Employers have an obligation and a responsibility to ensure a safe and professional working environment for all their employees. On the one hand, this means that they should ensure the appropriate equipment and make sure they do not put their health at risk while at work. On the other hand, employers also need to check if the employees have a professional behavior and if they don’t risk causing work accidents because of substance abuse. One of the most common measures taken to ensure the safety of employees is drug and alcohol testing. Any responsible company should have a drug and alcohol management program (DAMP), especially those operating in a field where an employee’s behavior can put themselves and others at risk. From construction companies to large law firms, everyone should understand that alcohol and drug intake cam severely damage the activity and reputation of a firm. In order to keep that from happening and maintain a stable, professional work environment, managers should consider the benefits of drugs and alcohol testing. Whether we are talking about industrial accidents or the inappropriate behavior of employees, the consequences of working under the influence of drugs or alcohol are clearly disastrous for both the company and other employees. It is therefore understandable why alcohol and other drug testing has always been a popular practice, especially in larger companies. In the past, these tests were mainly conducted using blood or urine samples, which were widely considered to be very uncomfortable for employees. Nowadays, saliva testing has become the preferred choice. Not only is saliva testing more efficient, faster, accurate, cost effective and unobtrusive, more importantly it identifies recent exposure to drugs, thus becoming more accurate. The objective of gaining a safer and more organised work environment becomes reachable once the effects of drug and alcohol abuse are eliminated. Not only can you discover the real reasons behind such issues as tardiness, absenteeism, low productivity or attitude problems, but you also can give your employees the opportunity to identify that they have a problem, and subsequently seek professional help. The correct management of drug and alcohol abuse is not possible unless your employees are tested regularly. Whilst urine drug testing appears to be less expensive, the process is more time consuming and complex, ultimately resulting in additional downtime at the expense of the employer. With saliva testing everything is simplified, with test results being available in minutes. For managers, this means saving time and getting the information they need at once. For employees, it is more comfortable and does not put them through an embarrassing situation. While the whole purpose of testing is to improve the working environment, having a testing program that is difficult to manage, can take you further away from your goals. The reduced intrusiveness and cost effectiveness of saliva drug testing is another important reason why this type of testing has gained ground against traditional methods. All in all, drug testing is responsible course of action in any company. There are numerous service providers that operate in this field and that managers can established partnerships with. For more resources about drug testing or about alcohol testing, please review this link http://www.integritysampling.com.au/.
Related Articles -
drug testing, alcohol testing,
|