Employee drug testing is worth the cost; here is why.

Some employees may find drug testing unnecessary or high-priced. However, we now may ask you, better be sorry or late? If you choose to be sorry, then we dare you to think again.

In this blog, we have highlighted the importance of drug testing and the benefits it will grant you to prevent the consequences.

What is drug testing?

As an employer, workplace drug testing helps you make sure your employees are not consuming illegal drugs, whether on the job or during the time off. It may cost you a fortune to test every individual in your company. However, it’s worth it. The consequences of using drugs may be extremely devastating. Testing an applicant is different from testing an employee as they don’t work for you yet.

Drug testing types

You can use multiple schemes to test the drug level at work. Those may include:

• Pre-employment drug tests
• Random drug tests
• With-cause drug tests
• Post-accident drug tests
• Abstinence monitoring

The mentioned tests may follow specific strategies, which may include:

• Urine testing
• Oral fluid
• Breath analysis
• Saliva testing
• Hair testing
• Blood analysis
• Sweat testing
• Confirmatory tests

Why some companies leave out drug testing?

The companies that do not implement employee drug testing, brought up various reasons in the SHRM(Society for Human Resource Management) poll. The total percentage includes these groups:

• 24% claimed their company doesn’t believe in drug testing.
• 18% claimed drug testing was not needed by the state.
• 16% claimed there was no practicable return on drug testing investment.
• 16% said that drug testing was too expensive.
• Only 2% said they had plans to implement drug testing in the future.

Many of the mentioned reasons underlie the cost. Companies may be hesitant to perform drug testing because they consider it a voluntary measure. However, this perspective can be devastating, as the costs or risks of not implementing drug testing can be high.

The benefits of drug testing

You are pretty much aware of the risks of drug consumption. However, it can have some irreversible influences on the workplace and productivity of the employee. Drug testing can be highly effective to remove or lessen the consequences.

Some benefits of drug-using include:

Lower turnover

Drug abuse among workers can increase employee turnover. According to a study by the SAMSHA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration), drug abusers tend to change jobs three times a year.

Companies with a high worker turnover will take so much time recruiting, hiring, and training since they have to replace workers continually. However, the SHRM poll indicates that companies that conducted drug testing have experienced a 16 % decrease in employee turnover rates.

More productivity

It’s no surprise that drug consumption has a high impact on productivity. According to Working Partners, drug abusers are 33 % less productive than their colleagues. In addition, the SHRM poll indicates a 19 percent uptick in worker productivity as they began to conduct the drug testing.

Decreased absenteeism

Drug abusers have a higher tendency to take days off. A high rate of absenteeism may cost employers more and leaves them with less output. That would be a significant loss of energy and finance. The research done by SHRM shows that a drug-testing program can prevent employees from taking days off. The result has decreased time off among employees by 50%.

Fewer compensation claims

Drug consumption in the workplace can result in accidents and injuries, leading to high-priced workers’ compensation claims. NIDA(National Institute on Drug Abuse) declares that drug abusers cost double compensation claims than their colleagues. However, SHRM has shown that drug testing can decrease compensation claims by 50%.

Drug testing services in Las Vegas

As you have seen, the costs of not performing drug testing are far greater than conducting drug testing. However, as an employer, you can regularly make sure of your workers’ health status using drug testing services.

Southern Nevada Occupational Health Canter can lend you a hand in discovering substance users. Our preferred scheme is hair and urine analysis. You can make sure the caregivers will give you precise results on the health of your employee.

To book an appointment, you can call us at (702) 874-4769. If you are significantly curious about occupational diseases or professional services, give us a visit on our website. Your health is always our priority.