When drinking spirals into alcohol addiction, it's up to everyone to lend a supportive hand and help an individual toward recovery.
With alcohol addiction rates on the rise, the impact on health, mental wellness and the workplace has become hard to ignore. Around 30 million people struggle with alcohol addiction, and it's estimated that nearly 140,000 people die from alcohol-related causes each year, according to the CDC. Employers have a unique opportunity to combat these statistics and provide support through healthcare benefits, mental health access and through the workplace itself, which can offer a structured environment for employees to heal and eventually thrive.
Read more: How this CEO used his own experience with addiction to change substance use treatment
As April is Alcohol Awareness Month, take a look at the stories of employees who have utilized these benefits to guide them out of addiction, along with the offerings that make the biggest impact on recovery outcomes. Overcoming an addiction is not easy, but employees can benefit from a guiding hand.