Drug and alcohol abuse is a severe problem that requires immediate attention. These issues can cause challenges in the workplace and personal life. A drug test is a simple way to identify a drug abuse problem that could help take the next necessary steps for recovery.
In organizations, drug tests can significantly help identify individuals with a history of drug use. But how exactly can these tests benefit? Well, let us find out here.
Enhanced Safety
Creating safe workplaces for employees is an essential responsibility of any employer. Drug use by any working employee could negatively impact their safety while also putting others’ safety at stake. Especially in sectors involving quick decision-making and the operation of heavy machinery or sensitive equipment, impaired judgment and motor skills can put the complete workforce present in the environment at risk.
Drug and alcohol use can drastically reduce reaction rates and increase incidents and accidents during work, leading to higher compensation claims. Drug testing allows for identifying workers who are incapable of handling their work responsibilities ably, including keeping sensitive workplace information before or while deploying them on the field to enhance safety.
Mobile Testing For Instant Results
Mobile drug tests are growing in popularity, primarily due to their ability to give quick results on the site. Typically, drug tests require time between allocation, sampling, and evaluation, leaving some room for manipulation and contamination. Also, workplace tests would require making tough calls about whether or not the employee can work until the results arrive, leading to losses on both sides.
Quick drug tests can eliminate lengthy and hassled processes to evaluate an employee or potential candidate. With mobile drug test, one can reduce the downtime, receive an immediate evaluation of a person’s capability to work, and increase productivity. Your organization can know right away if a candidate is a right choice or not.
Improved Productivity
Drug use among employees can incredibly influence productivity. Individuals under the influence of prohibited substances tend to work less efficiently. They might increase the risk of accidents while working with heavy machinery or in sensitive areas that require proper employment of cognitive and motor skills. These individuals may also exhibit frequent absenteeism from work which could affect the overall results of your organization.
Research also suggests that individuals under the influence could increase friction among co-workers leading to arguments and misconduct within the workplace. According to a recent study, drug testing enables the reduction of such cases that have shown to improve productivity in several organizations.
Better Morale
Creating a motivating and comfortable work environment for each employee is a critical responsibility of the employer. Drug use can disrupt the balance of such environments, causing a loss of morale. If one or more employees work under the influence, it could cause issues with the rest of the employees in the organization. They might feel under pressure to carry the workloads of others who might not be presenting their very best performance.
Employees involved in team projects may be affected by the misconduct of individuals using drugs, such as repeated absenteeism, tardy work ethics, and failure to meet deadlines with the assigned tasks. Instead, conducting drug tests will ensure you create a relatively stable work environment for all your employees to learn and grow.
Reduce Training Costs
Before appointing individuals in organizations, careful screening can reduce resources spent on risky hires. New employees take a toll on the organization’s resources dedicated to recruitment and training. After investing time and money in an employee, experiencing low productivity, increased accidents, or liabilities from incidents due to drug use could cost the company heavily.
Replacing the employee will further cost the company, especially considering the previously invested resources have gone waste. Conducting a test before employment will ensure you find the right fit for the company while also spending resources for the right results.
Fewer Liabilities
Drug use among employees can put both the individual and others in the environment at risk. It could easily elevate the chances of injuries or deaths in worksites that lead up to legal liabilities. Organizations will face charges of negligence, entangling their brands in serious lawsuits. It could affect the morale of employees and cost customers brand loyalty.
Regular drug tests for new hires and existing employees can easily help evade these risks and create a healthy workplace. The organization can then focus on customer satisfaction and profitability.
Care For Employees
Employees are an essential part of any organization. Taking care of them will naturally help in growth. If an employee is suffering from drug abuse or addiction, knowing this and providing them with the necessary assistance can help save their lives. It will also help motivate individuals to take charge and change their lives for good.
A drug test can make this possible, thus creating a happy and healthy workplace for your employees. You can refer them to counseling and direct them to rehabilitation centers to help them with the situation. But remember that a failed drug test may not motivate all employees towards change and can therefore not be forced.
Diminish Workers’ Compensation Claims and Premiums
Laborers’ remuneration protection covers your laborers assuming they are harmed or become ill while at work. Your association is probably going to spend more on specialists’ pay claims and charges assuming the work environment illicit drug use continues unrestrained.
A feeble insusceptible framework is normal for ongoing medication use. Assuming you have persistent medication clients in your labor force, they are probably going to guarantee clinical costs more regularly.
At the point when you execute a medication screening program and effectively diminish drug use among laborers, your association needs to hand over less cash for laborers’ remuneration claims.
In certain locales, businesses get a markdown on laborers’ pay expenses in the event that they execute without drug working environment programs. For example, bosses in states like Washington, Florida, Texas, Georgia, and Virginia can get 5% to 10% credit (a sort of protection motivator) under state-explicit medication-free working environment programs.
Further developed Productivity
In the United States, substance addiction in the work environment costs businesses around $25 billion every year due to:
Lost efficiency
Non-appearance
Different examinations have exhibited the connection between decreased efficiency and the utilization of liquor and unlawful medications.
Representatives who regularly use drugs are frequently late to work and experience trouble concentrating or difficulty finishing different work errands. In a medication-free working environment, representatives are normally more useful.
Laborers who misuse drugs –
Are many times viewed as absent from their seats?
Is much of the time seen as missing from the worksite for not a really obvious explanation?
Phone in ‘debilitated’ time and again
While numerous laborers phone in debilitated following an end-of-the-week party, drug clients rapidly arise as habitual perpetrators. In such events, doubt-based drug tests can be directed to ensure a laborer isn’t wiped out or missing time after time because of chronic drug use.
More secure Workplace
A medication-free working environment is to be sure a more secure working environment. This holds for not simply associations that took part in development, transportation, and other such exercises yet in addition on account customary organizations.
All things considered, a higher level of medication clients are utilized. As indicated by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 70% of Americans who misuse drugs are utilized (full-time or part-time). Along these lines, no matter what the idea of the business, there’s a decent opportunity that a few representatives are right now utilizing illegal substances, weed, or physician-recommended medicine.
Conclusion
Implementation of drug testing can seem challenging and unnecessary for many organizations. But these tests can ensure enhanced safety, productivity, and happiness of employees that can boost the company’s growth.
