Understanding the Impact of OUD on Your Business
The opioid crisis has a significant impact on Arizona businesses, and it is important for employers to address the issue. In fact, your team may already be affected by opioid misuse.
Research shows that 75% of employers report that opioid use has impacted their workplace and 17% report feeling well-prepared enough to address the issue. In fact, overdose deaths at work have increased 7 years in a row. If your business is concerned about productivity, business costs, culture, employee satisfaction, workplace safety, family dynamics, or healthcare costs, you should look into addressing OUD at your workplace.
Interested in finding out the financial impact of opioid addiction on your business? Calculate your workplace costs through factors like lost time, job turnover and retraining, and health care at the National Safety Council website.
Understanding the Cost of OUD in Arizona
The cost of the opioid crisis in Arizona has tripled over the past decade, according to Glenn Farley, Common Sense Institute Arizona's Research Director. In 2022 alone, the cost of the opioid crisis in Arizona reached a peak of $53 Billion. What factors contribute to these rising costs?
The largest impact on this cost arises from opioid overdose deaths, which reached a confirmed 372 in 2022, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
The cost is further increased by a reduced level of productivity and quality of life for those suffering with opioid addiction, coupled with costs of law enforcement and medical treatment.
Arizona as a state also faces the unique challenge of border security expenses. According to Farley, these costs have “roughly tripled over the past decade from about $15 billion in 2010 to over $50 billion this year”.
This cost was especially exacerbated when border drug law enforcement was forced to shift to migrant processing with the increase in migrant crossing at the border. Jobe Dickenson, Executive Director of Combined Law Enforcement Association of Arizona, stated that since border patrol is now tied up with the increase in illegal migrant crossing, the task of seizing drug loads which are not stopped at the border has fallen to them.
The crackdown on prescription painkillers also resulted in higher demand for fentanyl-laced street drugs and fentanyl overdoses. Fentanyl pills are also being made to look like brightly colored candy, which diminishes their great danger. Maricopa County Attorney’s Office prosecutor Rachel Mitchell warns communities about the mistake of not taking fentanyl seriously, and of the “immediately addicting” properties of the drug.
How Your Organization Can Take Steps to Address OUD
Businesses who make the effort to help employees navigate OUD and get the recovery support they need are able to become an employer of choice and take advantage of benefits such as increased ease of recruitment and higher employee morale and loyalty. Studies have shown that supporting employees dealing with OUD can also reduce risk of errors and injuries, lower worker’s compensation costs, and curb HR complaints and requests for issue resolutions.
Take advantage of all of these benefits by utilizing our free tools and resources to support your organization! Get started with our Employer Intake From and Checklist to equip your workplace in the 6 primary areas:
Leadership
Policies
Communication
Human Resources
Benefits
Employees
Get Started Making Meaningful Change Today
The impact of OUD on Arizona Businesses is costly and increasing every year. If you want to benefit your business by helping employees navigate OUD and get the support they need on their road to recovery, get started with these three steps:
Take our quiz to identify where your business is currently
Schedule 30 minutes to review your internal policy
Build education into an employee benefit presentation - leverage your brokers!