Strengthening Leadership to Support Employee Recovery: A Pilot Evaluation of the Recovery Friendly Leader Training Program

Abstract

Background:

The Recovery Friendly Leader (RFL) Training Program (TP) developed an instructor-led, 2-day training: Addressing Substance Use & Demonstrating Inclusion (ASDI), which was piloted virtually under the Zoom platform.

Methods:

The pilot evaluation employed pre- and post-training surveys administered online via Qualtrics to registered participants. Quantitative responses were examined using a right-tailed Welch’s t-test to determine statistically significant improvements in participants’ knowledge and confidence from pre- to post-training. Eleven participants completed the pre-training survey and of those, eight also completed the post-training survey.

Findings:

The training program significantly improved participants’ knowledge and confidence in addressing workplace substance use (p < .05), with high engagement and strong intent to implement recovery-supportive strategies.

Conclusions/Application to Practice:

Analysis revealed the training was effective in increasing participant knowledge and confidence for identifying and addressing employee substance use and supporting recovery. Workplace policies ought to include structured, stigma-reducing leadership training programs to proactively support employee recovery and foster a recovery-supportive organizational environment.