12% of New MBAs Would Report Drug Use at Work

New business school graduates are far less likely to report a colleague’s drug use to management or personnel departments than their employers would expect, according to a new survey.

Only 12% of 710 new graduates of 12 top business schools surveyed this spring by the University of Pittsburgh said they would report a colleague’s cocaine use to the management or personnel offices.

Fifty-nine percent said their initial reaction to witnessing a colleague’s cocaine use would be to talk to that colleague, while 30% said they would suggest counseling and 16% said they would take no action.

In comparison, 44% of 100 corporate recruiters who responded to the survey said they would expect employees to tell a manager about the incident; 29% said they would expect an employee to report it to the personnel office.

Only 13% of the recruiters, who included college relations and staff relations managers, said they expected employees to talk to the colleague.

The survey also found clear differences between the attitudes of female and male MBA graduates.

For example, although 82% of the overall graduate pool said they were likely to rule out companies or entire industries because of their lines of business, women were more likely than men to do so.

Of those who expressed a preference, about 70% of the women polled said they would not work for tobacco firms, compared to fewer than 60% of the men. And 50% of the women said they would not work for defense contractors, versus about 35% of the men.

More women than men also said they would avoid employment at investment banks, alcohol manufacturers and investors in South Africa.