Alcohol y drogas en el trabajo. La pertinencia de un enfoque organizacional

Abstract

This study seeks to explain the contrast in Chile between the public concern with the production, traffic and consumption of illicit drugs and the relative absence of preventive programs in the workplace. The limited development of preventive health programs in general, the nearly inexistence of activities related to alcohol and other drugs and the difficulties to investigate the subject, is confirmed in a sample of large companies in the Metropolitan Area of Santiago. The problem is linked with the organizational culture that defines substance abuse outside the limits of corporate concerns, restricting it to an individual sphere, and favoring treatment and control measures. An unintentional agreement, based on ideological constructions, is postulated among managers, workers and health professionals, keeping the problem away from a preventive and collective assessment. The desirability of an organizational focus is suggested, as it would enable the positive development of the sustained effort and interest of many health, prevention and social service professionals, as an useful corporate resource.