The 3M alcohol and other drug prevention program: Description and evaluation

Abstract

In 1989, 3M developed a comprehensive alcohol and other drug prevention program using multiple and interactive strategies aimed at altering workplace culture and promoting employee "ownership" of the program. The three core components of the program included a ten-hour supervisory training program; a 2-1/2 hour all-employee program designed to discuss 3M policies, clarify personal alcohol-use guidelines, and promote dialogue about appropriate responses to and responsibility for a range of alcohol and other drug issues both inside and outside the work environment; and a peer helper program. The program was piloted in 1990 and 1991 in a manufacturing plant in a small midwestern community. An evaluation study comparing change in experimental and control sites demonstrated reduced alcohol consumption, improvement in employee and supervisor prevention skills, and a decrease in incidents in which substance use negatively affected work performance. Plans are in process to refine and then replicate the program in 70 manufacturing sites over a three-year period.