Background Drug users in treatment or exiting treatment face many barriers to employment when entering the job market, such as low levels of education and technical skills, and low levels of interpersonal skills. As a result of these and other barriers, employment rates in these groups are generally low. Objective This article examines the existence and possible predictors of specific barriers to employment related to interpersonal and technical skills in a sample of participants enrolled in a therapeutic workplace intervention for substance abuse. Methods In Study I (N = 77), we characterized and examined predictors of participant scores on a staff-rated scale of interpersonal skills (Work Behavior Inventory). In Study II (N = 29), we examined whether participants had lower levels of computer knowledge than job seekers in the general population, and investigated possible predictors of computer knowledge in the sample. Results In general, participants in Study I displayed low levels of interpersonal skills, and participants in Study II scored lower on the computer knowledge test than job seekers in the general population. Older participants tended to have lower levels of interpersonal skills and lower levels of computer knowledge. Conclusions and Scientific Significance These results suggest that providers of workforce development services for drug users in treatment or exiting treatment should attend to these specific barriers to employment, which may also be more pronounced among older clients.

The present analysis was conducted to validate an automated measurement system of noise violations by participants in the therapeutic workplace, which is a model workplace that offers paid employment and vocational training programs to illicit drug users. We collected data on dB levels via an electronic dB meter in a computer classroom with many different sound sources, and defined noise violations as sounds exceeding 55 dB. Human observers recorded whether staff or participants were responsible for violations, the types of events that resulted in violations, and whether these events were a result of participant behavior. Our analyses revealed that participants caused the majority of noise violations. These results suggest that the automated measurement system collects valid data on participant behavior that contributes to noise violations. Our results also suggest that these behaviors can in principle be modified to reduce the frequency of noise violations. Suggestions for replication in other settings and interventions designed to reduce behaviors leading to noise violations involving feedback and incentives are discussed.

Improving employees' posture may decrease the risk of musculoskeletal disorders. The current paper is a systematic replication and extension of Sigurdsson and Austin (2008), who found that an intervention consisting of information, real-time feedback, and self-monitoring improved participant posture at mock workstations. In the current study, participants worked in an applied setting, and posture data were collected at participants' own workstations and a mock workstation. Intervention in the mock setting was associated with consistent improvement in safe posture at the mock workstation, but generalization to the actual workstation was limited.