Answer extracted from the MusterPoint Off the Clock podcast — listen to the full episode below.
How does industry culture normalize substance abuse in oil and construction work?
In the oil patch and construction industries, substance use—drugs and drinking—was an accepted, normalized part of the work culture. Not participating was actually seen as strange and suspicious; those who didn't drink or party were viewed as outsiders, with coworkers questioning what was wrong with them. This pressure to "fit in" and be "one of the boys" created an environment where substance abuse became progressively normalized throughout careers on the rigs.
The dynamics of these high-pressure industries run deep. Workers faced an inverse stigma: staying sober was the deviation, not the norm. Mike Collison, who spent a decade in the oil patch working extended hitches of up to 78 straight days and 46 consecutive night shifts, describes how the culture systematically pressured workers to participate in substance use as a condition of social belonging.
Social Conformity as a Gateway to Workplace Acceptance
The mechanism was straightforward but powerful: belonging required participation. Workers who declined drugs or alcohol weren't simply making a personal choice—they risked being labeled as outsiders or, worse, having their reliability questioned. The unspoken rule was clear: if you weren't willing to party and use substances like everyone else, you weren't truly committed to the team.
This culture became self-reinforcing. As Mike Collison explains in the episode, the pressure didn't arrive all at once but accumulated progressively over time. What started as social pressure evolved into a normalized expectation, and eventually into a framework through which workers understood their own participation as simply "how things were done."
"Without the ability to look in a mirror and see those things reflected back at you, until you can find someone else to walk that walk with you, you cannot heal."
Mike Collison — Oil rig worker and trades professional with a decade of experience in the oil patch. He worked extended hitches in Alberta, including shifts of up to 78 consecutive days and 46 straight night shifts. Collison is now in recovery and actively engaged in a 12-step program, having transformed his relationship with substance use after a period of active addiction.
The deeper issue was that this culture operated without accountability or visibility. The podcast explores how isolation on the rigs amplified this effect—workers were geographically separated from external perspectives that might have questioned the normalized behavior. What happened on the rig stayed on the rig, and the culture perpetuated itself because there was no outside pressure to change it.
See also
How does childhood trauma and abuse impact the development of addiction and risk-taking behavior in young people?
Mike explains that going through abuse left a void inside him that he didn't know how to fill. Without acknowledgement of the trauma and without someone to walk that path with him, healing remains blocked.
Key takeaways
- Substance use was normalized as a job requirement in oil and construction industries—not participating marked you as an outsider.
- Social pressure to "fit in" and be "one of the boys" systematically pushed workers toward substance abuse as a condition of workplace belonging.
- The culture was self-reinforcing and became progressively more normalized over the course of workers' careers, particularly in isolated environments like oil rigs.
- Recovery requires external support and visibility—the ability to see yourself reflected in someone else who has walked the same path.