In Mexico, talking about addictions in the work environment remains an awkward issue, but numbers leave no doubt: it is a challenge that is costing millions and directly affects the productivity of companies.
According to official data from the Ministry of Health in 2024, the total costs associated with alcohol amount to 2.1% of GDP, that is, 552.2 billion pesos. Of that figure, 368,100 million correspond to productivity losses and 184.1 billion to medical care. Faced with these figures, the fiscal collection of the alcohol industry – 57.4 billion – looks minimal.
In this sense, the panorama with other drugs is also alarming. In the previous year, more than 172,000 people requested professional attention for problematic consumption: almost half by methamphetamines, 21.8% per alcohol, 13.3% per marijuana and 7% per cocaine. And if we consider that only one in seven people seeks help, we talk about more than one million active cases, many of them in full working age.
Beyond absenteeism and low productivity, the impact is reflected in accidents, health problems, violence and insecurity, which underlines the urgency that companies stop looking the other way.
Direct impact on organizations
The problematic consumption of alcohol and drugs translates into clear consequences for organizations:
- Low productivity, derived from cognitive and physical deterioration.
- Greater risk of accidents, inside and outside the work environment.
- Frequent absenteeism, by poisoning, abstinence, associated diseases or legal problems.
- Personnel rotation, with the additional cost of hiring and training again.
The effect is not limited to the individual who consumes. Its close environment – parents, children, couples and co -workers – also suffers the consequences, generating a circle of affectation that mine the organizational culture.
The main health institutions agree that the addiction or disorder for substance use is a chronic brain disease, characterized by compulsive consumption despite the negative consequences. It is not a moral defect or lack of will.
The most relevant: early prevention and evidence -based treatment work. Who manages to rehabilitate not only recovers his personal life, can also be reimbursed productively to the world of work.
Having a relative or a partner with addiction impacts everyone: it decreases productivity, increases absences and raises stress within the equipment. It can even cause anxiety or depression in those who live with the problem.
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The role of companies: from the sanction to support
Historically, the first approach of organizations was to sanction or fire the worker with consumption problems. However, experience has shown that this approach is limited and expensive.
In the United States, since the mid -twentieth century, large companies began collaborating with Alcoholics Anonymous (founded in 1935). Over time they verified that collaborators in recovery could not only reintegrate, but were more productive, committed and with greater potential for professional growth.
From that practice, employee assistance programs (PAE) were born in the seventies, which today cover mental health issues, well -being, financial advice and family support.
In Mexico and Latin America, Monte Fénix, under my direction, and with Dupont of Mexico as the first client, created the first employee assistance program (PAE) in the region. Over the years, it has benefited more than 7 million people, consolidating itself as one of the most effective tools to accompany organizations in this challenge.
Companies that have achieved consistent results against problematic consumption share certain patterns:
- They implement zero policy tolerance to alcohol and drug use to work.
- They demand congruence of leaders, as a visible example of politics.
- They establish clear protocols to detect, refer and reintegrate those who receive treatment.
- Train bosses and supervisors to identify alert signals.
- They promote information campaigns to sensitize all collaborators.
- They comply with NOM-035-STPS-2018, focused on psychosocial risks.
- They develop employee assistance programs that promote integral well -being.
These elements are not isolated: they are part of an organizational culture that recognizes that the health of the worker is also the health of the company.
A call to action
Addiction in the work environment is a silent challenge, but economic, human and social costs make it impossible to ignore.
Organizations that bet on timely prevention and attention not only protect their staff: they also strengthen their productivity, their reputation and their long -term sustainability.
In a world where human capital is the main engine of competitiveness, betting on welfare and support programs against addictions is not a luxury: it is a strategic need.
The problem exists and has a face. The decision that companies must make today is whether they will face it from indifference or from action. And the action, always, pays dividends.
The author is an opinion leader at national and international addictions. He was director of Monte Fénix and is the founder of the Monte Fénix Center for Higher Studies, Claider Clinics and Amesad. He is co-author of the book addictions, the growing challenge and has been recognized for his career with various awards, currently develops the Espinosa-Larrea Foundation. His vision has marked a before and after in the treatment of addictions in Latin America.
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