All workplaces can benefit from drug and alcohol screening programs.
In many industries overseas and in Australia, drug and alcohol screening is now required or inferred in various legislations. But not all industries and work sectors are required to have a drug and alcohol screening program, and in those areas where it is optional, management may simply view the implementation and maintenance of a screening program as non-essential and too costly. But is this really the case, and perhaps in the long term it is far more sensible to actually implement a cost effective and affordable onsite screening program that can help to give some leverage against the possibility of accidents, OHS compromises, litigation and low work morale.
The fact is drugs and alcohol are part of our Australian culture and they are seen as acceptable even in the workplace. Many older generation Australians will remember the “extended liquid lunch” comprising a few beers at the pub before taking off home without returning to the workplace to sign out! While those days may be gone, the cultural acceptability of alcohol and some drugs such as cannabis remains and need addressing. It is a fact that in “2001 alone, almost 6 million (37.7%) of Australians aged 14 and over had used an illicit drug in their lifetime.[1]
According to Drug Arm, the “harmful use of drugs and alcohol in the workplace is a reflection of general community use, adding costs to injuries, absenteeism, lost production, workers compensation and rehabilitation.” [2] This view is also shared by Work Cover Corporation of South Australia.
The various consequences of alcohol and drug use in the workplace may be summed up as follows:
- Lateness/general absenteeism
- Cost and problem of accidents
- Wasted training (dismissal due to AOD issues)
- Wasted apprenticeship (dismissal due to AOD issues)
- Litigation risk
- Risk of litigation or union action if employment is terminated due to AOD
- Reduced competitiveness and profits[3]
- Reduced work performance
- Reduced workplace morale which erodes profits
- Negative workplace culture and increased conflicts
Many of these problems can be offset, monitored and even completely prevented by the introduction of a workplace screening program. Mediscreen offers professional drug and alcohol screening systems for organisations that have been tested in the field and also independently. Mediscreen’s screening programmes focus most particularly on recent use, which means the test device is looking for active components of a drug circulating in your system. This means the window of focus is narrowed and more specific to what an employee has done in the recent past as opposed to possible drug use days or weeks ago. If you require a quality screening program managed by Mediscreen professionals, please call on 1300 797040.
[1] National Drug Strategy Household Survey, sourced http://www.drugarm.com.au
[3] National Drug Strategy Household Survey, sourced http://www.drugarm.com.au
