Pre Screening and Chain of Custody: The Ramifications

Workplace drug testing is about protection. This protection is meant to guard against both intentional and unintentional injuries on the jobsite. Unfortunately, drug related injuries are often unintentional due to the individual being under the influence of the drug.

In “The Autobiography of an Execution,” David Dow describes his experiences defending death row inmates in the United States. Death row inmates in Texas have very little chance of even delaying the execution date, since Texas executes more than any other state and it covers quite a large area of America. Dow talks about some of his clients, and how they originally put themselves in such a precarious position. Many of the crimes were based upon vengeance for hurt family members or unfaithful spouses, but a significant number of them were drug related crimes, and many of the drug related crimes involved the killer being under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and therefore not being in full control of their faculties or reasoning.

Drugs and alcohol take away your ability to correctly judge a situation and avoid ramifications. Employee drug testing gives you a certain amount of control over potential employee drug abuse, avoiding some of the intentional and unintentional consequences which can arise.

So, how unintentional can accidents be?

Well, as it turns out, everything is pretty intentional. The choice to abuse drugs or alcohol is fully conscious and premeditated. There is no way that you cannot choose to initially abuse either type of substance or Recalibration Service, and then continue to abuse it. It is completely up to the individual to decide and discern.

In Dow’s book, he described how, even though drugs and alcohol were available to most of the inmates, some of them turned around and repented of their previous actions. However, this change of heart obviously didn’t change their sentence, and his role as the attorney for these death row inmates was merely to delay execution for as long as possible. Hope lasted for thirty day increments since delays often only lasted a month.

Whatever your thoughts on preserving and giving up the rights to the sanctity of life, it is obvious that many of these atrocious crimes were committed while the people in question were unable to use their own sane judgment about what to do and how to react. 

Drug and Alcohol Testing and the Weather

The weather has a lot to do with our mood and how we hold up during confrontation or stress of any kind. Neurobiologists have found that serotonin and dopamine, the exciters, endorphins and feel-good, calm-down indicators of our moods are both highly increased during warm, pleasant sunny weather. In fact, as long as it is not unreasonably hot, warm weather is one of the most ideal conditions by which humans measure their good mood throughout the day. Sunshine has been proven scientifically as absolutely necessary to the reproduction of cells, and this includes all types of cells, including stem cells. This means that, the more sunshine you receive during the day, the more likely you are to be reproducing healthy cells.

Now, sunshine is not liked by everyone. There are some people who prefer cold weather or rainy conditions, and these people are more likely to become unreasonably hot during pleasantly warm conditions. This could be due to several things, including but not limited to overactive thyroid or parathyroid, inflamed muscles or tissues, or being overweight and overheating easily. People who overheat easily tend to be somewhat immune to cold weather and feel more active and social during cold weather when their bodies are operating under prime temperatures. However, the majority of people do better in warm balmy sunny weather, and this is generally due to the sunshine and fresh air they receive in abundance when they spend a great deal of time outside. It is not so much about their preferred weather conditions, as it is about the chemical and serotonin production within their minds and muscles.

Workplace drug testing improves personal responsibility, which helps to create similar feelings of endorphins, much like the ones we experience when exposed to warm direct sunlight. Employee drug and alcohol testing improves personal accountability for actions on the jobsite, which in turn improves feelings of self confidence and accomplishment. These feelings of accomplishment are important for internal motivation on the jobsite. Internal motivation is one of the highest qualities an employee can possess. Employee drug testing is a huge benefit in the workplace, both directly and indirectly. 

Choice Theory and the Workplace

This article is based upon Choice Theory: A New Psychology of Personal Freedom by Dr. William Glasser. It is an excellent read and is highly recommended for both business owners and individuals suffering from emotional blocks in their personal lives.

The basis for Dr. Glasser’s psychology is personal choice and the fact that we choose everything in our lives, with no exception. He discusses each of our varying needs for power, freedom, love and bonding, stability, and fun. He also discusses how our emotions are active choices, not passive occurrences which happen to us. Someone or something does not make us angry, we choose to anger. Circumstances are not frustrating, we choose to frustrate. Dr. Glasser states that defining these terms honestly, in active tense, is instrumental in learning that we choose everything that we feel, believe and act upon and that these personal choices can make or break us, but that they are our choices, not somebody else’s.

Let us practice some of these actively stated emotions with respect to the workplace environment. One of your employees keeps coming in late and you actively choose to frustrate over this. Your quarterly earnings do not meet the projected rates and now you choose to worry. Your marriage is on the rocks and you hate being away from home, so you choose to dissociate and not concentrate on the job at hand. Your life is not how you wanted it to be, and yet you specifically and purposely chose every single thing which led up to your current level of angering.

In addition to changing the realistic description of your emotions so that you recognize how in control you really are, Dr. Glasser also recommends that you think about all of the relationships in your life, romantic, familial and professional. Before you react to someone’s behavior, ask yourself one question, “Will my behavior draw me closer to this person or push me further away from them?” Dr. Glasser describes how attempting to control someone will push them further away and how giving them personal freedom of choice will draw them closer to you. There is a myth that marriage vows and senior executive positions safeguard you from consequences for your actions. Many individuals believe that their marriage gives them room to behave in an inappropriate manner or that their job status gives them security. However, relationships are simply points in space, and both individuals have to show up every day in order to continue having that relationship. There are no invisible bonds keeping either party somehow tied to the other. Even after twenty years of marriage, the decision to show up every day has to be active and mutual.

Threats, cajoling, excuses, downsizing irresponsible behavior, lack of responsibility and abusive attitudes all actively work to threaten your company and your relationship with your company employees. Good management will override the need for less professional behavior. Drug and alcohol testing will strengthen the relationships with your employees and create a positive working environment. 

Can Drug and Alcohol Screening in Your Business Save You Money?

Drug Test Kits

Drug and alcohol testing is not always seen as entirely cost-effective. However, it is quite financially efficient. Logically speaking, employees under the influence of illicit substances have consistently lower levels of productivity. Even small areas of low productivity can significantly affect an entire organization. When one part of the business is sluggish, it slows down the remaining departments. In addition to this, better pre-employment strategies, such as drug screening, was found to save a test organization up to $162 per applicant hired among a test group of 2533 applicants, in a study by Zwerling, Ryan and Orav.^[1]

In another research project, the total annual loss of productivity due to drug and alcohol abuse was estimated at $100 billion.^[2] The research states that two factors have been the leading cause for using urinalysis for drug testing: the growing demand for drug testing in the workforce, and technical developments in drug testing methods, which allow for easier, more widespread and more cost effective testing. At this point, reliable, low-cost testing equipment is necessary and would prevent individual organizations from losing money on their testing programs, rather than increasing income because of them.

Employees under the influence have consistently low levels of job retention. The organization must foot the bill for high employee turnover. Not only does low job retention affect the organization as a whole, but it affects coworkers who retain steady, reliable, trustworthy employment. In a study conducted by David Parish,^[3] it was determined that a minimum of 10% higher rate of employee turnover occurred in drug-positive workers than in their negatively-tested counterparts, and that drug-positive office staff were significantly more likely to be fired or to leave without notice than the managerial staff. Organizations are less likely to be able to retain high quality workers when pre-employment testing is not maintained, and office staff is more likely to have a high employee turnover rate than staff in a more professional or managerial capacity, although management also tested positive. This was to a lesser degree, but the difference in drug-positive testing between upper and lower management was not considered due to less usage, but to the lower echelon staff receiving more frequent evaluations from which they could be fired.

At CMM Technology, we offer steady, consistent alcohol and drug testing equipment and training, at an affordable and easily serviceable price. Our services will reduce the stress environment in your business, as well as remain cost-effective.

For expert assistance on a quality workplace drug testing solution, contact our team of industry professionals today on (+618) 9204 2500.

1. “JAMA — Abstract: Costs and Benefits of Preemployment Drug Screening, January 1, 1992, Zwerling et al. 267 (1): 91.” JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, a weekly peer-reviewed medical journal published by AMA. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2010. http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/267/1/91.

2. “NCJRS Abstract – National Criminal Justice Reference Service.” National Criminal Justice Reference Service. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2010. http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=132364.

3. Parish, David C.. “Relation of the Pre-employment Drug Testing Result To Employment Status: A One-year Follow-up.” SpringerLink.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2010. www.springerlink.com/content/b442n8x8373164w6/fulltext.pdf.

What’s a Saliva Drug Test?

Drug Test, Drug Testing

With the prevalence of drug and alcohol use within society, there’s been a corresponding call by occupational safety experts and businesses to address the matter in a satisfactory way. In ‘high risk’ industries such aviation, mining and construction, the call to eliminate or reduce risks caused by intoxication or drug induced impairment is a very real health and safety concern of critical importance. To date, the most effective method (from both a deterrent and detection standpoint) is the workplace drug and alcohol testing program.

In many workplaces throughout the world, the traditional method for drug and alcohol testing consists of urine testing. However, with the advent of state-of-the-art technology and a more educative as opposed to punitive approach towards breaches of workplace protocol, less invasive methods of detection have increased in use: one such method being the saliva drug test.

The saliva drug test (also called an oral fluid or a mouth swab test), is an increasingly popular method of detection by many Unions and employees. A commonly cited reason for its preferred status is that its limited detection window (which only extends to very recent drug use), contrasts with traditional urine drug test which can detect a history of drug use that reaches back for many weeks or even months in the case of cannabis. Another reason for the popularity of this methodology, is due to the simplicity of this new technology and to the much simpler, more cost-effective and comparatively easy to deploy method of implementation: as no advanced medical knowledge or urine testing units are required to collect samples, most staff can, in fact, competently manage their workplace drug test program without a nursing or medical qualification. However, most countries do require that authorised collectors receive accredited training.

Overall, some of the key advantages of the saliva drug test (to traditional forms of drug and alcohol detection methods) include:

• Simple application

• Procedures are less disruptive for normative workplace operations

• Screening results are obtained within minutes

• ‘Down time’ for employees is minimised

• Less resistance by unions and employees on the grounds of privacy invasion and intrusive detection methodology

• Only recent drug use or exposure is identified

• Cost-effective testing method

• Collection process is observed from start to finish: this prevents sample collections being tampered, diluted, substituted or adulterated

• Testing process can be conducted wherever necessary: from remote work sites to other places of employment, thereby causing minimal disruption to workplace business

• In most countries, the process is fully supported by laboratory confirmation of ‘presumptive positive’ results. In this way, employees are not required to provide additional samples for analysis.

For more information about the workplace saliva test, contact CMM Technology™ today on (+618) 9204 2500 or visit www.cmm.com.au. As a leading drug and alcohol testing supplier and professional service provider, they’re your first choice industry expert. Providing a comprehensive selection of quality saliva testing technology, you can be confident in receiving only the best available technology. Moreover, CMM Technology’s professional services (such as consultation, accredited training, online product training) provide additional expert support.