When Should Managers Drug Test in the Workplace?

Drug testing in the workplace is proven to reduce safety accidents and increase overall productivity, but when is the right time for an employer to implement drug and alcohol screening? There is a fine line between being an invasive boss who loses employee trust and happiness and a smart manager protecting their business. Thanks to the advent of cheap and effective urine drug testing kits, substance abuse screening can easily occur on a job site and in the workplace with reliable results at any time. A successful business operator will want to exam their employees for drugs and alcohol in the following situations.

Pre-employment

When attempting to hire new employees, drug testing should be part of the application process. This will remove undesirable candidates from the prospective job ensuring that only the most reliable individuals will be available for employment. There are two main types of pre-employment drug screening used in companies both large and small. A pre-screening occurs after an application has been approved but before an official interview. This will save the time and effort for the manager in charge of the hiring process. Depending on the business, many supervisors prefer to drug test after the interview process to ensure that the potential employee is worth the cost of the screening equipment. A conditional offer of employment is used once the prospective candidate is offered a job provisional to the successful completion of the drug test. This guarantees that only the most deserving and well qualified will even be considered for the open position. Determining whether to test for drugs and alcohol before or after the interview process is dependent upon your individual business needs and available resources.

Random

Once all of your employees have been hired and are successfully working at their jobs it is important to shut down the opportunity and availability for them to abuse drugs or alcohol. By periodically and randomly drug testing without advanced notice it will prevent your employees from thinking that they are "safe" and can get high. Random drug screening is also beneficial to make certain that the workforce is focused on their tasks at hand and truly desire their job. When randomly drug testing, it is important to not only test "high risk" individuals but also neutral employees to truly make the process random as best weed detox drug abuse occurs at all levels in the workplace.

For-Cause

Often in the work environment an employee will begin to exhibit the tell tale signs of substance abuse or drug use. This can include changes in physical appearance and behavior, work performance, safety record or confirmed office talk. For cause drug testing is also referred to as probable cause screening or reasonable suspicion. Protect your assets by using a urine drug test in the office to guarantee if the employee in question has violated the company's substance abuse policy.

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