It can be quite unsettling when you read an article that features people who confess they use drugs in the workplace. Even more unsettling are claims that being high helps them do their jobs better.
When we talk about drugs that are a workplace hazard, people often think of the usual suspects like marijuana, cocaine, heroin and ice, among others. What many don’t realise is that prescribed medications can pose such a health and safety risk in the workplace too. Employers with workplace drug policies in place also need to realise that prescription medication use or abuse in the workplace can be the toughest drug problem they will have to face.
The price of alcohol may skyrocket, but Australians will continue drinking nevertheless, according to the country’s largest alcohol retailers.
Two mine sites in Western Australia were raided last month as part of the government’s crackdown on illicit drugs, according to a report by Esmarie Swanepoel for Mining Weekly.
The subjects of the drug raids by Western Australian police were iron-ore miner Fortescue’s Christmas Creek mine and the Cloudbreak mine site. (more…)
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Australian businesses are losing up to $6 billion in productivity because of drugs and alcohol issues in the workplace, according to an article by Yolanda Redrup for SmartCompany. (more…)
While some employers conduct random and completely unannounced drug testing on their workers, there are some who schedule a company-wide drug test procedure, enabling employees to be aware of the upcoming drug test Typically, drug users will take desperate measures to pass those drug test by all means, and this article is not in any way about that. This is just basic information addressed to everyone so they would know what documents to prepare or what steps to take to ensure that their drug testing would go as smoothly as possible.
A lot employers these days have already realised how important it is to have a drug-free environment in the workplace. With all the trouble attached to drug-related mishaps and incidents in the workplace, the decision by employers to implement a workplace drug policy is a wise one. Some employers, however, don’t know where to begin just yet. Here are some tips for employers who wish to establish a drug-free environment in the workplace for the first time.
From the very start, the idea of random drug testing has always been a divisive one. It has its share of both supporters and critics. Those who advocate say it is the right of the employer to know if any of his or her workers are impaired in the name of workplace health and safety. Its enemies, on the other hand, say random drug testing is a gross violation of a worker’s right to privacy, among other things.
What does the public in general think about random drug testing? We asked some people around for their views on random drug testing, and here are some completely random opinions that we collected.
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