Fast paced lifestyle in the US has increased drug consumption among the people. A survey report published in 2016 states that nearly 28.6 million people in the US consume illegal drugs like marijuana, cocaine, heroin, inhalants, hallucinogens, and methamphetamine. Amongst them 67% people are employed professionals.
Drug and Alcohol consumption is becoming a major concern for HR Departments. This not only hampers the productivity of the employees, but also put other employee’s safety at risk. A drug testing program serves as a critical component for the HR in hiring the most deserving and drug free individual for the job. It also helps in maintaining healthy and productive environment for all the employees. If the drug testing program is not conducted, it may lead to increased absentee of the employees and on-the-job accidents also rise resulting in poor performance and productivity
Therefore, it is essential for HR Professionals to ensure proper measures when conducting drug testing programs at workplace.
Here are a few drug testing tips for HR teams to combat workplace substance abuse-
Know when and who
Knowing when to do the testing and who to do the testing is an important factor to be considered. They are generally categorized into two types- 1. Pre-employment drug testing and 2. Random selection.
Pre-employment testing is conducted when a new employee has an offer from the company. Random selection means selecting random people from the company who are employed.
Type of test to be done
Before choosing the type of test to be conducted in the company, it is important to think of its advantages and disadvantages. The most common type of testing done is the urine test. The urine is collected for testing of consumption of illegal drugs. Another common type is the collection of hair follicle. The new introduced test is the saliva test that is collected by a swab in order to test the drug consumption when conducting tests.
Which drugs to screen for
Many types of drugs can be detected after the test has been conducted. Therefore, it is important to choose the right test by keeping in mind the drugs available in that region. The job type, and the demographics are other factors that needs to be considered too.
Risk Factor-
With the increase in the number of drugs, the most common ones that are used are marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamines. A lot of working people use them. So it is wise to think of the risks of not conducting drug testing program in the company and what will be the cost of the productivity and overall success of the business.
Keeping up with the new policies-
Drug consumption is very uncertain and the trends will keep on changing. So it is important to keep up with what goes on around regularly. Also it is wise to see that the company’s policies are in alignment with those standards and in line with the federal laws.
Trained supervisors-
While updating the policies of the company, keeping the employees in loop is also very essential. The supervisors should be well informed and trained on how to identify the signs of drug abuse in their employees. It is equally important that the management team is monitoring the staff well and taking into account the performance related issues.
Transparency with the employees-
The main motive of drug testing programs is not to catch and punish the employees. It is for the betterment of their personal health and their professional growth. The goal is to make sure that if the employee is slipping, then the company will not suffer the consequences. With that said, it is equally essential to be transparent with the employees on the reasons of why the drug testing program is conducted. Strict laws should be implemented so that the employees do not take it lightly and are clearly aware o the consequences if they fall under the prey of drugs. Newly hired employees should also be briefed about the conducting of drug testing program.
Conclusion
The bottom line of conducting drug testing programs is to ensure that the workplace is free of any illegal drug and alcohol consumption. The goal is to create a productive work environment which is beneficial for the employer as well as the employees. The employee who has a bit of regular drug and alcohol consumption will affect the morale of other employees as well. Therefore, it is expected from the HR team to react on the matter appropriately and keep a check on suspicious behaviors. These issues however should be handled and dealt sensitively and help the substance abuser get rid of it as soon as possible.
If required, proper counselling should also be conducted to impose proper discipline in the workplace.
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