Employment drug screening-3 WC Blog 645
Drug testing-3
Employment Drug Screening Improves Worker Safety
There are a number of reasons to conduct employment drug screening before hiring a new worker but one of the reasons that make it important is workplace safety. I understand that keeping workers safe should be a given but as an employer there are more factors in play that safety impacts in your store. Consider for a moment that if an employee does not feel safe at their job they could decide to quit. When that employee quits what happens? You the store owner or manager is forced to post the job opening, review applications and interview candidates. Once you are through that process you are going to have to spend time training the new worker and understand that productivity won’t be where it was when you had that trained person working for you. A work environment that does not feel safe to your team can be an extreme drain on your overall profit line.
You could be thinking that you can operate a safe workplace without having to worry about whether employees are using drugs or if you have a need to conduct drug testing. Here are some facts you might find interesting from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) Source: BJS, Violence in the Workplace, 1993-99, NCJ 190076, December 2001. :
For victims of workplace violence:
• 35% believed the offender was drinking or using drugs at the time of the incident.
• 36% did not know if the offender had been drinking or using drugs.
• 27% of all workplace offenders had not been drinking or using drugs.
Victims of workplace violence varied in their perception of whether the offender used alcohol or drugs by occupation:
• 47% in law enforcement perceived the offender to be using alcohol or drugs
• 35% in the medical field
• 31% in retail sales (emphasis mine)
According to a Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report by Joyce Northwood, originally posted December 7, 2011, “Assaults and Violent Acts in the Private Retail Trade Sector, 2003-2008”, the author wrote the following; “From 2003-2008, there were 944 homicides and 8,700 nonfatal assaults by persons in the retail trade sector.” On page 3 of the report the author also points out that, “First-line supervisors and managers of sales workers accounted for 45% of fatalities in retail trade.” (bls.gov). If there are this many incidents of violence and a large proportion of those who have been victims of violence perceive that drugs or alcohol contributed to those assaults, you can bet those workers will not be happy if they know another employee is a drug user.
Employment drug screening is the answer for employers who want to minimize the chance they hire someone who is a drug user. That is that done by partnering with a company that has been in the business of Retail Loss Prevention consultation and theft reduction for over 25 years. Bill Bregar founded the company in 1983 and Loss Prevention Systems Inc. (LPSI) was incorporated in 1993. Since then the company has focused on helping customers improve profits and reduce shortage with anti-theft solutions, investigations, training programs, email tips, background checks and pre-employment drug testing and much more. With this much experience it is a smart choice to hire LPSI to conduct pre-employment drug screening and ongoing random drug screening to keep your current staff happy.
Finally, if maintaining a violence-free work place isn’t reason enough for you to have drug screenings as part of your hiring process then think about the money you could be saving on accidents. Alcohol and drugs contribute to an overall increase in accidents, associated medical expenses and lost time at work. By drug testing job candidates, making random drug testing and post-accident drug testing conditions for employment, retail store owners can improve the store culture. Improving the culture leads to a more productive and happier team and that drives up profits and that is the point of being in business.
Get more information on drug testing, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
There are a number of reasons to conduct employment drug screening before hiring a new worker but one of the reasons that make it important is workplace safety. I understand that keeping workers safe should be a given but as an employer there are more factors in play that safety impacts in your store. Consider for a moment that if an employee does not feel safe at their job they could decide to quit. When that employee quits what happens? You the store owner or manager is forced to post the job opening, review applications and interview candidates. Once you are through that process you are going to have to spend time training the new worker and understand that productivity won’t be where it was when you had that trained person working for you. A work environment that does not feel safe to your team can be an extreme drain on your overall profit line.
You could be thinking that you can operate a safe workplace without having to worry about whether employees are using drugs or if you have a need to conduct drug testing. Here are some facts you might find interesting from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) Source: BJS, Violence in the Workplace, 1993-99, NCJ 190076, December 2001.
For victims of workplace violence:
• 35% believed the offender was drinking or using drugs at the time of the incident.
• 36% did not know if the offender had been drinking or using drugs.
• 27% of all workplace offenders had not been drinking or using drugs.
Victims of workplace violence varied in their perception of whether the offender used alcohol or drugs by occupation:
• 47% in law enforcement perceived the offender to be using alcohol or drugs
• 35% in the medical field
• 31% in retail sales (emphasis mine)
According to a Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report by Joyce Northwood, originally posted December 7, 2011, “Assaults and Violent Acts in the Private Retail Trade Sector, 2003-2008”, the author wrote the following; “From 2003-2008, there were 944 homicides and 8,700 nonfatal assaults by persons in the retail trade sector.” On page 3 of the report the author also points out that, “First-line supervisors and managers of sales workers accounted for 45% of fatalities in retail trade.” (bls.gov). If there are this many incidents of violence and a large proportion of those who have been victims of violence perceive that drugs or alcohol contributed to those assaults, you can bet those workers will not be happy if they know another employee is a drug user.
Employment drug screening is the answer for employers who want to minimize the chance they hire someone who is a drug user. That is that done by partnering with a company that has been in the business of Retail Loss Prevention consultation and theft reduction for over 25 years. Bill Bregar founded the company in 1983 and Loss Prevention Systems Inc. (LPSI) was incorporated in 1993. Since then the company has focused on helping customers improve profits and reduce shortage with anti-theft solutions, investigations, training programs, email tips, background checks and pre-employment drug testing and much more. With this much experience it is a smart choice to hire LPSI to conduct pre-employment drug screening and ongoing random drug screening to keep your current staff happy.
Finally, if maintaining a violence-free work place isn’t reason enough for you to have drug screenings as part of your hiring process then think about the money you could be saving on accidents. Alcohol and drugs contribute to an overall increase in accidents, associated medical expenses and lost time at work. By drug testing job candidates, making random drug testing and post-accident drug testing conditions for employment, retail store owners can improve the store culture. Improving the culture leads to a more productive and happier team and that drives up profits and that is the point of being in business.
Get more information on drug testing, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
