Drug Abuse In Businesses And In The Workplace

Drug abuse is a very common problem, one that can have a big impact. Businesses have a vested interest in rooting out all cases of drug abuse, especially when this activity affects the workplace or business. This is one of the main reasons that many companies insist on mandatory drug screening before any new applicant is hired. Some companies go even further to ensure there is no drug abuse among employees or affecting the workplace, with random screening on current employees as well. This prevents an individual from stopping the substance use just long enough to pass the initial hire screening, then going back to old habits after they are hired.

Drug abuse affects businesses in a number of ways, and can really damage a company and have devastating consequences for employees. Individuals who use drugs have a higher rate of accidents and injuries on the job, costing employers millions of dollars each year on medical and insurance costs alone. Many workplaces involve dangerous activities, and drug abuse can cause an employee to become careless or make a mistake. This can cause injuries or even death, not just to the worker high on drugs but also other employees around them. Drug abuse in the workplace is a big problem across the country.

Drug abuse hurts businesses in other ways as well. Individuals who use alcohol or drugs routinely have a much higher absenteeism rate, and call in more frequently than employees who do not have problems with drug misuse. This causes a loss of productivity, which affects the company financially by lowering the profits made during the period that the employee was absent. For a small business with fewer employees this can be devastating.

Theft is another issue that is commonly linked with drug abuse. A drug habit can be expensive, and often when drugs are wanted but there are no funds available the user may steal something in an attempt to get the drugs. This type of activity can be very expensive for businesses to absorb, and lowers the morale of all the employees and affects the atmosphere of the business. If the individual with a drug abuse problem has access to company accounts or other financial assets of the business embezzlement may occur to cover the cost of the substance abuse. Some companies have lost very large sums of money by the time that the theft is detected, and in some cases recovery is not possible.