Drug testing in the workplace improves safety and productivity

Drug Alcohol Testing in the workplace has stirred up plenty of controversy with supporters highlighting the financial and safety costs of employees abusing substances at work while critics argue it is a violation of human rights and often targets drugs that do not influence performance.

James Lee (not his real name) was a sports reporter in a bustling Asian city who was often late to work. He would turn up just as a game was finishing and his write-up in the next day’s newspaper was nothing like what actually happened on the field. Drug and alcohol testing would prevent this misinformation. During the week of a high-profile tennis tournament featuring some of the biggest names in the sport, Lee was hardly courtside. Yet, his reports would feature in the next day’s paper and the quotes he used would be fabricated.

Alcohol Drug Testing might have saved the career of Lee, a talented young journalist and a likeable person. There were reports from colleagues that Lee would call them up at unsociable hours asking for money. He was once seen on a street corner flashing signs at passers-by, no doubt seeking funds to feed his addiction.

Lee eventually spent time in prison before being deported to his native country. In high-pressure work environments, Lee’s case is hardly unique, whatever the industry.

The saving grace for Lee was that his drug-related job performance did not directly affect the safety of his colleagues and his fictional storytelling never spawned any lawsuits against the company. Workplace drug testing requires people to be held accountable for their actions.

However, this is not always the case. Substance abuse by workers in industrial settings in which heavy machinery is used is a major safety risk. Drug testing in such an environment is crucial. The financial cost of under-performance and absenteeism because of drug use is also a reason why companies resort to drug testing. Drug and alcohol testing is helpful to prevent these things from happening on your jobsite.

A 2009 study by Australia’s National Cannabis Prevention and Information Center found that more than 70 percent of workplaces in South Australia expressed concern that drug abuse could jeopardize safety. Productivity (11 percent) and absenteeism (7.3 percent) were also significant concerns.

The center found that lower productivity as a result of substance or alcohol abuse cost businesses almost US$3 billion a year while employees using drugs were four times more likely to be involved in a workplace accident. A National Drug Strategy Household Survey, which cast a wider net of respondents representing about 30,000 Australians, showed that those in employment were more likely to have used illegal drugs in the previous 12 months than the unemployed.

Employees in the hospitality industry, such as hotels and resorts, were also more likely to have used drugs (31.2 per cent) than educators (9.2 per cent).

Random or unannounced Drug & Alcohol Testing goes a long way toward tackling the problem, which is a global issue and affects most countries where experimenting with social drugs, despite being illegal, is an acceptable, and often esteemed, way of life.

This article has been taken from http://mediscreen.net.au/articles/?p=1984

Resiliency and Changing Jobs

Not all employees are fired over a drug and alcohol testing dispute. Some are simply let go under quieter circumstances. Whichever situation you may find yourself in, it is such a must that you have some stored resiliency to help cushion the blow of your job loss. If you feel as if you cannot handle this dramatic change in your life, here are some tips to help you out:

Remain calm. You would be surprised the percentage of bad decisions which are made while the individual is under duress. If you cannot remain calm, at least go somewhere where there are no people and there is no chance of anyone overhearing you. Then you can let it out without having to deal with others and without having to let others worry about what is going on with you.

Wait a while. Even when the first surge of emotions has hit, it is VERY IMPORTANT that you still wait a while, until you can effectively manage yourself fully. Emotions which are able to be suppressed are still able to cause damage to your decision making skills. It is important to plow through with your normal work, and wait until you KNOW that you are normal on the inside again.

Onsite drug & alcohol testing is meant to be used as a tool. If your test results for a job application are not positive, then you may have a very real difficulty in getting a job. Drug testing equipment can be found on our sister site, but Mediscreen provides onsite drug and alcohol screening for your business. Drug screening is important in maintaining a team of high quality employees. Drug testing in Australia has never been so easy since Workplace drug testing and drug screening went the way of the onsite location.

In conclusion, your resiliency is ultimately fed by you. If you do not continually maintain yourself throughout this difficult time, then you can end up lowering your whole standard of living. For more information regarding onsite drug and alcohol testing, visit our website. We serve all industries in the Australian workforce, and we would be honored to serve you.

This article has been taken from http://mediscreen.net.au/articles/?p=1981

Political Jobsites and the Energy of Fighting

When your worksite has a lot of politics, then you are looking at a very negative situation, one that is much more so than you may realize. Politics and emotional stress in the office can make employees feel as if they will be personally attacked if they go in to work today. If the environment is harsh enough, then some people may resort to something as strong as substance abuse. Unfortunately, the cycle of this behavior tends to spiral downward, even if the political stress which was there before is identified by management and eliminated. It’s so important to see how employees get the best of themselves in this situation. Even political situations can be diffused and eliminated by the parties involved, if they know what to do about it.

The first step is to make sure that there is not an actual problem concerning business with a client or customer. Then, make sure that no one in the office or some asset in the office is not getting hurt. Secondly, make sure that everyone feels heard. Only at that point can understandings be dealt with appropriately. Employees can come to an understanding or have time to think about their own actions or can begin to feel a sense of remorse only after they feel that they themselves have been heard. It is so important to make sure that this is taken care of.

In the meantime, whether or not your worksite is filled with politics, you must make sure that no one is resorting to substance abuse to cover up their feelings. Workplace Drug Alcohol Testing laws can make drug screening necessary in some workplaces, but mostly Drug & Alcohol Testing and alcohol screening is implemented by the company and its desire to keep the jobsite positive and running smoothly. Smooth operation depends on there not being an energy of fighting. Alcohol Drug Testing and drug screening can really make a difference with that.

Deep down inside all of us, if we are fighting, our brains are not reasoning and blood flow is taken from the logical reasoning part of our brains and carried over to the reactive stance and fight or flight reactions which we all have. Don’t let this pervade your worksite. Call Mediscreen today to start implementing drug screening.

This article has been taken from http://mediscreen.net.au/articles/?p=1978

How Does Drug Testing Work?

Workplace drug testing is becoming more and more the norm across Australia, with many industries even regulating and enacting their own rules about how, where, and how often employees can be tested. If you're involved in an industry that performs onsite drug and alcohol testing, you may be interested in learning about how such testing works in this country.

The oldest, and still most frequently used, method of drug screening is urine analysis, or urinalysis. During this process, a candidate will be asked to supply a test sample. This sample (usually given within hearing range of a professional), will be sealed in a specific way, and will follow a strict chain of custody until it reaches a testing facility. This is to ensure that no one can tamper with the sample. Once a laboratory receives the sample, it will be generally split into two parts. Drug screening using urinalysis looks not for drugs themselves, but for the metabolites from drugs (when a substance is broken down by the body it leaves trace amounts of other related but different substances behind, these are known as metabolites). Usually, one half of the sample will undergo an immunoassay, a preliminary screening that tests for drug metabolites by attempting to get reactions with other substances. If this initial test proves positive, a second, more complicated test will usually be done, involving gas chromatography to confirm the findings of the first test. Drug alcohol testing is considered so reliable because positive findings are tested twice, decreasing the risk of false positives.

Nowadays, it is becoming more common for oral drug tests to be used for the drug screening process. Generally, this is because of convenience. It is much easier to collect a sample of someone's saliva than it is to get a urine sample. Plus, a registered professional can take a saliva sample, thus knowing exactly where it came from without the chance of samples being switched or adulterated. During this drug screening process, a small swab is inserted into someone's mouth, and held there for two minutes. The swab will then be taken for testing to a laboratory. However, a disadvantage of this form of drug screening is that it is fairly ineffective for picking up long time drug use. It is useful for detecting current drug and alcohol use though.

The use of oral workplace alcohol testing is seen by some as a good compromise for those concerned about personal privacy. Because it is only useful for diagnosing use at the current moment (when drug or alcohol use could be impacting your job performance) and does not speak about your past history, oral drug screening does not impact on personal privacy issues as much as urinalysis does. Both methods are effective ways of performing onsite drug & alcohol testing, however.

This article has been taken from http://mediscreen.net.au/articles/?p=1975

Hope for Better Growth Tomorrow

As you toil through your daily routines, it may seem as if every day is the same as the last. You cannot have hope if you have nothing to hope for. It is helpful to understand something about human nature. Life desires to fulfill and express itself to greater and more degrees in every way. Life itself has this characteristic, as does anything which is living. Trees grow, animals play, and children learn new ways of doing things.

Just because you are an adult now and have stopped growing physically does not mean that your mental or your emotional growth should stop. Often, people who enjoy challenges particularly enjoy work in which they can be creative and can step up their game from day to day. Not all of us have this job, but it is certainly something to strive for, both in our personal lives and in business.

Your company should reflect this same level of growth, and it is really important to understand some of the stumbling blocks which can get in the way of the progression of natural growth. For example, if some of your employees engage in drug or alcohol abuse, then you are looking at small individual walls which are being built inside the company. This slows down growth and further continuous fulfillment. Workplace alcohol drug testing can eliminate this problem, or at least make it a measurable situation.

If you can measure how much your employees are engaging in this illicit behavior while at work, then you can measure how much impact that it has on everyone around them. Drug alcohol testing is great for that employee who decides to have a drink at ten in the morning. Drug screening is perfect for the individual who wishes to knock off some of the stress of going to work. These little changes in your business can really result in better growth for tomorrow. 

You should have hope, too. Your business should be fulfilled in its own need for growth. Drug & alcohol testing can help you accomplish this goal. For more information about drug and alcohol testing, call Mediscreen today. 

This article has been taken from http://mediscreen.net.au/articles/?p=1972

Hold Your Tongue in the Company of Fools

There are several wise sayings pertaining to the fact that a fool will not understand the wisdom of your words, so it is best to not utter anything in their presence. What this is really saying is that people who have low abilities to comprehend social behavior and acceptable codes of conduct often find themselves ignoring advice from other people which is really good advice.

The above scenario should not be the case in your business, whether you are a newspaper or a candle making company. All of your employees should be able to help each other and take good advice from each other without idiocy getting in the way. Do you know what turns even the most respectable and kindhearted people foolish? That would be the effects of alcohol and illicit drugs.

Workplace drug testing exists to curb these situations. At any point in time, an employee should feel qualified to go to their boss and raise an issue which they believe is important. If they do not have advice givers in friends, they will be unable to discern between real problems and issues which they should handle themselves.

People are meant to help each other, not cause each other greater stress or harm or deficiency.

Some of the most amiable people on earth can be seen helping others, rather than becoming easily offended by an unwitting gesture. Workplace drug testing laws protect employees in industries which can affect the lives of many people. However, any company can easily and cost effectively implement alcohol testing in their workplace without the need of workplace drug testing laws. Any business can use onsite drug & alcohol testing for their needs. Drug testing in Australia has never been so easy, now that companies like Mediscreen use onsite drug and alcohol screening. Onsite testing ensures that employees can be screened at your place of business, and can then just return to work. It’s as easy as pie.

Alcohol testing can be especially necessary for work where fools prevail, whichever industry it may be. Sometimes, their words are not silly because they are idiots, but just because they are inebriated. Call Mediscreen today to schedule your testing.

This article has been taken from http://mediscreen.net.au/articles/?p=1969

Drug testing in the workplace – the effects of methamphetamine

Drug Alcohol Testing in the workplace is seen as the most effective method of reducing the abuse of drugs and alcohol on the job, not only in Australia but across the globe. Among the most common substance that is abused by workers is methamphetamine, from the family of amphetamines that act as stimulants and speed up activity of the central nervous system.

Such drugs are common among the socially upmarket, and have evolved street terms such as “ice”, “crystal meth”, “meth” and “glass”.

Employers that implement Drug & Alcohol Testing in the workplace, or who intend to do so, may want to know why employers often resort to these drugs, beyond its common use as social drugs that help the upwardly mobile gain acceptance among his or her peers.

The Australian Drug Info Clearinghouse has identified three ways in which taking these drugs can have an impact on an employee’s output.

Better performance – Some use methamphetamine because they believe it enhances their performance at work. Onsite drug and alcohol screening prevents these people from working and endangering others. Employees working shifts, hospitality staff working long hours or long-haul drivers needing to stay away and concentrate for extended periods may resort to these drugs. However, while they do indeed help people to stay alert, the drugs affect how someone sees the world and how they react to certain situations, which may affect the safety of them and others.

Socially – Some people take methamphetamine outside work, most often socially. However, the stimulant effect of these drugs can last anywhere between seven and 24 hours and the “coming down” time may have a negative effect on their ability to perform at optimum levels.

Long-term effects –Regular use of methamphetamine will have an effect on a person’s health and overall wellbeing. This may result in employees having to take more sick leave than normal.

If an employee is taking methamphetamine during working hours, often the effects can be apparent for all to see. Drug and alcohol testing in the workplace helps to keep these from happening on the job. These include:

Speeding up of bodily functions – The heart rate increase, blood pressure rises and the person breathes faster.

Feeling good – a person may feel excited and have a false sense of wellbeing. He or she will also be energetic, alert and have an increased sense of concentration. Can’t stop talking – a person under the influence of methamphetamine will be talking more than usual. They will be restless, clenching his or her jaw and grinding the teeth.

Can do attitude – he or she will have heightened confidence, which may lead to the person taking outrageous risks that could endanger lives.

Faster and stronger – the person may not realise that he or she is stronger and has faster reaction times, with the potential to hurt others without realizing the strength being used. Onsite drug and alcohol screening is the solution to these problems.

Different look – the person may have enlarged pupils, dry mouth, sweat more and have a higher body temperature.

Confused – the user may suddenly think differently, confusing others and making him or her difficult to understand. They may also suffer anxiety attacks and appear to be mentally unstable.

Pain – the person may suffer headaches, dizziness and have a reduced appetite. Workplace Alcohol Drug Testing helps prevent accidents on or near the jobsite.

This article has been taken from http://mediscreen.net.au/articles/?p=1963