Meth’s Economic Impact on Employers

According to a study produced by the University of Arkansas/Sam M. Walton College of Business, employers are losing thousands of dollars a year due to Meth use by employees.  In the final report of The Economic Impact of Methamphetamine Use in Benton County, Arkansas, commissioned by the Benton County Methamphetamine Task Force, researchers extrapolated that each Meth user costs an employer an average of $47,500 annually.  In Benton County alone, Meth use by employees was estimated to cost just over $21 million annually.

In the Benton County survey, 4.3% of respondents admitted to using Meth at some time in their lives; 0.5% to using within the last year; 1.4% to using Meth at work and 0.9% took unplanned sick or personal days as a direct result of their Meth use.

The study examined the six major categories of cost Meth users impose on employers: Increased absenteeism, lost productivity, increased turnover, increased employee theft, increased worker compensation claims and increased healthcare premium costs. 

Many workers use methamphetamine to stay awake for second jobs or to sharpen concentration. But use of the drug ultimately costs both workers and employers big.

Positive drug tests for amphetamines in the workplace jumped 6 percent last year and 44 percent in 2003, even as use of other drugs appeared to decline. "Drug abuse in the workplace is decreasing, but ironically, methamphetamine positives are increasing," said Mark de Bernardo, executive director of the Institute for a Drug-Free Workplace in Washington.