Drug abusing employees are considered to pose problems for themselves and also for their organizations. While substance abuse affects any sort of business, small businesses which are in growth and developmental stages, suffer more.
Many of the small businesses have fewer employees. The owners develop close and friendly relationship with employees as they tend to work together and share small work areas. It is often thought that substance abuse problems in any of the employees can be sorted out easily by dealing with the concerned employee. However, substance abuse problems grow faster and it often becomes difficult to control them. They impair the productivity and profitability of the business, affecting its fiscal well-being.
Increased absenteeism, decreased productivity, rising number of accidents, use of sick leaves, and jumps in workers’ compensation claims are evident with drug abusing employees. In order to curb these substance abuse problems and ensure discipline, improved productivity, organization’s efficiency and also safety at workplace, it is necessary to conduct drug tests even in small businesses. However, many such businesses do not have drug-testing policies as they cannot afford employee drug tests. They also lack resources to develop drug-free workplace programs. However, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), through its website, provides free resources to help small businesses to develop substance abuse programs. Also, the United States Department of Labor offers them easy-to-use tools to ensure a safe and drug-free workplace. Cost-effective multi-panel drug test kits which can detect multiple drugs at a time are the best tools for small business owners to conduct employee drug testing.