There’s no denying it—the opioid crisis is a safety issue. In 2022, 81,806 people died from opioid overdoses and 14,716 of those involved prescription drugs. And while overdose incidents are commonly framed as an off-the-job hazard, the fact is that 525 of the people who died overdosed while they were at work. 

Indirectly, opioid use amplifies other hazards too. The use of any mind-altering substance increases human factors like fatigue and distraction, which can lead directly to injury-causing errors at work, at home and on the road. Opioid use disorders (OUDs) increase a person’s risk of suicide by a factor of 14.

Identifying the opioid crisis as a workplace hazard is the first step to protecting your organization from its effects. The next steps are a little more difficult. OUD is a highly stigmatized illness, which means that even acknowledging that it can affect your employees and their families can be difficult, let alone taking the necessary steps to save lives in the event of an overdose. Stigma is a byproduct of culture, and culture can be changed through leadership skills that can affect the safety climate. One of those skills is active leadership.

Active leadership is a proactive skill that helps workplace leaders inspire action and directly affect change in the workplace. When you listen to employee feedback and implement solutions in a timely manner, when you communicate clearly with workers on a regular basis, and when you take the initiative to make your workplace safer by setting tangible goals—this is active leadership. In the case of protecting workers from the hazards presented by opioids, here are some steps that workplace leaders can take that will fight stigma and equip employees with the tools to respond to overdoses or seek recovery with confidence.

1. Add naloxone to first aid kits

When an overdose happens, you need to be equipped to respond. That means having naloxone at the ready. Naloxone—sometimes referred to by the brand name Narcan—is a medicine that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose. It’s fast-acting, easy to use and only works on people with opioids in their system. Naloxone poses no risk if the person administering it misidentifies the signs of an overdose.

Available as an injectable or a prepackaged needle-free nasal spray, naloxone belongs in your first aid kits. While death from an overdose can take up to a few hours, survival is dependent on a bystander’s ability to respond, and this is where naloxone is critical. An individual experiencing an overdose may have slow or shallow breathing, or even go into cardiac arrest. Naloxone can restore normal breathing quickly and allow a responder to proceed with CPR or other life-saving measures while waiting for emergency crews to arrive.

In addition to having a life-saving tool on hand, adding naloxone to your first aid kits is also a strong first step in fighting OUD stigma. Despite the statistics showing how common opioid use is, many people might not think that an opioid overdose is something they will ever encounter. By including overdose response medicine next to common items like bandages, bandaids and antiseptic, you will send a powerful message: opioid overdose can happen here and we are prepared.

2. Distribute educational materials

Active leadership requires effective communication—so take a proactive approach to spreading practical and educational information about the realities of opioid use. With such a stigmatized topic, there’s quite a bit to cover. Here’s a list of topics that can further prepare your employees for the realities of the opioid crisis:

• How to recognize the signs of an overdose
• How to respond to an overdose emergency
• Where to access online or in-person first aid training that includes overdose response
• Where to access confidential support for addiction recovery

Information on each of those bullet points can be distributed in multiple ways. Posters and take-home handouts are good options, and you can include them as topics in toolbox talks too. There’s even enough information about opioid crisis safety for a digital display presentation. However you choose to communicate this vital information to workers, be sure to actively engage your workforce with these educational resources. Point out the posters, ask them what they think of the presentations, talk to them about how important this knowledge is, and ask them their opinions. Nothing helps break stigma more effectively than talking about taboo topics.

3. Communicate with inclusive language

Of course, not all types of discussion proactively dispel stigma. In order to maintain a positive and safe work environment, it’s important to build a common language that doesn’t alienate people who have substance use disorders. Applying active leadership in this regard involves setting an example by using vocabulary that avoids conflating substance use with dirtiness, weakness or shame.

This can be as easy as swapping out slang with commonly used alternatives:

• Instead of “addict” or “junkie,” say “person with substance use disorder (SUD)” or “opioid use disorder (OUD).”
• Instead of “clean,” say “substance-free.”
• Instead of “drug problem” or “substance abuse,” say “drug use” or “misuse”

Remember: not every opioid emergency is caused by OUD; people can accidentally overdose on their prescribed medication.

Be sure to use this stigma-busting language in conversation, during toolbox talks and in your printed communications. When talking to workers, be patient as they also learn the terminology, reminding them of the less harmful words without blaming them if they’ve misspoken.

Beyond the direct effects of using inclusive vernacular, developing a common language in your workforce is a sign of a strong culture. If everyone is using the same words to talk about a hazard, and no one feels attacked or belittled by those words, then workers will be more likely to respond effectively to an overdose incident when it occurs.

Strong safety culture saves lives

One of the best ways to protect workers and their families from the deadly effects of the opioid crisis is by building a strong safety culture. By demonstrating active leadership with these action items, you are doing your part to minimize this invisible hazard.

Active leadership is just one of six leadership skills identified by our researchers as effective in changing a workplace climate. Check out our white paper, “Six Leadership Skills for Improving Safety Climate,” and see what else you can do to improve the way things are done at your facility regarding opioid safety.