Abstract

Drug testing in the workplace is a controversial issue. There are those who feel that it is necessary to prevent risks to public safety caused by substance abuse while on the job. Others feel that the costs far outweigh the benefits and that it is an invasion of privacy. Ethical issues aside, evidence presented in this report supports the latter. The costs of drug testing are high and only a small percentage of employees are actually found to be substance users. Drug testing in the work place has the opposite effect on productivity than was originally intended. It actually reduces productivity instead of increasing it. Drug testing causes a feeling of mistrust and drug testing should not be a part of a healthy work environment.

Introduction

Drug testing in the workplace is a controversial issue. There are those who hold the position that drug testing in the workplace is an invasion of privacy. On the other side of the issue are those who believe that in today’s society drug testing is a necessary evil, regardless of the invasion of privacy issue. These persons point out that in positions where public and personal safety is an issue, the safety of the public over rides any other issue, as in the case of air line pilots, bus drivers and health care professionals, to name a few. The goals of employee drug testing include improvements in workplace safety, productivity, and product integrity so that the individual industry will have an improved fiscal bottom line. However, as a decline in the use of drug testing by companies would suggest, drug testing programs did not meet these goals. This research will support the theory that drug testing in the work place does not improve productivity, and that it costs more money than it saves for companies.

The Reliability Issue