HR's Role in Supporting Recovery Friendly Workplaces: A Conversation with Michael Erisman
05/14/25 • 58 min
This eye-opening conversation with HR executive Michael Erisman discusses some barriers that can prevent meaningful support for employees in or seeking recovery.
Michael shares his powerful personal journey, beginning with a sobering realization on his 25th birthday that changed everything: "If you don't make radical changes, you won't see 30." Since that moment in 1989, his path through recovery has intertwined with a distinguished HR career spanning companies like Microsoft and GE across 160 countries.
Together we explore why companies default to the "box-checking exercise" of Employee Assistance Programs rather than creating truly recovery-friendly cultures. Michael challenges the common objections—fears of litigation, concerns about maintaining workplace social events, and uncertainties about appropriate boundaries—while offering practical wisdom for organizations ready to evolve.
What makes this conversation particularly valuable is how it bridges personal experience with professional expertise. Michael articulates what he calls "the air, food and water" of effective management: clear goals, feedback loops, and creating environments where people feel valued. These fundamentals create the psychological safety necessary for employees to seek help when struggling with substance use issues.
The potential impact extends far beyond those currently in recovery. As Michael puts it, "On the other side of recovery are some of the most amazing employees you can ever possibly get." People who have walked through addiction and recovery often bring extraordinary gratitude, honesty, and perspective to their work—qualities any employer should value.
Ready to explore how recovery-friendly practices could transform your workplace? This conversation provides both inspiration and practical next steps for creating environments where recovery is visible, normalized, and celebrated.
Other useful links from Brett:
- Sober Curious Consulting - Brett's Recovery Friendly Workplace consulting business.
- Brett's YouTube channel
- Washington Recovery Alliance - building the capacity of the recovery community to advance substance use recovery and mental health wellness by catalyzing public understanding and shaping public policy in Washington State.
- Recovery-Ready Workplace Toolkit - providing information, tools, and resources to help employers from all sectors—government, for-profit, non-profit, and not-for-profit—effectively prevent and respond to substance misuse in the workforce from the Department of Labor.
- Data on SUD in the US (2022) - from SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration). Link to my favorite PDF for statistics.
- Addiction 101 - it’s not a moral failing—it’s a treatable illness. Get the facts about this misunderstood medical condition from my friends at Shatterproof.
This eye-opening conversation with HR executive Michael Erisman discusses some barriers that can prevent meaningful support for employees in or seeking recovery.
Michael shares his powerful personal journey, beginning with a sobering realization on his 25th birthday that changed everything: "If you don't make radical changes, you won't see 30." Since that moment in 1989, his path through recovery has intertwined with a distinguished HR career spanning companies like Microsoft and GE across 160 countries.
Together we explore why companies default to the "box-checking exercise" of Employee Assistance Programs rather than creating truly recovery-friendly cultures. Michael challenges the common objections—fears of litigation, concerns about maintaining workplace social events, and uncertainties about appropriate boundaries—while offering practical wisdom for organizations ready to evolve.
What makes this conversation particularly valuable is how it bridges personal experience with professional expertise. Michael articulates what he calls "the air, food and water" of effective management: clear goals, feedback loops, and creating environments where people feel valued. These fundamentals create the psychological safety necessary for employees to seek help when struggling with substance use issues.
The potential impact extends far beyond those currently in recovery. As Michael puts it, "On the other side of recovery are some of the most amazing employees you can ever possibly get." People who have walked through addiction and recovery often bring extraordinary gratitude, honesty, and perspective to their work—qualities any employer should value.
Ready to explore how recovery-friendly practices could transform your workplace? This conversation provides both inspiration and practical next steps for creating environments where recovery is visible, normalized, and celebrated.
Other useful links from Brett:
- Sober Curious Consulting - Brett's Recovery Friendly Workplace consulting business.
- Brett's YouTube channel
- Washington Recovery Alliance - building the capacity of the recovery community to advance substance use recovery and mental health wellness by catalyzing public understanding and shaping public policy in Washington State.
- Recovery-Ready Workplace Toolkit - providing information, tools, and resources to help employers from all sectors—government, for-profit, non-profit, and not-for-profit—effectively prevent and respond to substance misuse in the workforce from the Department of Labor.
- Data on SUD in the US (2022) - from SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration). Link to my favorite PDF for statistics.
- Addiction 101 - it’s not a moral failing—it’s a treatable illness. Get the facts about this misunderstood medical condition from my friends at Shatterproof.
Previous Episode
Dr. Kevin McCauley - Understanding Addiction as Both a Brain Disease and Human Experience
Dr. Kevin McCauley shares his journey from Navy physician to addiction recovery advocate, offering profound insights on the neuroscience of addiction and various pathways to healing.
- Creator of the documentary "Pleasure Unwoven" about the brain science of addiction
- Became addicted to opioids after surgery while serving in the Navy
- Court-martialed and spent time in Leavenworth, where AA meetings provided crucial support
- Now works as a senior fellow at Meadows Behavioral Health Care
- Discusses evolving views on whether addiction is best understood as a brain disease
- Explains craving as the central symptom that matters most to those experiencing addiction
- Emphasizes the importance of connection in recovery while respecting different recovery pathways
- Shares personal struggles with sugar addiction and its neurobiological similarities to substance addiction
- Provides evidence-based information about cannabis addiction and weighs-in on "California sober"
- Identifies connection as essential for sustainable recovery
Dr. McCauley's videos online:
- Pleasure Unwoven 2010 (Neuroscience of Addiction): https://vimeo.com/347595250/df4ede31f7
- Memo to Self 2015 (Recovery Management): https://vimeo.com/347596435/deaf56bbea
Dr. McCauley also shared some podcast links with me about cannabis that you might want to follow to learn more:
- Curbsiders Internal Medicine - Cannabis Use Disorder: https://thecurbsiders.com/addiction-medicine-podcast/9-a-joint-conversation-cannabis-use-disorder-with-dr-deepika-slawek
- Addiction Files - Cannabis: Not Your Mother’s Marijuana: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-addiction-files-an-addiction-medicine-podcast/id1559434318?i=1000525527985
- Addiction Medicine Journal Club - Cannabis and CV Outcomes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/addiction-medicine-journal-club/id1632894325?i=1000660775957
Please subscribe to my channel whether you're listening on a podcast or YouTube.
Other useful links from Brett:
- Sober Curious Consulting - Brett's Recovery Friendly Workplace consulting business.
- Brett's YouTube channel
- Washington Recovery Alliance - building the capacity of the recovery community to advance substance use recovery and mental health wellness by catalyzing public understanding and shaping public policy in Washington State.
- Recovery-Ready Workplace Toolkit - providing information, tools, and resources to help employers from all sectors—government, for-profit, non-profit, and not-for-profit—effectively prevent and respond to substance misuse in the workforce from the Department of Labor.
- Data on SUD in the US (2022) - from SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration). Link to my favorite PDF for statistics.
- Addiction 101 - it’s not a moral failing—it’s a treatable illness. Get the facts about this misunderstood medical condition from my friends at Shatterproof.
Next Episode
Comprehensive Healthcare - SUD Division Chief in Yakima - Jon Schlenske
What if everything you thought you knew about addiction treatment was rooted in outdated thinking? After 26 years in the substance use disorder field, Jon Schlenske brings a perspective that challenges conventional wisdom while offering genuine hope for those struggling with addiction. Jon is Division Chief, Substance Use Disorders and Integrated Services at Comprehensive Healthcare in Yakima, WA.
This conversation traces Schlenske's journey from grassroots case management to his current role leading Integrated Care at Comprehensive Healthcare. His experience spans treating pregnant women with opioid addiction at Vanderbilt to developing hospital diversion and outreach programs.
At the heart of our discussion is a powerful reframing of addiction as a legitimate disease. Schlenske explains how it meets all the clinical criteria of other diseases – it has symptoms, it's progressive, it involves withdrawal, and it can be fatal. Yet society continues to treat those with addiction differently than people with cancer, diabetes, or heart disease. This stigma creates barriers to treatment while adding unnecessary shame.
The conversation doesn’t shy away from uncomfortable truths. With only one in eight people maintaining sobriety six months after treatment, Schlenske questions why outdated approaches remain dominant despite poor outcomes. He makes a compelling case for medication-assisted treatment, emphasizing how pharmaceuticals can provide the stability needed for deeper healing.
Perhaps most powerful is Schlenske's emphasis on hope and human connection. Instead of focusing solely on complex modalities, he suggests that recovery begins when we treat people with dignity and address the trauma that often precedes addiction. The path forward requires not just better treatment but a shift in how society views and supports those battling substance use disorders.
Whether you're struggling, supporting someone, or just trying to understand, this episode offers insights that could change how you think about recovery. Listen now to join the conversation about building more compassionate, effective paths to healing.
Comprehensive Healthcare
Jon Schlenske on LinkedIn
Other useful links from Brett:
- Sober Curious Consulting - Brett's Recovery Friendly Workplace consulting business.
- Brett's YouTube channel
- Washington Recovery Alliance - building the capacity of the recovery community to advance substance use recovery and mental health wellness by catalyzing public understanding and shaping public policy in Washington State.
- Recovery-Ready Workplace Toolkit - providing information, tools, and resources to help employers from all sectors—government, for-profit, non-profit, and not-for-profit—effectively prevent and respond to substance misuse in the workforce from the Department of Labor.
- Data on SUD in the US (2022) - from SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration). Link to my favorite PDF for statistics.
- Addiction 101 - it’s not a moral failing—it’s a treatable illness. Get the facts about this misunderstood medical condition from my friends at Shatterproof.
Addiction & Recovery Conversations with Brett Lovins - HR's Role in Supporting Recovery Friendly Workplaces: A Conversation with Michael Erisman
Transcript
Welcome to Recovery Conversations . My name is Brett Lovins . Today I have Michael Erisman . How lucky for me and for you . If you're a regular listener to my work , you'll know that Recovery Friendly Workplaces is one of my main jams . So to have somebody of his caliber from HR to talk about Recovery Friendly Workplaces and his experience as an HR boss
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