If you have doubts about regular drug testing in the workplace, this short guide will help you determine why it should be mandatory.
Thanks to the latest advances in modern-day medical technology, business organizations have the means to perform regular drug tests in the workplace and ascertain whether the workforce has recently taken any drugs.
It’s one of the safest, fastest, and most effective methods of determining whether your employees or job applicants are on drugs, including alcohol, illicit drugs, and prescription drugs. However, drug testing should be as unobtrusive as possible to make this a routine.
If you establish a clear policy and share it with your workplace, along with proper education about alcohol, substance, and drug abuse, you could train and educate your employees to avoid taking any illegal or harmful substances.
In addition, you should also consider developing a workforce assistance program that aids team members who struggle with alcohol or drug abuse. Let’s talk about the best reasons for regular drug testing in your workplace and how it can help business leaders and employees.
Reasons for regular drug testing in the workplace
Aside from apparent health and safety hazards in your organization, alcohol and drug abuse significantly impact your workforce’s productivity, efficiency, and morale.
It leads to a lot of negativity in the work environment that could demotivate your employees and expose your company to many unnecessary issues, including extra costs, medical and healthcare claims, short-term claims, etc.
Workplace drug testing should be mandatory for the following reasons:
- It prevents hiring candidates that abuse illicit drugs;
- It helps to establish a safe, positive, and highly productive workforce;
- It allows businesses to develop a healthy company culture for all employees;
- It protects the general public;
- It pictures your brand as employee-centric;
- It prevents your workforce from abusing alcohol and drugs;
- It ensures you and your workforce comply with state laws and federal regulations.
Now, let’s delve deeper into the advantages of Los Angeles drug testing in the workplace, so you have all the facts to develop an employee-friendly drug testing routine.
Advantages of workplace drug testing
We’ll mention some of the essential benefits of workplace drug testing.
Encourage your employees to take responsibility.
Workplace drug testing can help a business increase employee responsibility and awareness regarding abusing illegal substances, as well as how it could cause harm to themselves, customers, and coworkers.
Business leaders should always lead by example and teach their employees about responsibility. Educating your workforce about responsibility can help develop a certain sense of self-confidence among your employees.
Identify team members who need professional help.
The most effective way to identify employees using drugs is to conduct workplace drug testing regularly. You’ll manage to filter out substance-abusing team members so that you can find a way to help them.
In most situations, people with alcohol and drug problems won’t seek help independently. However, drug testing allows you to mitigate their issues and provide professional assistance by appointing them to suitable institutions and rehabilitation programs.
Improve the safety and health of your workforce
A responsible and productive workforce is the best way to ensure a healthy company culture. Regular drug testing helps business leaders enhance their employees’ health and safety by encouraging a healthy and active lifestyle.
Your employees are less likely to abuse any substances if they know you’ll test them from time to time. Additionally, regular drug testing can help to reduce the risk of accidents or injuries in the work environment.
Ethical principles of mandatory workplace drug testing
Ensuring regular drug testing in your workplace requires completing a range of procedures to ensure the entire process is accurate, valid, and unintrusive to your workforce. If you plan to make it mandatory for job applicants and employees, there are a couple of ethical principles. Here’s a quick overview.
Informed consent
If abstinence from alcohol and drugs is mandatory in your workplace, your employees and job applicants should know about it. They should also know about your workplace drug testing practices so that they can give their consent.
Employee confidentiality
The employee’s privacy and discretion should be your highest priorities regarding the outcomes and repercussions of the drug testing procedure. Employees shouldn’t have access to the test results of their colleagues, and the entire process should be discreet.
Processing positive tests
If a drug test comes back positive, there should be clear steps regarding how to proceed. A positive test should require repetition to be sure of the outcome. An employee should be able to explain their actions and lay down their defense.
Support and justification
Business leaders should consider their options regarding providing options and support to employees who come positive. Specific measures could help mitigate the situation by offering to transition positive employees to more suitable positions.
Moreover, you should provide your workforce with clear reasons why you think workplace drug testing should be mandatory. If you justify your actions, it’ll be easier to make drug testing a regular practice in your organization.
Conclusion
Workplace drug testing should be mandatory, especially for businesses where job expectations include working with dying or sick individuals, serving a large target audience, working changeable or excessively long shifts, and exposure to traumatic or stressful situations.
Your employees should be able to understand the seriousness of your actions and how mandatory workplace drug testing can help them and the entire collective. If your workforce understands the requirements, it’ll be easier to prepare them for the procedure and get their consent.
Need A Massage? Learn How To Give One To Yourself And Your Loved Ones
Receiving a massage, whether it’s given by someone else or self-administered, can help loosen your muscles and establish a better connection not only with your body but also with the people you love.
