Sober Curious Consulting

02/02/2026

The hidden cost of pretending substance use is a personal issue

Most workplaces avoid the topic of substance use. It’s seen as private, off-limits, someone else’s business. But silence still sends a message. And it comes with a cost.

You’ll see it in burnout, turnover, absenteeism, preventable safety incidents—things that get labeled as “performance issues” or “culture problems” when often they’re really about unaddressed substance use or mental health challenges.

Leaders don’t need to be therapists. But they do set the tone.

A simple move? Start naming it (as Brené Brown would say). In a team meeting, try:

“We know that substance use and mental health affect a lot of people. If you or someone you care about is dealing with that, you’re not alone here.”

That one sentence can shift the culture. It signals safety, not surveillance. And it’s a practical first step toward being a Recovery Friendly Workplace.

01/26/2026

"Recovery Friendly Workplace"? Ever heard of these three words strung together?

I ask this question a lot.
I’ve asked HR teams.
Safety professionals.
Union leaders.
Rotary clubs.
Executive groups.
Recovery Program Leads.
Judges.
Church Leaders.

To date, only one person has ever raised their hand and said they had seen those three words strung together before.

Not a knock on them. It’s a branding problem.

But wait, there's another branding problem right out of the gates too. Some people say "Recovery Friendly Workplace" and some say "Recovery Ready Workplace." Dang it. Well let me say to you, they mean the same thing. Moving on.

This is not a new idea. I didn’t invent it. There are national frameworks, state efforts, and years of work behind it. And yet, most business leaders and society at large has ever heard these 3 words strung together. "Recovery Friendly Workplace"

This matters.

When concepts don’t have shared language, they tend to stay invisible. And invisibility around substance use at work usually comes down to three things.

Fear.
Stigma.
Shame.

I’ve seen this from the inside. I helped build recovery friendly practices inside a large multinational company, and I now work with organizations of all sizes through my consulting practice. The concerns are consistent.

Leaders worry about doing the wrong thing, so they do nothing.
Managers worry about saying the wrong thing, so they say nothing.
HR worries about risk, so the topic quietly disappears.
But silence is not neutral.

Employees and their families are affected, whether business leaders realizes it or not. A lack of clarity is a signal. Avoidance is a message.

A Recovery Friendly Workplace does not have to be a massive program, though it can be. Starting very small and/or noticing what a company already does, awesome.

It is not about fixing people. It is about deciding ahead of time how your organization responds when real life shows up, which it always does.

If this phrase is new to you, totally cool. Starting with awareness is an excellent first step.

My goal here on Facebook is to share practical, business relevant ways to understand this movement and make it usable at work.

Even googling those three words is a start - you will find LOTS of stuff.
"Recovery Friendly Workplace"

This work matters. I’m grateful to be part of the effort to make it easier to talk about and easier to act on. By being a brand ambassador in this post: Recovery Friendly Workplace or Recovery Ready Workplace (means the same thing).

10/19/2025

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7385725680514281473/

"Drop the two drug and alcohol addicts..." Over the past few years, I’ve spoken with a lot of different groups - leaders, workers, parents, HR teams, rotary clubs, unions, people in recovery, treatment centers. I always enjoy the conversations afterward. Some share challenges at work or at home. S...