Improving Drug Testing for a Safer, More Productive Workforce

Workplace drug testing has long played a critical role in discouraging employees from using illicit drugs and, thereby, helping create a productive and safe work environment. The reasons are clear.

Substance use disorders cost U.S. employers tens of billions in lost productivity and increased health care spending each year. Further, online clinic Quit Genius estimates an employer incurs annual costs of between $16,000 and $21,000 for each employee with untreated addictions to multiple substances. This is almost three times more than safety and health spending on employees with no drug or alcohol issues, according to Quit Genius.

Additionally, an analysis published by Occupational Safety & Health in July 2019, states, “The U.S. Department of Labor and the National Institute on Drug Abuse has found that employees who suffer from drug or alcohol dependency are nearly three times more likely to either cause or personally experience an injury-related absence from work.” And when the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration looked at industries with high illicit drug use and high risks of workplace incidents, the agency identified

• Retail, with 1 in 10 employees abusing illicit drugs;
• Construction, with 1 in 9 employees abusing illicit drugs; and
• Manufacturing, with over 1.1 million employees abusing drugs.

These problems also affect employees who work from home and in the field. For instance, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration reports that through August 2021, the number of positive drug tests for commercial truck and bus drivers had increase by nearly 13 percent over the number for all of 2020. Most of the positive tests were for marijuana. Cocaine and methamphetamines were the second and third most commonly detected drugs.

Despite these staggering statistics, progress is being made in curbing drug use that makes working less safe. As early as 2000, a study titled “An Evaluation of Drug Testing in the Workplace: A Study of the Construction Industry” revealed that successfully introducing and implementing a workplace drug testing program involving tracking reduced injury rates by 51 percent within the first two years.

Drug Testing During the Pandemic

Understandably, many employers have faced multiple challenges to conducting initial and ongoing drug screenings of workers over the past two years. The typical drug testing process involves a job applicant or employee going to a laboratory or licensed testing facility to provide urine and/or blood samples that are taken by professionally trained technicians.

Work-from-home policies and shutdown orders put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruptions to this lab-based drug testing process. That led employers to choose rapid remote testing methods, which, in turn, allowed them to hire faster without sacrificing safety and while improving the experience for job applicants and employees.

Rapid tests typically involve inserting test strips in urine samples or swabbing a person’s tongue, gums or inner cheek to obtain an oral fluid (i.e., saliva) sample. The use of oral fluid tests is subject to fewer regulations than lab testing is, and the results of “negative” or “non-negative” are observable within seconds.

Speed and ease of use are major reasons saliva testing has become a popular option for employers looking to efficiently fill positions with highly qualified candidates. By contrast, 2021’s perfect storm of natural disasters, COVID-19 surges, supply chain issues and new government regulations slowed turnaround times for lab-administered drug tests even more than usual. Many employers must wait about a day longer than expected to receive results. Any delay is frustrating, but waiting can become unsupportable when hiring and making decisions about continued employment must be done quickly.

Other main benefits of implementing rapid, remote drug testing into a drug-free workplace program, include

• Accuracy: Oral fluid testing can tell employers if a candidate or employee has used any illegal drugs in the last 36 hours. Research reported in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology in December 2017 indicates such tests are up to 98 percent accurate.
• Cost-Effectiveness: Rapid remote drug testing saves employers money because there is no need to contract with a lab or testing facility. Eliminating that expense can save an employer as much as $25 per test. No longer relying on lab results also shortens the time to hire.
• Convenience: Saliva collections can occur in various locations, which makes them more convenient than drug tests performed at a lab. Applicants and employees will save time and money when they self-administer drug tests at home.
• Virtual Integrity: Taking oral fluid samples is the only drug testing method not prone to cheating because an individual authorized by the employer can watch an applicant or employer perform the swab. The individual being tested should have no opportunity to switch samples or falsify information when someone else is watching them closely in person or via video as they self-administer the drug test. Video monitoring ensures the validity and integrity of the saliva sample and protects everyone involved from exposure to the coronavirus. In this way, implementing rapid remote drug testing demonstrates an employer’s concern for the health and well-being of its people.
• Privacy: Unlike urine or blood samples, oral fluids can be collected anywhere. Swabbing inside the mouth does not require a certified professional, and the person taking the test does not need to enter a bathroom stall.

Ensuring the safety and productivity of employees is mission critical. The future of workplace drug testing will be less about preventing impairment and more about maintaining a healthy workforce whose members operate in drug-free working conditions. Realizing that vision requires implementing quick, efficient and cost-effective drug testing methods.