Last updated : May 12, 2025
The efficacy of workplace drug testing is often questioned. At USA Mobile Drug Testing our emphasis is on safety and compliance; our compliance consultants are finding there are many other benefits of implementing a drug free workplace program. Employer clients are telling USA Mobile Drug Testing about problems that are associated with drug-using employees which include:
- increased use of health services and insurance benefits
- greater absenteeism
- more frequent job turnover
- increased risk of accidents
- decreased productivity
A new poll conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) in collaboration with and commissioned by the Drug & Alcohol Testing Industry Association (DATIA) showed similar results as to what USA Mobile Drug Testing consultants are hearing.
According to the poll released in September of 2011, more than half of employers (57 percent) conduct drug tests on all job candidates, while only 29 percent do not conduct drug tests on any job candidates. “Among the organizations using these testing programs, the tendency is to continue the use of them over relatively long periods of time,” said Mark Schmit, director of research at SHRM. “In addition, organizations are reporting positive impacts related to drug and alcohol testing that supports the efficacy of these programs.”
The SHRM/DATIA poll – Drug Testing Efficacy — found that some employers noticed an impact on employee productivity, absenteeism and workers compensation incidence rates after implementing drug testing programs.
Here are some of the employer benefits of drug testing as revealed by the study:
- Organizations with high absenteeism rates (more than 15%) experienced a decrease in absenteeism of approximately 50% after implementing a drug testing program
- Organizations with high workers’ compensation incidence rates experienced a decrease of approximately 50% after implementing a drug testing program
- Approximately 19% of the survey respondents revealed an increase in employee productivity after implementing a drug testing program
- Approximately 16% of survey respondents revealed a decrease in employee turn-over after implementing a drug testing program
- Approximately 72% of employers with multinational operations indicated that they use the same protocols and policies used in the United States when conducting drug testing outside of the U.S.
The study also compared the use of pre-employment drug testing by employer size and revealed that larger organizations utilized drug testing significantly more than smaller organizations.
USA Mobile Drug Testing helps employers implement even more effective drug testing programs by eliminating the travel time and wait time experienced by employees going off site for a drug test. Available 24/7 for mobile collections, USA Mobile Drug Testing owner operators available in most business communities are the industry compliance experts.
