Aging individuals who usually suffer from an unhealthy lifestyle, as well as the growing demand for an increase in worker productivity, have ushered in an age of new workplace trials for the safety and health of professionals.
Fortunately, employment drug screening can serve as a good risk mitigation tool that can provide far-reaching societal and organizational benefits. In addition to promoting a more productive and safer workplace can also help decrease worker absenteeism and turnover, minimize company risk, and lower employees’ compensation incidence rates.
At least 70% of Americans who abuse illegal drugs are working individuals. When a worker uses unlawful substances, payers and companies take on the risk of workplace injuries, liability, and compromised productivity because of presentism and absenteeism. Substance abuse can cost business owners in the United States more than 150 billion dollars each year.
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It includes turnover rates for workers using drugs. Substances at the root of this problem include heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, prescription medications, and ecstasy. While the standard five- or ten-panel urine screening usually costs $20 to $50, it is imperative to consider the hidden and higher costs of not having a testing program at all.
Work-related fatalities and accidents
Workers who abuse prescription medications are at least twice more likely to be late for their job, take unexcused absences, be violent or injured at work, be fired or quit within a year of employment, or file workers’ compensation claims according to the NSC or the National Safety Council.
The good thing about this situation is that employees are more likely to go through a series of treatments when it is encouraged by the company, and people in recovery go on to become a lot better employees – taking less unscheduled leave, using less health care, as well as involving less turnover compared to their non-abusing co-workers.
As a matter of fact, every worker who recovers from the drug abuse disorder can save companies more than $3,000 per year. It is pretty essential in an organization where workers drive and work directly with consumers, perform manual labor, or operate machines. The manufacturing and construction industries, in particular, have a pretty high rate of OTJ (on-the-job) substance users.
When employees are struggling with substance misuse, companies can help by putting them in recovery programs that are paid for by businesses or health plans. After completing these recovery programs, workers can return to work, saving companies the expense of hiring and training additional workers.
OTJ productivity statistics
Employees who report having at least three jobs in the last five years are about twice as likely to be using before or current users of illegal substances as those who have had fewer jobs. Substance misuse leads to lost productivity because of:
Withdrawal or aftereffects of drug use
Absenteeism
The person is preoccupied with using or obtaining substances while they are at work, interfering with concentration and attention
Illegal activities in the workplace, including selling this stuff to their co-workers
Stress-related or psychological effects because of family members, co-workers, or friends affect another person’s work performance.
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The factors mentioned above can lead to poor concentration, inconsistent work quality, carelessness, and lack of focus. The good news is, companies can be impactful arenas to address this kind of problem. By establishing drug-free work environments, organizations can help workers, as well as their families, by referring them to community services and resources. Considering that the United States represents 5% of the world’s population and consumes 60% of the world’s supply of illegal substances, testing can be seen as a good investment against the effect of low productivity.
Legal advantages
Workforces who are injured while on their jobs or fired because of drug-related events are not entitled to any compensation and are less likely to file a case against their company. By testing the entire workforce for illegal substances, organizations are helping to protect their firm from any liability and potentially lower employee compensation costs and premiums. Organizations can use positive screening results for tests taken after work-related injuries as a way of defending or denying employees’ compensation claims.
Social implications of screening in the workplace
It is testing in the workplace up the stakes of the illegal use of drugs. It encourages workers to be less inclined to use these things if they know it can threaten their jobs. A random screening program is very important for making testing effective. According to the Occupational Safety and Health services, ongoing screening can lower the number of people who will test positive.
The good news is that screening today is pretty accurate, with many ways to make sure its validity, combined with various incentives in some places that include workers’ compensation discounts and reduced insurance costs. Ultimately, workforces are concerned about their safety as the main reason for testing. Not only that, it is a lot better to avoid accidents instead of determining what happened after the fact.
Today, only a handful of jobs have state, federal, or Nationwide Testing Association mandated testing: safety-sensitive occupations like train operators, truck drivers, and pilots. According to the National Safety Council, workforces need to be proactive and take various steps to create a drug-free environment.
Partner with the necessary health plan providers and prescription medications to help monitor, intervene, and gate keep on the use of prescription medications.
Review the organization’s workplace policy to help protect workers, as well as to minimize liabilities.
Make sure that everyone in the company understands that commonly prescribed painkiller medications like opioids are included in the testing program.
Educate everyone in the company about confidential help readily available through assistance programs.
Remind the workforce about policies regarding illegal substances, screening policies, as well as confidential help readily available through the company assistance program.
One caveat: A lot of insurance firms face increased costs for screenings. These costs are not because of the spike in the use of illegal narcotics by their members but because of unnecessary screening and overbilling by physicians and testing firms.
That is why it is imperative to partner with highly reputable screening facilities that offer accurate, fast, genomics, and high-quality testing. These partners will serve as collaborators with workers, clinicians, and payers by providing extensive ranges of services like evaluation, screening, and specialized diagnosis.
