Addiction epidemic among French employees. According to a new study, positive alcohol or narcotic tests have increased by 107% in eight years in companies. The positivity rate, therefore, doubled from 2.6% in 2017 to 5.3% in 2025. The consumption marked in particular an acute increase after the Covvid period.
It was carried out by the Ithylo (which produces these projections) in a wide range of employees (more than 100,000 samples), mainly in the construction, energy, transport and industry sectors. You should know that companies are authorized to have these unexpected and mandatory practical tests for employees in the so -called “hypersensitive” publications, that is, for what drug use, it presents a serious danger to them and their colleagues.
13 times more cases of positive cocaine
According to the results, the use of cocaine exploits particularly, with 13 times more positive cases in cocaine in eight years. If this drug seemed previously reserved for certain urban festive or executive circles, it has now been established, even among the workers.
Cannabis remains the most selected substance (1.8% of positive employees). Alcohol, on the other hand, records a clear peak at night, especially after 17 hours and Friday, with rates up to twice average.
Most vulnerable temporary workers
But then who are the employees who consume in their workplace? The most precarious workers are the most vulnerable to the risk of addiction. Temporary workers are particularly concerned: although they represent only 15% of the total sample, they only concentrate 25% of positive cases in cannabis, 31% to cocaine and 18% to alcohol.
According to several studies on the subject, there is an overexposure to addictions for employees who have more difficult working conditions: in times of particular compensation, isolation, low group integration and lack of access to information or prevention.
Half of temporary workers say they do not know who to resort in the case of suffering linked to consumption. Many also fear that they are informed that they cost their mission. “The effectiveness of a prevention policy is measured by its ability to achieve the most fragile,” explains Jean-Jacques Cado.
“They had consumed together”
Group cases have even been observed. Jean-Jacques Cado particularly quotes the example of a night’s nightlife, where 7 temporary workers housed together had been positive for cocaine. “One of them had brought the substance and had consumed together,” he said.
This phenomenon is accentuated in night teams, often less framed and more isolated, where the tests reveal up to 1 positive employees in certain sites. According to the study, these figures suggest substance use as a compensation tool: stay awake, stay physically, handle boredom or simply get out of a painful rhythm.
However, it should be taken into account that the study highlights addictive behavior in work circles due to the composition of the sample, which does not mean that drugs or alcohol are absent from the offices.
Support instead of discarding
These behaviors can be very dangerous, for the employee himself and his colleagues. The risk of serious work accidents is multiplied by 2 as soon as there is an excessive consumption of weekly alcohol (at least 2 glasses per day in women and 4 glasses per day in men), according to the study “the addictive behavior of the active population”, thanks to the records of cohort figures.
But when does it happen when an employee gets positive for psychoactive substances? “In most cases, companies will have a support process to help the employee out of their addiction,” says Jean-Jacques Cado.
Obviously, in case of recurrence, disciplinary sanctions can be taken as dismissal. But at first, it is not the most effective because the employee can find a job in a less similar company, according to the specialist.
“The exam is not a trap, nor a stigma. It is a benevolent electrochoque. It reveals what the collaborator does not dare to say, what hides under pressure, loneliness or exhaustion,” he explains. His company offers in particular a confidential listening line that allows interested employees to discuss with a health professional, sometimes for the first time.
The INrs (National Institute for Research and Safety in Labor) advises employers in particular to implement prevention actions, in consultation with the CSE and the unions. In particular, it can be a matter of evaluating and limiting psychosocial risks (which play a role in addictive behaviors).
The company can also limit alcohol consumption in the workplace (during pots, for example). For example, you must systematically provide non -alcoholic beverages and make employees available to what to eat.
Source: BFM TV
