Drug use in the United States is at an alarming pace, and this is being felt in no greater place than the
While substance abuse is a valid concern for businesses of any size, smaller businesses are at a of drug abusers damaging or completely destroying the company.
As far as American employees go as a whole, about half work at large corporations and the other half work at small business. The landscape shifts dramatically when looking at drug users.
1: Smaller businesses often do not require new employees to during the hiring process. Drug users have a better chance of ‘slipping through’ to jobs than at a larger corporation.
2: Small businesses often do not have an .
3. Owners of smaller businesses often have a with their employees than larger business owners. This creates a more difficult and complex situation when dealing with a drug abusing employee. Small business owners are more likely to turn a blind eye to drug abuse and give more ‘second chances’ than owners of larger companies
- Drug users are more likely to miss work, be less productive, and be less focused. While the cost of these actions is difficult to quantify, it can add up to lots of dollars down the drain.
-. An unproductive employee may mishandle customer requests, needs, and complaints, causing disgruntled customers to take their business elsewhere. A small company most likely cannot absorb losing customers as easily nor can attract customers as quickly as a larger company. These losses can greatly impact the bottom line.
- Smaller businesses pockets are not as deep as larger corporations. If an impaired employee causes an accident or injury, the resulting lawsuits, workers comp claims, and property damage could devastate a small business much faster than a large corporation.
-. Employees of small businesses work closely together, and a drug abusing employee can strangle the productivity. Knowing other employees are abusing drugs can bring down morale. Workers may also have to redo work or cover for a drug abusing co-worker. The top producing employees may become disgruntled by the drug abusers performance to the point that they may leave the company.
Implement drug screening as part of the pre-employment screening process. A good portion of drug testing is relatively low-cost. This step can bring about a high level of benefit by screening out drug abusers BEFORE they are hired.
Check out OSHA’s website. There are lots of free tools and resources available to create a drug free workplace.
It’s advisable to have a written plan of how and on what occasions your company screens for drugs, and the actions that will be taken if an employee has drugs in their system. Stay consistent with that plan.
These 3 steps are to the company and a good starting point to and expense of employing drug abusers.
Having a program in place can play a vital role in increasing productivity, minimizing accidents, decreasing theft, and improving safety and attendance. And, for small companies, this can be the difference in thriving or going out of business.