Management Ethics: The Pros and Cons of Drug-testing in the Workplace
Posted: Thursday, November 26, 2009
by Carolyn Tytler
Unfortunately, drug use in the workplaces of North America is not unusual. Illegal drugs are readily available to anyone with the cash to purchase them. Ask any high school student if you doubt my words.
Drugs in the workplace pose a serious threat to the user and also to his fellow employees. A person on drugs is not thinking clearly. Safety rules may be compromised, necessary procedures ignored or forgotten, and erratic or hostile behavior displayed toward supervisors and fellow workers. No company wants these problems among its workforce.
Managers must keep in mind that their primary responsibilities are to provide quality products or services to their customers and, at the same time, to make a fair profit for their shareholders. Having drug-users among the employees is counter-productive to both of these objectives.
To best accomplish the job for which they are being paid, many managers have weighed the pros and cons of instituting a random drug-testing program in the workplace. Below are some of the factors they must consider:
PROS
* The workplace will become a safer environment. Knowing that they will be subjected to random testing will dissuade good employees from the recreational use of illegal drugs.
* Drug addicts will soon be eliminated from the workplace. This will benefit the efficiency and productivity of the organization.
* Improved efficiency and heightened public confidence in the product and/or services of the company may cover and even exceed the cost of testing.
* Vacant positions, as they become available, will attract mature, responsible, drug-free applicants.
CONS
* Management won't win any workplace popularity contests.
* Management may be accused of invading employees' privacy. A written agreement of compliance with the drug-testing policy must be signed by each employee prior to its implementation. Signing the same agreement will be a condition of employment for future recruits to the organization.
* Management may wish to offer a signing bonus to help retain reliable, long-term employees.
* Testing equipment and personnel may be expensive. However, bulk rates are often available for large companies.
CONCLUSION
Implementation of a random drug-testing policy in the workplace is not an easy, popular or inexpensive project. However, management personnel are paid to take leadership roles in ensuring the safety, welfare and productivity of the organization and its employees.
Illegal drug use is harmful to the user, his family, the workplace environment and society as a whole. Individuals cannot leave every facet of law enforcement to the police. Responsible citizens must help by banning illegal substances whenever they have an opportunity to do so.
Management should take advantage of every possible avenue to ban illegal drugs from the workplace. It is, plain and simply, the right thing to do.
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