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Creating a Recovery-Friendly Workplace


Receiving a designation as a Recovery-Friendly Workplace by the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services requires businesses to meet specific training and policy requirements (follow the "Next Step" links at the bottom of the page). Once a business feels those requirements have been fulfilled, an Application of Interest can be submitted for review by a team of recovery experts.

    Culture Change

    Developing a Recovery-Friendly Workplace requires a culture change for most organizations and businesses. This culture change must include principles and activities such as:

    • Welcome all qualified job applicants - diversity is valued
    • Include healthcare benefits that treat mental illness and addiction with the same urgency as physical illnesses
    • Have programs and/or practices that promote and support employee health – wellness and/or work-life balance
    • Provide training for managers and supervisors in the signs and symptoms of addiction and mental health including identification of performance problems that may indicate worker distress and possible need for referral and evaluation
    • Safeguard the confidentiality of employee health information
    • Support employees who seek treatment who require hospitalization and disability leave, including planning for return to work
    • Ensure “exit with dignity” as a priority should it become essential for an employee to leave his or her employment
    • Provide employees with information regarding the Employee Assistance Program (EAP); equal opportunity employment, the reasonable accommodations policy of the Americans with Disabilities Act, health and wellness programs, and similar topics that promote an accepting, anti-stigmatizing, anti-discriminating climate in the workplace.

    Additional Resources

    On the page linked below are a variety of additional resources, including screening tools to assess behaviors for possible substance abuse and guides to locating addiction treatment resources.