Impact of Work From Home on Substance Use

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“In spite of workplace safety issues, a study of more than 500 construction workers in New South Wales conducted last year found one in six workers reported workmates being visibly affected by alcohol on building sites”

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a significant increase in the number of people working from home. This has raised concerns about the potential impact of substance use on work performance and safety.

Before the onset of COVID in early 2020, only 8 percent 1 of Australians 2 regularly worked from home. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 3 , more than 40 percent of Australians were working from home by the first half of August 2021.

The next release of data from the ABS (which will include Work from Home data), is due at the end of 2023. Whilst the percentage of workers working from home, may not remain at 40 percent, it is certain that hybrid working arrangements, with some days working from home are likely to stay for
many workers.

Risks associated with substance use don’t disappear because someone is working from home. These risks include:
● Impairment of work performance. Substance use can impair judgment, decision-making, and coordination, which can lead to errors and accidents.
● Increased risk of accidents. Substance use can also increase the risk of accidents, both at home and in the workplace.
● Violation of workplace policies. Workplaces have policies prohibiting substance use on the job. Working from home does not exempt employees from these policies.
● Liability for employers. Employers remain liable for ensuring a safe workplace including if that workplace is in the home.

A drug or breathalyzer test cannot establish a level of impairment in an individual. A test is designed to establish the presence of a substance that your organization has determined (usually in accordance with the relevant Australian and New Zealand Standard) is prohibited in persons who
attend your worksites or who are performing work for your organization.

If someone is performing work for your organisation from home, their home workspace is a worksite for your organisation. As employers we are responsible for the safety of a worker working from home.

1 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-10/return-to-office-work-from-home-covid-australia/101230206 (accessed 22/6/23)

2 Obviously, this data is Australia specific and has a lot to do with the nature of the lockdowns and the demographic profiles of this jurisdiction. The data for other jurisdictions such as New Zealand may differ

3 https://www.abs.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/more-40-cent-australians-worked-home  (accessed 22/6/23)

Therefore, if someone is performing essentially the same tasks from home as they are performing at work and they would be subject to drug and alcohol testing at work, then they must still be subject to testing.

How testing might be performed is outside the scope of this article, but you should be discussing this with your testing provider

During COVID, the supply and availability of licit substances such as alcohol continued unabated although some outlets such as pubs and clubs were closed from time to time.

Border closures meant that for a time some illicit substances such as cocaine were harder to obtain. Other drugs such as cannabis continued to be available.

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) 4 , during the early phases of the pandemic, spending on alcohol was higher than the previous year by over 30 percent 5 . This trend continued in 2021 and we suspect will have continued since.

The National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program (NWDMP) measures and reports the presence of selected illicit drugs at regular intervals. The AIHW noted a marked decrease in Methylamphetamine and MDMA use in the 2020/21 reporting period from NWDMP data. MDMA use, for example, reduced by 53 percent in this period whilst Methylamphetamine use decreased by 21 percent. Cocaine use also decreased by 17 percent.

During the same period, cannabis use continued at pre-COVID levels according to the same source. Interestingly and contrary to the wastewater data, self-reported use of cannabis during this period increased significantly with self-reported and perceived increases during each wave of up to 50
percent.

With the borders now open and supply resuming for substances such as Methylamphetamine, MDMA and Cocaine, we expect to see a rebound in use to pre-pandemic levels. Alcohol consumption in the home appears to have stabilised at higher levels than pre-pandemic and cannabis use (non-prescribed) is at least at pre-pandemic levels.
The difference in many cases, testing for people who are working from home, has often reduced substantially or been abandoned altogether. Testing is clearly linked to reduced substance use.

If substance use was deemed a risk worthy of testing for pre-pandemic, it is clear those risks have not gone away. Testing of workers, whether they are working from home, or at the worksite, remains an important safety measure.
Decisions that affect safety are still made and still require clear head wherever work is performed.
If your staff work from home, you have an obligation for a drug and alcohol free workplace, testing is still an important component of your safety regime.

4 https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/alcohol/alcohol-tobacco-other-drugs-australia/contents/impact-of-covid-19-
on-alcohol-and-other-drug-use (accessed 22/06/23)
5 March 2019 $999.3b to March 2020 $1318.7b