You own or manage a medium to large business where safety is critical, but up until now you’ve resisted the urge to conduct workplace drug testing.
“It will cost too much”, “None of my employees would come to work under the influence of drugs or alcohol”, “I could lose some of my employees”, “I don’t even know if I can legally conduct drug testing”… We’ve heard all the excuses before, however, none of them stack up.
So, here are our 6 major reasons why you should be conducting drug testing in your workplace.
Safety
Workplace drug testing is all about safety and that’s why if your workplace is safety critical (e.g. construction, mining, transportation, aviation, agriculture, etc.) you need to be testing. Improving safety is in your business’ best interests and it’s also in your employees’. After all, they should have the right to feel as safe at work as they possibly can be.
Workplace drug testing can deter at-risk behaviour
If you implement a drug testing campaign in your workplace, and particularly if you use random drug testing, this will deter people from coming to work under the influence. It’s important to remember that you’re not asking employees to stop drinking alcohol or taking drugs. What they do in their spare time is up to them. You’re simply reminding them that people under the influence are unsafe and shouldn’t be in the workplace.
It will improve productivity and profits
Drugs and alcohol cost Australian businesses in many ways. It affects safety, absenteeism, productivity, morale and the bottom line. In fact, it’s estimated that drugs and alcohol is costing business nearly $6 billion a year in this country. Testing alone won’t prevent the issues reaching your workplace, but combined with a drug and alcohol policy, education, support and other programs, it will make a huge difference.
It’s good for your employees
Will a percentage of your employees be annoyed if you implement workplace drug testing? Perhaps, but it’s likely to only be a small percentage. Most employees will see it as a safety measure and will appreciate that it’s helping them stay safe at work. In addition, employees who have suffered by work colleagues being absent, have been abused by or had to cover for drug-affected colleagues, and been affected by bad morale will appreciate the effort to stamp out drugs and alcohol in the workplace.
Legally it makes sense
Most workplaces – particularly if they are safety critical – can conduct workplace drug testing. In fact, in some industries it’s legislated. Conducting testing can also help protect your business in a legal sense, from lawsuits resulting from issues with drugs and alcohol. It could even help protect you and other senior officers of your business from new industrial manslaughter laws.
Testing can help protect your company’s image
Issues relating to drugs and alcohol in the workplace can affect a business in many ways, including its image. This is particularly the case if a major incident or accident gets media coverage.
Contact Integrity Sampling to workplace drug testing support
Stop looking at reasons why you can’t implement workplace drug testing and look at reasons why you should. Then contact Integrity Sampling to get the support you need.
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Workplace drug testing can help protect your business in a number of ways. Credit Etienne Girardet https://unsplash.com/photos/sgYamIzhAhg
