Will you show up on time? Can you pass a drug test? These are the questions that employers are asking potential employees in the age of the opioid drug epidemic.
That is why Ohio Northern University hosted a forum to address the impact of drugs in the workplace and how it can affect the regional economy. They brought in the heads for Economic Development for Allen, Hardin, and Hancock counties to talk about initiatives that are going on to not only retain and recruit the needed workforce but to find ways reverse the negative impact the drug problem is affecting companies in our region.
“We see it on the news and we hear it and sometimes we don’t realize just how close it is to us. It’s happening every day in our community or it could happen every day in our communities. I think the severity of it is true. We see it because it’s impacting economic development and it’s impacting company’s ability to retain the workforce, that is so badly needed in today's economic climate,” said Jeff Sprague, Pres./CEO Greater Lima Region, Inc.
Sprague talked about the efforts that the Mental Health and Recovery Service Board is doing through their “We Care at Work” program. The "We Care at Work" program offers training for the employer and employees to promote a drug-free workplace.
