YOUR SAY: One in ten Aussie workers have been to work on drugs

Ten percent of Australian workers have been to work while they felt the effects of drugs, a new poll has revealed.

Research undertaken by the Australian Drug and Alcohol Foundation, who polled 1000 workers aged 18-55, found that almost one in ten respondents had attended their workplace feeling the effects of drug use. 

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They also found that six percent of workers had taken a day off to recover from drug use, and that seven percent had clocked on actively under the influence.

The foundation estimates that drug use, including alcohol, costs Australian businesses six billion dollars a year.

The survey covered all drugs – illegal, legal and pharmaceutical.

The research also found that one in five people had come to work hungover or still drunk.

The Foundation's head of workplace services Phillip Collins to the Herald Sun that both employers and employees were unaware of the extent to which weekend drug use could affect workers.

"You could take drugs on the weekend and still be feeling the effects of the drugs on the Monday and Tuesday because the drugs take a long time to get out of the system," he said.

"We really need to start educating workers on how the effects of their recreational ­activities spill over into the workforce.

"There is only a small percentage of the population that will actually consume any form of drug; the biggest drug that is used is alcohol and that is one that should be given a lot more attention within organisations," Mr Collins said.

Despite the findings, Collins said mandatory drug testing wasn't necessarily the answer, except in industries where lives depended on it, such as construction, mining, transport and aviation. 

Author: Lachlan Williams; Approving Editor: Simon Black