If you own or manage a workplace, how confident are you that your employees are coming to work in a fit and safe condition? Is it possible that one or more of your employees turn up to work occasionally with drugs in their system?
Perhaps one of your employees is like a Mr Rudd, who was recently sentenced in a regional court room for actions that would make most of us shake our heads.
According to the Central Western Daily News, Mr Rudd was caught driving with methamphetamines in his system. Nothing terribly unusual about that, you might think, and you’d be correct. Plenty of motorists are caught with methamphetamines or other drugs in their system every day. However, the big difference with Mr Rudd is that it was the fourth time he’d been found to be driving under the influence of methamphetamines in a four-month period. Perhaps even more bizarre, two of the drug driving incidents occurred in a two-day period.
Is there a possibility you have an employee like Mr Rudd working for you? The only way to know for sure, is a robust program of drug and alcohol management, including regular drug testing and alcohol testing.
Drug testing the only way
That’s because some drug users, particularly regular drug users, can be very adept at hiding the fact that they are under the influence. While signs can include ones most of us will notice, such as slurred speech, tremors and difficulty in walking, for some people the effects are not as obvious. These may include tiredness and lethargy OR excessive energy depending on the drug taken (a stimulant or a depressant), pupils that are larger or smaller than normal, watery or bloodshot eyes, clenching of the jaw and flushing or paleness in the face.
But unless your workplace undertakes drug testing, you can’t know for sure. And unless your workplace has the ability to conduct drug testing, you can’t ensure that you can adequately manage employees who you suspect are using drugs. The best you can do, if you suspect an employee is under the influence, is to ensure they’re not doing a role that could put them or another employee at risk.
Conduct drug testing in your workplace
To find out how to implement drug testing in your workplace, talk to the drug and alcohol management specialists, Integrity Sampling. We can guide you through the entire process, including developing a robust drug and alcohol management policy, educating employees, providing support for employees and conduct drug testing.
Contact us by phoning 1300 SALIVA today.
The only definite way to tell if someone is under the influence of drugs is by drug testing Credit Urban Seed Education https://www.flickr.com/photos/urbanseededu/4326645926/
