From the prevention of “addictive behaviors” in the workplace to an ecosystemic approach to psychoactive substance use

In the field of preventing addictive behaviors in the workplace, the current policy guidelines meet major resistance during implementation. Based on the results of action research focusing on local appropriation of a national prevention experiment, this article examines the cognitive and organizational obstacles to ecosystemic prevention of psychoactive substance use. By following the work of project managers in the network of regional agencies of the Agence Nationale ­­d’Amélioration des Conditions de Travail, it also characterizes the conditions and ways in which the prescribed guidelines can be surpassed. These vary greatly depending on the specific features of each region and the configuration of actors involved. Setting the prevention of addictions in the workplace within the analysis of the organization, working conditions, and employment thus involves various processes ranging from distancing to emancipation.