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How a Drug Addiction Can Affect Your Career

You may already know how devastating an addiction can be. Perhaps you know someone who has been affected by drug or alcohol abuse; maybe you are suffering yourself. In any case, addiction is a serious issue which can take a toll on life and significantly affect your career. In fact there is no single career that an addiction will not destroy. Even the most elite, exclusive, high profile positions can be ruined in a very short time. If you do not want to succumb to an addiction, the best choice you can make is to get help.

How a Drug Addiction Can Affect Your Career

You may already know how devastating an addiction can be. Perhaps you know someone who has been affected by drug or alcohol abuse; maybe you are suffering yourself. In any case, addiction is a serious issue which can take a toll on life and significantly affect your career. In fact there is no single career that an addiction will not destroy. Even the most elite, exclusive, high profile positions can be ruined in a very short time. If you do not want to succumb to an addiction, the best choice you can make is to get help.

Career Mishaps Resulting from an Addiction

Unless you’re very lucky, or have a special degree, most people start their career at the bottom and work their way up to a desired position. This happens whether or not you have a degree and is an opportunity to grow with the company and learn about your role. This is a vital time which is overseen by people above you. The impression you give off can literally make or break your career. Likewise, for people who may have already passed these early days, you are there to set an example. Still, there will be people watching your behaviors and overseeing decisions you choose to make. Either way, addiction can affect your career. It can rob you of everything you worked so hard to build, leave a negative imprint of your personality and hinder your performance. A drug addiction can have an effect on things like:


Performance – This is often the most notable action in the workplace when you abuse drugs. Whether you are a working at a restaurant or sitting in a board meeting room, abuse will affect the way you function and impair your performance. This can be identified from the very early days of using and more heavily as you develop a tolerance and full blown addiction.

Missing Work – You may frequently call into work late or just not show up all together because you either overslept or are too hung-over. Keep in mind that it is not only alcohol which causes hangovers. Having someone enable your work absence may seem convenient, but the harsh reality is that it actually makes the entire issue worse. These patterns will not give you any points in your bosses’ eyes and can result in a warning, suspension or even firing.


Finances – Apart from the fact that certain jobs can retract of your pay when you take more time off than allocated by the company, a drug addiction is can be expensive.  If you have an addiction, there is a good chance you’re spending a large amount of money on getting drunk or high. You may be relying on your career to cover these expenses. Moreover, you may even depend on bonuses or a near future raise to further your habit. If you’re not performing up to your bosses expectations, all of these things can be lost. Should things get to a point in which you are suspended without pay, or made redundant, you must ask yourself “how you will fund your habit?” Regret – There are a lot of careers which revolve around the care of others and attention to small, but important details. Doctors, pilots, aviation patrol, police officers and other similar careers put the lives of numerous people into their hands day in and day out. Although these people are highly respected around the world, their careers also carry a high risk of addiction. If your job involves the care of other people, impairment resulting from your own abuse could lead to something you may regret forever.


A drug addiction affects a career, but it also hinders everything in your personal life. It can prevent you from buying a house, getting married, going on vacation or having children. It can also lead to legal problems, relationship issues and severely impact your physical and mental health. In a worst case scenario, addiction could cost you your life.

Statistics on Drugs in the Workplace

According to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, drug and alcohol addictions affects an assortment of different careers including the service, maintenance, mining industry, construction and office industries the most.

They have found:

  • Workers who engage in alcohol abuse are 2.7 times more likely to have an injury as a result of drinking than their non-drinking co-workers.
  • Breathalyzer tests detected alcohol in 16% of emergency room visits due to an injury occurring at work.
  • When reviewing workplace fatalities, 11% had been drinking.
  • One-fifth of workers and managers across a multiple common industries and company sizes state a coworker’s drinking have jeopardized their own productivity and safety.
  • People with three or more jobs in the last five years are twice as likely to abuse drugs or alcohol.
  • 70% of 14.8 million American drug abusers are employed.
  • Marijuana is the most common drug used in the workplace, followed by prescription medications and cocaine.

Save Your Career and Overcome an Addiction

Whether you are abusing prescription medications, drinking too much alcohol or using illegal substances, an addiction can result. This can be just the beginning to a long, continuous circle of emotional pain, mental strain and physical torment. Many addicts in recovery will say that these things as a whole are far worse than the short lived euphoria and temporary distraction. If you’re reading this, it’s not too late to get help. In fact, you likely realise there is a problem that needs to be addressed. By taking action, you can overcome a drug addiction. More importantly, you can feel more alive than ever and even save your career.


Siam Rehab is an drug and alcohol rehab in Thailand. We strive to help people maintain their profession or discover a career they’d like to begin after treatment. Our counsellors will help to develop career plans which will enable you to go back into the real world with an idea of what you can do to live a positive, healthy way of life. You’ll be able to identify reasons for using and start to work through them in a supportive environment. If you would like to know more about our private rehab centre, contact Siam Rehab today.