambling in the Alberta Workplace, 2002 – replicated a survey done in 1992. It surveyed 2,836 workers, 755 employers and 88 union representatives.

Among many findings, it showed a marked decline in the availability of alcohol in the workplace. Ten years ago alcohol was available in 56 per cent of workplaces surveyed. In 2002, it was down to 19 per cent. Meanwhile, drinking at lunch dropped to 11 per cent from 28 per cent.

“Companies are aware of the potential for liability,” Nesbitt says. “I think we learned that from the Exxon Valdez (oil spill).”

Like Corbett, Nesbitt recalls the impact that downsizing had in the early 1990s and understands the new stresses faced by workers. He has been with the clinic since its doors opened in September 1994 and has spoken with scores of clients.

Whether blue-collar employees or CEOs, workers have made alcohol or drugs a lifestyle, he says.

“The thing with addictions is that we get caught in habits or patterns. In crisis we may rely on a substance more. It’s a way of managing life.”

According to the study, levels of substance abuse have remained fairly constant. In 2002, about 10 per cent of Alberta workers engaged in harmful or hazardous drinking and one per cent were at risk for probable alcohol dependence.

The pattern of illicit drug use has remained steady, with the exception of cannabis. In 2002, 10 per cent of those surveyed reported using cannabis compared to six per cent in 1992.

Nesbitt says in one sense, he’s encouraged by what he sees today. Many companies understand that employees are their greatest asset, and they require maintenance just like the machines they use, he says.

“Companies that have used us, over time, have to use us less because they have developed policies and procedures where they can catch it early,” he says. “That’s a very positive thing.”

Interestingly, co-workers are also ready to help. The 2002 survey asked workers how they would respond to a fellow employee with a substance abuse or gambling problem. Employees said they would give the person advice (45 per cent), report the person to a supervisor (27 per cent) or suggest the person get help (21 per cent). Seldom would they help a co-worker avoid getting caught (one per cent).

The study concludes that overall, the Alberta workforce is healthy with regard to substance abuse: The majority of workers don’t drink or do drugs on the job.

Corbett, however, worries that the pendulum may be swinging – that what she knows is occurring at home may be carried into work.

Every other day she assesses a person who is abusing drugs or alcohol on a serious level. In some cases, the use of cocaine, crack cocaine or crystal methamphetamine is scary, she adds.

Unlike a decade ago, people aren’t worried about losing their jobs. But many are overworked, overextended and suffer from anxiety.

“I would classify anxiety as the epidemic of the new millennium,” she says.

“People are highly anxious and they feel overwhelmed with their lives because they’ve got so much going on. They don’t know if they are coming or going.”