Substance Abuse Test Is A Requirement For India Inc

By Author: Naman Vohra
Total Articles: 133
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As per an extract given Times Nation newspaper about the research conducted by Narcotics Control Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, GOI, about 5% of global population using drugs are in the age bracket of 15 to 64 years. Use of drugs, as per the Bureau, generally starts during the teens, and, a person is initiated into by starting to imitate his/her friends and peers. Other than that, about 0.7% of global population is problem drug users. And the sad news is, India very much a part of the above mentioned numbers.

This is equally bad news for India Inc. For a company, hiring someone who uses drugs can prove very risky and costly, monetarily and beyond. An employee possessing a drug abuse problem can bring in negative influence in the workplace in numerable ways. For instance, the employee under the influence of drugs can get into a fight with a colleague, can display an undesired behavior at workplace, can encourage other colleagues to do drugs, can be unproductive at work, etc.

Further specified by the Bureau, substance abuse leaves an individual with glazed eyes, drowsiness, running nose, cough and hallucinations. ...
... Companies can also judge whether an employee is under substance influence when the individual shows lack of motivation, slitary behavior, argumentative and irresponsible tendencies and changes in speech pattern.
Many companies in India are already in the know of how substance abuse can harm the overall productivity of its workforce and thus, the bottom-line. This is why; substance abuse testing is now part of the screening policy of many organizations. With a substance abuse test, they are not only screening out the candidates not fitting the list but are also doing away with the forthcoming possibilities of high employee turnover and absenteeism, and negative influences at workplace.

Companies generally opt for five-panel, nine-panel, eleven-panel or twelve-panel substance abuse tests. Drug abuse tests in India are typically conducted with urine sample or blood sample. Rarely is the hair sample or bone marrow sample taken for tests.

Drug abuse tests is a check that should not be restricted to just being part of pre-employment background screening. It should definitely be conducted from time to time. A surprise substance abuse test would not give the employee enough time to be prepared for the test, or enough time to let the effect of drug to wear off. Periodic drug abuse test will keep you ensured that your employees are complying with the corporate policy related to drugs and alcohol. Also, the tests bring to notice those employees who come to office under substance influence, thus, equipping the company with knowledge of the problem that needs to be tackled by the management immediately.

~Naman is associated with a leading background screening company that specializes in Employee screening