Pros and Cons of Drug and Alcohol Testing at Workplace

By | May 31, 2011

Drug abusing people are found everywhere in the society. There are even people who consume drugs at workplaces. Many problems arise at the organizations with drug abused employees. Employers should therefore conduct drug and alcohol testing at workplaces to ensure safety and health of the employees. Different kinds of drug test kits like urine, saliva, and hair drug test kits can be used by the employers. Moreover, conducting the drug tests with multipanel drug test kits like 5-panel and 10-panel kits can be much more economical. Here are some pros and cons of conducting drug and alcohol tests at workplaces.

Pros

  • Drug and alcohol abusers do not have proper coordination skills. This may lead to occurrence of many accidents at workplaces. Conducting regular drug and alcohol testing at workplaces reduces the chances of accidents. It also helps the employers in saving the costs associated with such accidents.
  • Increased safety at the organization is the other benefit of drug and alcohol testing at workplaces. It also increases the well being of the employees.
  • It is a good practice to conduct drug and alcohol tests at the organization to ensure discipline and safety.

Cons

  • Certain issues like privacy pertain to the cons of drug and alcohol testing at organizations. Some employers arrange certain staff for submitting the tests. However, it is considered as an issue of privacy and discriminatory practice against employees.
  • Some issues of trust may also arise with drug and alcohol testing programmes at workplaces. They may result in negative perceptions from staff to managers or vice-versa.

In spite of the negative consequences that may rise due to drug testing, it is necessary to conduct them.

One thought on “Pros and Cons of Drug and Alcohol Testing at Workplace

  1. rosa noel

    I’m totally pro about drug testing at workplace. Yes, employers must ensure safety, health and good conditions in their companies. It’s better for them not to be accidents, which can happen even if they don’t have drug addicts inside the companies.

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