It may seem counterintuitive that people whose lives were once dominated by drugs or alcohol could turn around and become a company’s most valuable asset. Yet many corporate executives have discovered that giving recovering addicts a second chance at success is more than charitable outreach to a disadvantaged group; it’s good business.

Because a career in the field of addiction treatment is a logical choice for many recovering addicts, I’ve had the opportunity to work with some extremely talented people who may have been overlooked in other fields.

In addition to earning a living, careers in this field give the recovering addict a chance to draw on their firsthand experience in relating to clients and to fulfill the 12th Step; carring the message of hope to others still suffering from addiction.

I’ve always believed that empathy is a core part of what makes us human – and what makes the world a place we can and want to share with others. And I’m certainly not alone.

“Increasingly, neuroscientists, psychologists and educators believe that bullying and other kinds of violence can indeed be reduced by encouraging empathy at an early age,” reported Maia Szalavitz in an April 17, 2010 article in Time. “Over the past decade, research in empathy — the ability to put ourselves in another person’s shoes — has suggested that it is key, if not the key, to all human social interaction and morality.

Without empathy, we would have no cohesive society, no trust and no reason not to murder, cheat, steal or lie. At best, we would act only out of self-interest; at worst, we would be a collection of sociopaths.”

Given the importance of empathy, it is disconcerting that today’s college students are 40 percent less empathetic than those in the 80s and 90s, according to a 2010 study from the University of Michigan. These findings and others leave me questioning: In our competition- and independence-obsessed culture, has empathy become an outdated concept? Do parents care about raising empathic children anymore?

There’s always that one parent that makes the rest of us look bad. You know, the one that buys all the cool tech gadgets, doesn’t believe in curfews, and gets friended by their kids (and their kids’ friends) on Facebook. Although we envy any parent that gets more than one-word answers out of their teenager, is being “cool” worth the cost?

If being cool means being up on all the latest teen trends, relating to things teens care about like technology or celebrity gossip, or having the kind of relationship where your teen can tell you anything, go on making the rest of us look like dweebs.

But if your teen starts experimenting with drugs or alcohol or taking risks that put them in danger, it’s time to take a hard look at what coolness has really gotten you.

Recovering from an addiction is probably one of the most difficult tasks a person can do in their lifetime. There is a whole industry that specifically addresses helping people overcome an addiction, whether it be from a drug, alcohol, or now, even a behavior.

Drug and alcohol addiction remain a serious problem in this country, as well as many others. Surprisingly, nearly 75 percent of all adult illicit drug users are employed, as are most binge and heavy alcohol users, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. In the United States, it’s estimated that companies and organizations lose up to $100 billion a year due to employee alcohol and drug abuse, according to the The National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information. The destruction to a person’s private life, relationships, friends and family is often immeasurable.

Substance abuse and alcohol abuse treatments are effective and do work. Not only does it help the abuser, it also begins the recovery process to help them repair their relationships with others.

So learning more about how addictions work and what methods are used in their treatment seems like a good idea. That’s why I’m happy to welcome Dr. David Sack, a board-certified addiction psychiatrist and CEO of Elements Behavioral Health. He’ll be blogging here on the topic of addiction and addiction recovery. You can learn more about him here.

Please give a warm Psych Central welcome to Dr. Sack!