The statistics are sobering, yet often invisible in our day-to-day work environments. According to KFF research, 29% of Americans, nearly one in three, report that either they or someone in their family has been addicted to opioids. If you’re a business leader reading this, that percentage isn’t abstract. It’s your workplace. It’s your team. It’s the person in the next office or on the next video call.
Through our Opioid Stigma Reduction Impact Team, we’ve worked alongside Arizona employers who are discovering something crucial: the opioid crisis isn’t something that happens “out there.” It’s woven into the fabric of our workplaces, affecting productivity, safety, culture, and most importantly, the lives of people we work with every day.
The Workplace Connection
Stanford research reveals that three-quarters of U.S. employers report their workplace has been directly affected by employee opioid use, through absenteeism, impaired performance, accidents, or worse. This isn’t a public health issue that exists separately from business operations. The workplace touches 60% of adults who report past-year opioid misuse, positioning employers in a unique and powerful position to make a difference.
What makes this particularly relevant now? The data shows patterns we can’t ignore. Studies indicate that opioid overdose rates spike by 22% during the holiday season compared to other weeks of the year. The combination of family stress, financial strain, social isolation, and for many in recovery, reduced tolerance levels after periods of abstinence, creates what public health experts describe as a “perfect storm” for relapse and overdose risk.
Why Employers Matter
The workplace represents more than just a location where Americans spend 40+ hours per week. For many individuals struggling with opioid use disorder (OUD) or in recovery, their job provides structure, purpose, health insurance, and a community of support, all critical protective factors.
Yet many employers feel uncertain about their role. Leaders worry about overstepping boundaries, violating privacy, or inadvertently increasing stigma. HR teams want to help but lack clear frameworks for action. Managers notice warning signs but don’t know how to respond appropriately.
This uncertainty is understandable, but it shouldn’t lead to inaction. Employers don’t need to become treatment providers or counselors. What they can do, and what makes a measurable difference, is create environments where:
- Education replaces stigma: When teams understand OUD as a medical condition rather than a moral failing, it changes workplace culture fundamentally.
- Resources are accessible: Employees know where to turn for help, whether for themselves or a family member, without fear of professional consequences.
- Recovery is supported: People returning to work after treatment encounter policies and practices designed for success, not failure.
- Prevention is prioritized: Workplace practices around injury management and pain treatment consider OUD risk factors.
Moving from Awareness to Action
Recognition is the first step. Understanding warning signs, unexplained absences, changes in performance, behavioral shifts, or physical indicators, helps leaders respond with compassion and appropriate resources rather than disciplinary action alone.
But awareness without action doesn’t change outcomes. The employers we’ve seen make real progress share common characteristics:
- They educate their teams. Not just HR or leadership, but across the organization. When everyone understands the basics of OUD, how it develops, and how recovery works, the entire culture shifts.
- They examine their policies. Drug testing policies, leave policies, return-to-work protocols—these administrative details become matters of life and death when viewed through the OUD lens. Progressive employers are asking: Do our policies support recovery or make it harder?
- They connect to resources. No single employer can solve this crisis alone, but every employer can be a bridge. Knowing what treatment options exist, what employee assistance programs cover, and what community resources are available makes the difference between an employee getting help or continuing to struggle in silence.
- They lead with humanity. The most effective interventions we’ve witnessed start with a simple premise: the person struggling with OUD is someone’s colleague, someone’s report, someone’s employee—and fundamentally, someone deserving of dignity and support.
Your Next Steps
If you’re an Arizona employer reading this and thinking “we should be doing something,” you’re right. And you don’t have to figure it out alone.
Valley Leadership, in partnership with Arizona’s business and public health communities, has developed a comprehensive resource specifically designed for employers: the OUD Business Toolkit. This free resource provides:
- Practical guidance on policy development
- Educational materials for your team
- Response protocols for various scenarios
- Connections to treatment and recovery resources
- Real examples from Arizona employers who’ve implemented effective approaches
The toolkit is designed to meet you where you are, whether you’re just beginning to think about this issue or looking to strengthen existing programs.
Access the OUD Business Toolkit now at oudbiztoolkit.org
The opioid crisis is complex, but your response doesn’t have to be complicated. It starts with education, continues with compassion, and is sustained through practical resources and community partnership.
Your team is already impacted. The question isn’t whether to engage with this issue, it’s how quickly you’ll equip yourself to respond effectively.
Valley Leadership develops collaborative solutions to regional challenges through engaged business leadership. Learn more about our Impact Maker Health Group and other initiatives at valleyleadership.org.