When hiring new employees, managers always remember to inform them of appropriate and specifically inappropriate behavior. This includes company policy on drug abuse or alcoholic inebriation while at work. Managers also wish to make sure that company policy is standard practice and in the best interests of both the employees and the company itself. For this reason, it might be interesting to know how new employees see companies which implement drug and alcohol testing on a regular basis and as part of their pre employment evaluations. A study by J. Michael Crant and Thomas S. Bateman illustrates this point and examines how new or potential employees view companies which require pre employment drug testing and regular drug and alcohol screening throughout their employment. The results were not very good. The majority of potential employees had more positive feelings about and willingness to contribute initially to companies which did not require pre or post employment drug testing or the use of alcohol breathalyser devices. This means that many employees do not consider, or do not wish to not consider, drug and alcohol screening as a necessary part of their work tasks. On the other end of the spectrum, we find employers who not only wish to, but find it necessary to, conduct regular employee drug and alcohol screening. This is one of the primary disparities found in employer-employee relationships, and it can cause a great deal of strife for both parties. Fortunately, you can do something about it.
Employees who understand why they are being tested and who see the testing, not as a personal assault, but as a means of eliminating other, less worthy candidates are far more likely to see drug and alcohol testing as a positive aspect of their workplace environment. They are not likely to wish that the company did not employ such methods if they see their own jobs as safe and the employment of drug addicts and people who might threaten their jobs as negative. For this reason, it is important to explain your testing procedures (and reasons for them) to your new and current employees, being sure to emphasize that their jobs are not being targeted and that their own contributions are not being called into questions. Call Mediscreen today for more information about onsite drug and alcohol testing: (+61) 1300 79 70 40.
