Shawn Kilgarlin Explores the Benefits and Challenges of Employee Drug Testing for Businesses
Introduction
Shawn Kilgarlin is a multi-faceted personality who has motivated people around her. Shawn Kilgarlin is an inspirational writer and speaker who has authored a number of books on What Parents Need to Know About Drug Testing their Teens, a Drug Testing Dictionary, a guide to Workplace Drug Testing and workplace safety booklets.
Shawn Kilgarlin a great philanthropist has won many awards and honours for her professional and personal charity and community work. In 2011, the Cambridge Who’s Who Registry named her the Professional of the Year in Health Care Support.
Currently Shawn Kilgarlin is the Vice-President of Sales, Marketing and Product Development at American screening Corporation. She along with her husband Ron Kilgarlin manages ASC which is a pioneer concern in manufacturing and distributing Drug and Alcohol Testing Kits and Medical Supplies.
Drug testing the employees has become mandatory owing to the fact that many employees report to work after consuming alcohol or illicit drugs. This habit may lead to irreparable damages both to the human as well as to the industry. Hence to implement safety measures, drug testing is carried out in work places and institutions.
Let us discuss about the benefits of periodical drug testing programmes in the concerns as well as the limitations and challenges faced by the employers in implementing this testing.
Why Employee Drug Testing Matters
Due to drug and alcohol consumption during work lot of accidents happen. Especially in the construction business and transportation sector, alcohol and drug consumption has resulted in untoward incidents causing lot of damages to people and property. Therefore to avoid unwanted risks and to maintain safety and security drug testing has become very necessary.
Moreover, drug consumption has increased absenteeism and therefore reduced productivity. Fraud and theft are frequent under such condition which affects the financial gain of the concern and also the quality of the company. This in turn will certainly spoil the dignity and decorum of the concern resulting in the damage of the brand name.
It is also very pertinent to point out here that when more number of accidents take place the compensation and insurance amount also will increase thereby affecting the growth of the concern. Because of drug consumption the relationship between the employees is affected and the friendly atmosphere is spoiled. Hence by drug testing the employees, the well being of everyone is taken care of and a positive ambience certainly helps the growth of the industry.
Benefits of Employee Drug Testing
Periodic and regular drug testing in the work place creates awareness on the harmful effects of drug consumption and thus the employees become very sensible enough to avoid drugs or reduce their drug intakes. This improves the safety of the concern and accidents are reduced. Also it should be noted that the theft and fraud activities are very much reduced in the concern.
By implementing the drug free work place by regular drug testing, the quality and reliability of the employee and also the product is ensured. Since absenteeism is reduced to a great level, the productivity of the concern is increased thereby increasing the overall financial gain.
Carrying out the drug testing in the work place certainly reduces accidents and miss-happening in the industry. This saves the property and the materials in the company and hence reduces the liabilities and insurance compensation to be given by the employer.
Conducting out regular drug testing in the industry helps in identifying drug addicts who are very much in need of counselling and rehabilitation. Hence proper care can be taken about the well being of each and every employee. When the drug intake of the employees is reduced to a great extent the ambience of the work place becomes very cordial and friendly which is a welcoming factor for the growth.
Challenges and Considerations in Employee Drug Testing
Though there are a number of benefits in introducing periodic drug testing in the work place, the challenges and limitations of such a programme also are to be considered. Before starting the drug testing it is very much necessary to formulate the Drug Testing Policy and to inform the employees about the same. Every employee should be made aware of all the laws governing the drug testing and proper consent of the employee should be received in writing and documented.
Regular drug testing of all employees in a concern involves lot of expense. Buying drug testing kits, administering the test and analysing the results involve lot of money. Also in case of positive result the sample should be sent to the laboratory for further testing which requires more money.
Drug testing should not spoil the relationship between the employer and employee. The employer should establish a basic trust on the employees before conducting the drug test and it is his duty to make the employees understand the necessity of drug testing. There should be a healthy atmosphere in the work place to ensure that open communication should be prevalent between the employer and the employee.
The employer by all means should follow all the laws governing drug testing and should send the report of the test to the concerned employee. The accuracy of the test result should be given at most importance and care should be taken to avoid false positive and false negative result. The test report should not be revealed to others and kept confidential. In the event of a positive result the employee should not be sent out of the job but rather asked to give proper explanation. Based on the explanation of the employee, the employer should make his decision which should not be biased or partial.
Best Practices for Implementing Effective Drug Testing Programs
The employer should follow the procedures for conducting Drug Testing in the concern. Initially the employer should be aware of all the laws, rules and regulations governing the drug testing as stated by the Government. Then along with the expert team the drug free work place policy should be drafted and informed to every employee. After all the employees acknowledge the policy only it should be implemented.
The drug testing procedure should be made very clear, fair and transparent without any deviation. If the employer openly conveys the necessity of drug testing and all the policies involved then the relationship between the employer and the employee can be maintained. This would certainly build a mutual trust and understanding to implement drug testing programme without any hassle.
It should be noted that all managers and people associated with drug testing should be given proper training on handling the drug test kit, administering the test and interpreting the result. They should be very capable of carrying out the entire programme without the help of any external medical professional’s help.
Care should be taken to list out the employees who are under drug consumption. In the event of finding out that they are really addicted to alcohol or drugs they should be handled gently to receive medical assistance, rehabilitation and counselling. They should be monitored regularly to know about the improvement in their healthy habits. In no way they should be exposed before fellow employees or treated wrongly.
Future Trends and Evolving Standards in Employee Drug Testing
Employee drug testing has to be improved and modern technology has to be incorporated to make the results very accurate. One of the emerging trend is Paper Spray Mass Spectrometry which analyzes the molecules in a human fingerprint to reveal the metabolize drugs.
Another method is Genomic Technologies which can provide quick results with high sensitivity. This method requires the approval of new drugs. Artificial Intelligence Technology and Machine Learning are other emerging trends in detecting drugs from the human body.
In the case of cannabis legalization some states have legalized its use whereas most states make the employees to undergo cannabis test. There are states where cannabis use is legal but under Federal law cannabis consumers are not allowed to drive commercial vehicles.
Further it is very much necessary to change the Work Place policies as per the need of the time and changing situations. But frequent change in Work Place policies certainly affects the employees. Hence the changes in policy should be properly explained to the employees and then implemented gently.
Shawn Kilgarlin is of the opinion that drug testing methods should be improved time to time as per the recent trend and need. Therefore testing technology should be improved with the emerging Artificial Intelligence to provide false proof results with high reliability. Hence Drug Testing should be made very easy and comfortable and taken to the next level of treatment.
Conclusion
Though there are many benefits in regular drug testing in a concern, there are a number of limitations and challenges faced while implementing the programme. On one hand drug testing reduces absenteeism, fraud and theft. On the other hand it increases productivity and quality of the concern. In a nut shell drug testing ensures safety and a healthy ambience in the industry. But drug testing should be conducted after getting the consent of the employees and also without affecting the rights of employees.
It is time all the industries and institutions implement Drug Testing Programmes for the benefit of the concern and well being of the employees. American Screening Corporation has introduced drug testing kits and medical accessories of high quality and modern technology. Above all ASC’s products are reliable, FDA approved, CLIA waived and available in attractive discounts. One can order ASC drug testing products and experience the convenience of administering the test kits and getting quick results.
For bulk ordering and volume discounts please call us at (866) 526-2873 or email us at [email protected]
Visit our website and our customer care team will help you to select the drug testing needs and medical supplies as per your need and specification. Visit www.americanscreeningcorp.com for convenient ordering.