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Why Do Companies Engage in Workplace Drug Testing?

56% of U.S. employers use pre-employment drug tests, or randomly drug test employees.

These companies pay $3,750,500,000 annually in pre-employment drug testing costs. (Statistic Brain)

Although it’s a hefty investment, for many employers there’s no way to get around workplace drug testing policies. It’s a practice rooted in legal compliance and corporate culture. But it’s well-intentioned. 

Drug testing’s limitations as a safety measure have been firmly established. Yet despite experiencing these limitations, companies have continued relying on drug testing, considering it to be the only tool that can have any effect in combating impairment in their workforce.

You may be curious: Exactly how does alertness testing with AlertMeter^TM compare and contrast with drug testing? What kinds of information does each test provide? Which has a greater impact on day-to-day safety performance?

No Workplace is Immune to Impairment Risk

Many employers may not fully realize the potential hazards that impairment and diminished alertness present in their workplaces, especially if employees' job tasks are safety-sensitive, involve heavy equipment, or require a high degree of technical skill.

The benefits of managing fatigue and monitoring for impairment are becoming more widely recognized, especially as technological innovations like the AlertMeter^® alertness level test technology make the benefits easily accessible.

These benefits result from the way alertness level testing fills certain needs that today’s employers have but that are not otherwise met by existing and traditional safety equipment and practices.