He’s one of your best employees, but lately, he seems to be having trouble concentrating. He doesn’t have the energy that he had before his injury and has even begun coming back late from his lunch breaks because he falls asleep while sitting in his car.
He told you he was prescribed OxyContin for the painful back injury he sustained on the job. Is this a case of opioid overuse or dependence? And if it is, what should you — his supervisor — do about it?