Benefits of a Drug Free Workplace

Drug-Free Work Place Benefits

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Investment in workplace drug prevention can have huge effects on your bottom line. The benefits of having an employee drug testing and pre-employment drug screening program are many. Employee drug testing will:

  1. Save your company time, money and legal costs. (Drug abuse costs American employers over $100 billion a year1.)
  2. Reduce HR and hiring costs. Pre-employment drug screening saves time and lessens costs in training new employees. Illicit drug users are more than twice as likely to change employers three or more times per year2.
  3. Lower worker’s compensation costs. Some states permit insurance companies to deny or reduce worker’s compensation benefits based on drug testing. Drug users file up to 5 times as many worker’s compensation claims as non-abusers1.
  4. Save money due to reduced employee losses, errors and repairs and risks to company assets.
  5. Lower accident rates and lower cost for auto and liability insurance. (Substance abusers are 3.5 times more likely to be involved in a workplace accident2.)
  6. Reduce employee absenteeism, tardiness and turnover. Alcohol abuse alone causes each year 500 million lost workdays3. Workers who abuse illicit drugs or alcohol are likely to miss in average two days of work per month due to illness or injury and are likely to skip work for two days per month5.
  7. Lower health insurance costs. Substance abusers incur 300% higher medical costs than non-abusers1.
  8. Prevent employee theft, fraud and damage losses. (Disciplinary actions are 90% higher among drug abusers.)
  9. Receive a higher rate of collection on insurance. Companies can deny claims if employees are not drug-free. Some companies require drug testing for claims to be valid.
  10. Reduce accidents and increase employee safety. (38%-58% of on the job injuries can be attributed to drug or alcohol abuse).
  11. Create a safer workplace. (Up to 20% of industrial fatalities can be linked to alcohol abuse and alcoholism4.)
  12. Increase employee productivity. (When drug abusers do show up for work, they are 33% less productive.)
  13. Improve employee morale. Employees who are NOT drug users usually know which employees ARE drug users.

And last, but not least …

  1. Be your most valuable risk management tool. Of the 17.2 million illicit drug users aged 18 or older in 2005, 12.9 million (74.8 percent) were employed either full or part time4. 8.8 percent of full time employees use illicit drugs while 8.9 percent report heavy alcohol use5.

Let Employee Drug Testing Ace be your one-stop employee drug testing and pre-employment drug screening provider. Please Contact Us today. We can give you everything you need to quickly become a Certified Drug-free Workplace.

 

1 Tennessee Drug Free Workplace Program, The Cost: Substance Abuse Adversely Affects Your Balance Sheet
2 SAMHSA, What You Need to Know About the Cost of Substance Abuse, Issue Brief #7 For Employers, 2008
3 United States Department of Labor, elaws – Drug-Free Workplace Advisor
4 United States Department of Labor, Workplace Substance Abuse
5 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Workplace Substance Use: Quick Facts to Inform Managers, 2008