Employee Attitude Crystallization and Substance Use Policy: Test of a Classification Scheme

Abstract

Previous research suggests that employees are often unaware of or ambivalent toward substance abuse policies. These studies focus on one policy component-drug-testing-and fail to distinguish employees with clear (or crystallized) from unclear attitudes. The current study explored a broader view of policy and examined both personal and situational factors that may determine attitudes. Survey data from employees in three municipalities support a distinction among five attitude categories; those who are: (a) dissatisfied with efforts to control employee abuse, (b) satisfied, (c) anti-policy, (d) pro-policy, and (e) uninformed. Discriminant analyses suggest that different profiles characterize these attitude groups. For example, dissatisfied employees report low personal alcohol use, high co-worker alcohol use, and low self-referral whereas anti-policy employees report high personal drug use, high co-worker use, and low job identity. Discussion focuses on policy as a social construction and the implications of attitude distinctions for employee training.