Last updated : November 11, 2024
The push to legalize marijuana and the decline of the popularity of the war on drugs have led some people to question the merits of a drug-free workplace. Some wonder if the benefits of implementing drug-free workplace programs outweigh the negatives. Many employers in Atlanta, however, have found multiple benefits to having a drug-free workplace.
Safety & Insurance
Drugs negatively impact people’s motor skills and focus, so people on drugs can negatively impact the safety of a workplace. Jobs that are more dangerous than others require more focus and concentration, so being under the influence of drugs could cause a person to not be able to complete a job safely—leading to injury to not only the intoxicated or drugged employee but also drug-free employees.
Insurance companies know that drug use on the job can be a liability, and they charge businesses accordingly. Since workplaces that are not drug-free often have significantly higher numbers of workers’ compensation claims than those that are drug-free, insurance companies pass that cost on to the non-drug-free companies. Many insurance companies will offer a drug-free discount to eligible businesses, which lowers the amount of money people have to pay for insurance.
Productivity & Attendance
People who do not have their focus and motor skills impaired function more productively than those who do have them impaired, so more work gets done in a drug-free environment. Drug-free workplaces also tend to have better morale as employees often have an overall better sense of good productivity than those in workplaces that do not test for drugs.
Employees who do drugs are more likely to miss work than those who do not do drugs. Missing work puts more strain on other workers, which can lead to higher turnover and lower productivity. Tardiness has also been linked to drug use since those who use drugs are more likely to be late to work than those who do not use drugs. Creating a drug-free workplace decreases absence and tardiness in the workplace.
Popularity & Turnover
While some people may balk at working for a company that conducts drug tests, many others jump at the opportunity. These people want to know that their coworkers are giving their all at work and are not compromising their ability to work safely and efficiently by doing drugs. This popularity can attract high-quality workers, which can cut down on advertising and training costs.
If a drug-free company attracts higher-quality workers, then that company will experience a lower rate of turnover than a company that does not drug-test. Turnover leads to additional training expenses and strain on current workers who have to work harder and longer while substitutes for positions are being filled. Companies also lose out on those training expenses when the people they have trained leave due to being drug users or to not wanting to work with drug users.
Discipline & Theft
Employers who have drug-free workplaces have to deal with fewer discipline problems than their non-drug-free counterparts. Since doing drugs negatively affects people’s decision-making abilities, employees on drugs are more likely to make poor decisions than those not doing drugs. Changing to a drug-free workplace decreases instances of employee discipline.
Theft and fraud also decrease in a drug-free workplace due to a similar increase in reasoning abilities. People on drugs often not only steal from coworkers and employers due to clouded judgment but also to fund their habits.
Atlanta employers are aware of these benefits, which is why they use drug-free workforce programs to make drug-free workplaces for their employees. Drug-free businesses are safer, more profitable and more efficient than their non-drug-free counterparts.
