Employment of Ex-Drug Addicts as a Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative: The Malaysian Employer’s Perspective

Relapse together with stigma and perceptions are serious challenges that need to be addressed promptly. Past literature is with the view that the issue of relapse occurs due to several stressors, including unemployment. Scant frameworks exist on the strategic development that promotes the employment of ex-drug addicts to reduce the relapse rate. In the same vein, this study seeks to discover the misperception and stigma surrounding the employment of ex-drug addicts in Malaysia as well as to explore employers’ views in hiring those ex-drug addicts as part of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative. This study is consistent with qualitative research based on interviews with eight Malaysian employers. This study found that the hiring of ex-drug addicts as a part of the company’s CSR initiatives may(a) reduce the relapses of drug addicts (b), it will uplift the CSR ratings of the subjected companies and (c), it will increase the compliance of the companies with Sustainable Development Goals through the subjected CSR initiatives. In line with that, this study proposed a novel strategic framework by aligning the subjected CSR initiative with social sustainability and subsequently to Sustainable Development Goals. The proposed strategic framework will insight policymakers and employers into contributing to sustainable development through hiring ex-drug addicts.