For some companies, drug screening is usually an important part of the hiring process. This is not surprising considering its benefits and how it helps keep everyone safe and productive at work. A good example of its benefits is evident in a Cornell workplace study.
The study that was carried out by Cornell’s School of Labor Relations showed that injuries were reduced by 51% in construction firms that tested for drugs among their employees.
However, many companies only carry out their drug testing procedures during the employee hiring stage. This is both good and bad. Good in the sense that you will be able to quickly weed out people who could compromise your workforce, and bad because they could get clean for the hiring process and then resume drug consumption after they are hired. This is why you may want to consider carrying out random drug testing.
The idea behind random drug testing exercises is that they are meant to keep all employees on their toes and help them kick the habit if they are already hooked on illicit drugs. Random drug testing is a very controversial subject and often attracts the wrath of the privacy advocates.
However, the real question and issue is, do these exercises ever work? Do they help cut down on illegal drug consumption on and off the workplace? Are employees more productive when random drug screenings are carried out in the office, or are they scared and jittery, something that compromises the ability to think creatively?
Well, multiple studies have indicated that random drug screening does help curb the inflow of illicit drug users into the workplace. In addition to that, it has also helped lower or curb excessive employee absenteeism, lowered compensation costs incurred by the employer, reduced the number of accidents that happen while on the job and outside the workplace, boosted productivity, and enhanced performance.
Should You Carry Out Random Drug Screening?
Frankly, that depends on your goal or the current happenings in your office. If there’s been lots of absenteeism, increased or frequent on-the-job accidents, lowered productivity, increased sick days, and general low morale at work, you might want to give a try; after ensuring that there aren’t other possible reasons of course. Just make sure you’ve got a professional handling the drug screening.
What to Do in the Event of a Positive Result
If, during a drug screening, you find that one or more of your employees have been using, there are various steps you can take:
- Retest the individual just to be sure. Sometimes, there are false positives during a drug test and some food substances or legal drugs can mimic the effects or behavior of illicit drugs. This way, you can be 100% certain that there’s no error.
- Watch Out for excuses. This will most assuredly happen. If an employee tests positive, call him/her privately and address the issue. There’s no point in addressing it publicly. Expect that they will have excuses, but seeing as you did a confirmatory test, they will not be able to fool you.
- Offer an Employee Assistance Rehabilitation Program. You should not have to terminate an employee’s appointment just because they tested positive for illicit drugs. In fact, some state laws prohibit it. That said, offer them a chance for rehabilitation while relieving them of any safety-sensitive positions and tasks. Most will jump at the opportunity to redeem themselves.
- Put them on probation. After the have been rehabilitated, it is time to ensure that they stay clean. You want to ensure that their recovery is permanent. During this phase, you could gradually increase their responsibilities until you are confident they will not slip into the habit again. Oh, during this probation period, you may need to carry out random drug screenings just to be sure they are still clean.
- Termination. If, after all these, the employee refuses to be rehabilitated, then it is time to let them go. Do it swiftly and without any regrets, otherwise pitying them could put your company in jeopardy later on.
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The writer, Oscar King, is presently a freelance writer with experience in human resources, and is intimately familiar with the problems that crop up as a result of drug abuse. If you wish to learn more about Oscar you can visit on Google+.
