Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Workplace Drug Testing For Safe Working Environments

By Daniel Turner


Drug testing at work has been commonplace for many years. It is no longer seen as so evasive, but it is still a controversial topic. In this article we are going to concentrate on the advantages of workplace drug testing of your employees. They far outweigh any disadvantages, and the process is being encouraged more and more.

As the boss of a company you are well within your rights to want to know if any of your employees are using drugs or have an alcohol problem. Wanting to know these facts is not an invasion of their privacy. It is protecting yourself. Imagine if drunk staff were allowed to operate machinery or drive company cars. So, let's just talk about a few of the pros of tests at work.

First and foremost, it promotes a healthier and safer working environment. Your health and safety will always be at risk if you don't carry out testing. You may suspect that an employee is using, but you won't have the concrete evidence that you need. Team members who take drugs are putting your company at risk, and need to be stopped. Operating machinery, driving vehicles, and handling chemicals are three areas you really need to be very careful with. If your staff members are under the influence of alcohol or drugs more accidents will happen.

Imagine an accident at work resulted in the death of a member of the public, and the person responsible was under the influence. That would cause enough negative exposure to close your company down for good. Being lax on drugs policies is not worthwhile, and running a work environment that is not safe should never be allowed to happen. As the employer, you will face public liability claims if an accident occurs, and if drugs are discovered, you may as well cease trading straight away before you are forced to do so.

Accidents do occur at work, but they will be reduced when you screen your staff for drugs and alcohol. If your employees are aware that they could be tested at any time, they will be less likely to risk their job. So, what to do if someone does test positive for drugs. Here you can offer counseling and help, or dismiss the person in question. If you offer help and support you'll supporting your workforce. Dismissal will not stop the person in question from taking drugs.

Rehabilitation is important for those with problems with drugs and alcohol. Carrying out tests can help addicts. The problem they have will be unearthed sooner and they will then go on to receive the help they need.

So let us look at how the tests are carried out. They don't necessarily require blood testing. Saliva and urine can be used. But be aware that people can try and trick results by bringing the urine of someone else to work.

With a drug test program in place at work, productivity will increase. Your employees will be happy and healthy and moral will be high. Theft will decrease, as will anti social behavior. Your health policy insurance costs will also decrease.

Really there are no negatives to drugs tests, and you can use a program prior to employing people as well as once they are part of your workforce. People who are adverse to tests are often people who are using drugs or who drink too much. These types of people are not the type of staff you really want for your company.




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