How Failure To Conduct Pre Employment Drug Screening Can Be Costly

By Nora Jennings


Employers are placed in difficult situations when workers start using drugs in workplace. It is not easy to detect if workers are taking drugs and other illegal substances, and by the time it is known, already damages have been caused. This is why employers have put in place proactive measures to ensure they curb this behavior. Some of the measures taken include pre employment drug screening, on-job random tests, and behavioral screening of workers.

The employers as well as the employees are affected. Employees do not want to execute their roles in work areas where they feel unsafe. The same workers do not want to be subjected to risks of injuries or even death arising from mistakes caused by effects of drugs. Employees working under the influence of illegal substances could also cause accidents, which injure or even cause death.

If workers are using drugs, it means that they are not performing their duties as required. The reduced productivity affects the growth of a business. Moreover, when workers are using such substances, their health will deteriorate and fall ill more often. There is increased medical cost associated with the illnesses. The worker compensation claims also tend to increase. Injuries are likely to be caused by intoxicated workers.

Insurance companies will tend to hike the premium rates for the coverage, which strains the finances of a company. With the increased claims, insurers may not be able to bear that cost and mostly probably, it is passed to the employers. There is no need of letting the problem to get to those levels. This is something hat can be prevented by ensuring that only the right candidates are hired for jobs.

Businesses are exposed to liabilities if workers are abusing drugs. Some of the problems, which are experienced in workplace due to use of substances include reduced productivity and accidents. While some employers may think that conducting tests for drugs is an unproductive move, on the other hand, they need to realize that it can harm their businesses to a larger extend.

The regular signs of fatigue mean that workers are not executing their jobs as desired. Poor judgment results to accidents such as machine related injuries. A worker may injure himself or other employee when operating a machine. Missed deadlines of work could lead to loss of productivity as well as loss of loyal customers. Careless also arises where employees do not bother caring for tools and equipments.

Besides, some employers think that their businesses do not warrant them to conduct tests for their workers. However, this is not true because any business, regardless of the kind of products or services it offers, can negatively be impacted by drugs. The effects are many and when they are examined critically, some can be highly costly.

It is better to prevent workers from joining the work place than hire some people who are ethically unfit to perform duties. It will cost businesses more money and loss of reputation if they do not consider testing their workers. Besides, the OSHA officials are always on the lookout for employers who may not be putting in place safety measures within workplace to protect their employees.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...