Employees no longer need to set foot in a casino to place their bet—or wait until after work. Today’s behavioural addictions travel in a pocket, fuelled by smartphones that make gambling, social media and gaming available around the clock.
These behaviours quietly erode productivity, increase presenteeism and are linked to mental health conditions including anxiety and depression. Excessive gambling may be correlated to substance use disorders; excessive social-media use carries the physical health risks of insomnia, obesity and carpal tunnel syndrome.
More employers are telling Sabrina Yau, Registered Psychotherapist and Clinical Educator at EHN Outpatient Services, that they are “more and more concerned about productivity in the workplace.”
Not unexpectedly, modern-day addictions are more prevalent in younger adults. Based on current research, approximately one in three adults aged 18 to 29 gamble online. They are predominantly male. Excessive users of social media use average about 2.5 hours a day. They are predominantly female after age 35.
Breaking the cycle
Yau emphasizes that behavioural addictions are real. Clinicians increasingly recognize that behaviours such as excessive gambling, social media use, shopping and gaming can become as compulsive—and as disruptive to a person’s life—as addictions to drugs or alcohol. Stress, anxiety, loneliness and emotional pain can initiate these behaviours, which provide temporary relief due to the brain’s release of dopamine. Over time, the brain begins associating the behaviour with the relief, making it increasingly difficult to break the cycle.
Biological factors such as genetics and brain chemistry, psychological issues (including anxiety, depression or unresolved trauma), and social influences (ranging from financial stress to workplace relationships) can all contribute to behavioural addictions. Understanding those underlying drivers is key to helping people recover. “It’s important to assess the whole individual,” says Yau. “It’s not just about the behaviour itself. What’s everything surrounding that?”
Hidden workplace impact
One challenge for the workplace is that behavioural addictions often don’t show up in the same way as other health issues. “You’re not going to see that in any of the benefits data. You might see it in somebody’s absence, but that can be anything. There are not a lot of hints that it’s there,” says Paul Sabat, Managing Partner at the Consulting House, a member of Benefits Alliance.
“People aren’t showing up to work intoxicated,” he adds. “Gambling can be done on your phone now…people could be doing this on their lunch break.”
Rather than obvious signs of impairment, managers are more likely to notice subtle changes in behaviour, such as mental distraction, that lead to declining productivity and increased presenteeism. Recognizing those subtle changes early can make a meaningful difference, said Yau, who encourages employers to pay attention when an employee’s behaviour falls outside their usual pattern. Increased irritability, persistent stress, withdrawal from friends and family, hopelessness and relationship conflict may all signal the need for support.
Sabat suggests plan sponsors bring in their benefits advisor to determine what specific supports for behavioural addictions are currently available through their health benefits providers. He also recommends asking employees for their opinions. “Surveying your employees—not just on that, but on their entire benefits program—gives you useful information that you can use to help shape the benefits program,” he says.
In his experience working with clients, a fair number conclude their benefits plan could do more to support plan members with behavioural addictions. While it can be difficult to weigh where to invest limited benefit dollars, the cost of doing nothing can be much more significant.
As in all areas to do with mental health, the removal of stigma is key. Employers have been key to making progress in this area in recent years by raising awareness through regular communication channels and management training. It’s time to add behavioural addictions to the conversation. “It’s just moving from being reactive to more preventative and proactive,” says Yau.