What is the real cost of employee substance abuse?

“An interesting statistic I learned recently is 46 per cent of people that get better from substance misuse actually do it on their own: They get educated, they learn, they get hope, they get advice, and they start to course-correct. They change their behaviour, and it doesn’t lead into full-blown addiction,” says Baiden.

As well, the program offers peer-coaching, in which a like-minded person partners with the employee seeking help, and this has proved to be a real boon for those who are suffering, he says.

“Really, the idea is it’s using love, it’s using motivation, positive psychology, motivational interviewing, it’s getting a connection with that person, and then starting them down this journey.”

Finally, there is the care management platform that includes the “gold standard” in suicide prevention, he says, which is the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS).

“If an individual comes back as medium- or high-risk for suicide, we have a live intervention to that person within 20 to 30 seconds, and then get them the help that they need,” says Baiden.