What Stress Factors Cause Employees To Turn To Drugs?

drug testing Australia

The world is becoming more complicated every day as the digital revolution continues to evolve. The Internet has made research virtually instantaneous, and thus, has made business faster than ever. It seems at times that there is virtually no separation between working and not working. People are constantly working hard to further their careers by putting in extra effort to stand out; if they don’t, they fear that they will be overtaken by someone else who is putting in that extra effort. Thus, it’s virtually mandatory now to be working beyond the traditional 8A-4P, 9A-5P, 10A-6P time frames. This leads to all new types of stress factors not really present in the workplace of previous generations.

The Need To Do More

Due to the new business culture of working beyond traditional business hours, employees are now expected to do more, whether it’s conducting online research, writing papers, or preparing online presentations. Businesses are hiring fewer workers who are more qualified in many functions rather than just one main function.

Thus, a financial institution may not just want someone who is versed in finance, but who is also versed with graphic design so that he/she can create presentations to show to potential clients in an effort to close important deals. A business would rather hire one employee to do two to three functions nowadays rather than hire two to three separate employees to handle those two to three functions separately.

In the digital age, a business must be as streamlined as possible so that it can maximize revenues and minimize expenses. All of this added responsibility and expectations lead to increased stress on employees. Instead of just focusing on their majors from university, they have to broaden their skill sets to ensure they remain in good standing with their employers and stand the best chance of avoiding the dreaded layoff notice.

The Toll on Family Life

This isn’t the only stress that most employees face. The extra commitment to their careers takes more time and focus away from their families; thus, there is an extra strain on the family unit at home because the employee’s mind is on work-related issues more often than it should. This can spoil those moments when one should be paying attention to his/her partner and/or his/her kids.

While an employee is certainly not trying to be absent-minded when important family functions come up (i.e. birthdays, anniversaries, picnics, etc.), the pressures and stresses at the workplace can cause an employee’s mind to drift back to the office even when he/she is at home. There is often such a stressful atmosphere at the workplace that it constantly plays on the mind of an employee, preventing him/her from controlling his/her thoughts and emotions, which can spill over into family life. This can be in the form of yelling at one’s partner or children when yelling isn’t called for, etc. Essentially the employee is changed from the person he/she used to be due to the pressures at work.

Some employees are able to handle this increased workload and responsibility through perseverance and the help of family and friends. However, others resort to crutches such as recreational drugs to gain relief from the stress.

Drugs To Relieve The Stress Become An Uncontrollable Habit

At first, an employee will just try a drug because he/she thinks that it will do no harm and give him/her the relief he/she needs from the long, stressful day at work. He/She comes to find out that there is a “high” involved with the drug, causing the person to feel a euphoria that he/she hasn’t felt in a long time, if ever. The person likes this feeling, this “high,” that he/she feels from the drug. This leads him/her to go back to the drug on a repeated basis.

WebMD describes the behavior of drug addiction as a “chronic, often relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences to the drug addict and those around them.” This leads to changes in the structure and function of the brain itself; this is why, contrary to popular belief, drugs are often not a voluntary choice. Yes, the initial decision to take a drug is usually voluntary, but repeated use of it is often due to a subconscious desire and lack of control because of the changes in the normal structure and function of the brain. The repetitious drug use becomes an uncontrollable habit that is best remedied by combining behavioral therapy with addiction treatment medications.

In order for an employee to receive that treatment, however, he/she needs to undergo drug screenings to determine that the employee has a drug addiction. Mediscreen is a NATA accredited national provider of on-site drug and alcohol testing support services that can help businesses identify employees who suffer from drug addictions so they can get the help they need.

This article has been taken from : http://www.mediscreen.net.au/what-stress-factors-cause-employees-to-turn-to-drugs/

Onsite Drug & Alcohol Testing: Time or Money

You will either spend time or money when you are interacting with the consumer market or investing in the business market. Time will save you money, and money will save you time. It is rare that you will find a situation in which both money and time can be saved. Onsite drug & alcohol testing services will save you time, because you will not be spending it on scheduling laboratory drug testing for your employees and your employees will not have to take time off of work or take personal time of their own in order to travel to the laboratory to become tested. Laboratory testing will cost your employees either way, and can cost both you and your employees money if they have to take time off of work to get this done.


Mediscreen saves you money by providing onsite drug and alcohol screening services to all businesses all over Australia. Whether you are a small business with just a few employees or a large company with hundreds of employees, they will need to be tested, and Mediscreen offers competitive pricing on our services when we come to your jobsite. Mediscreen is focused on providing the best drug screening services at the best prices and at the best location: your own workplace. This means that you do not have to leave the office or the jobsite in order to be tested, you can save money on the operation because you are not paying for time away from work and you are not paying laboratory expenses, and it is convenient and effective for your employees.


If you have to spend time or money on something, which would you choose? You can save money by spending more time on a project, but your time is valuable, especially if you have a family waiting at home for you or friends with whom you spend your free time. You can save time by spending more money, but this cuts into company savings and emergency funds, and can deprive your employees of expected income for a week, income which provides for their homes and food and families, too. With Mediscreen, you have both time and money at your disposal, not to mention effectively tested employees working for you.

The High Cost of Not Doing Workplace Alcohol and Drug Testing

There is no arguing the fact that workplace drug testing can be controversial as people raise privacy issues. Should the employer be able to figure out that an employee used cannabis 2 days ago? Is it fair to force people to submit to an alcohol or drug test when they prefer not to? Clearly, more and more employers and government agencies are instituting random drug test programs because they believe the answer to these questions is “yes”. Even more court cases are being settled in favour of employers enforcing testing of employees for substance use to ensure workplace safety, and state and territory laws are becoming more supportive of testing for a variety of employee groups. For employers, the real issue is the high cost associated with not doing alcohol drug testing in the workplace.

Recently it was reported in the Lancet medical journal that Australia and New Zealand populations have the highest rate of cannabis usage at 10 to 15 percent and the highest usage rate of other drugs like speed and crystal methamphetamine at 2.8 percent. Professor Wayne Hall with the University of Queensland’s Centre for Clinical Research was quoted as saying, “Among the most common harms were drug dependence, overdose deaths, accidents, violence, HIV-AIDS and other blood borne infections.

Testing Costs Are Low Compared to Costs of Not Testing

Each one of these harms and a lot of others can directly impact an employer’s bottom line. Many discussions about workplace drug testing focus on managing the direct costs like the cost of testing equipment or the labour cost of program administration. However, the low cost of today’s effective drug testing equipment and certified laboratory testing can be dwarfed by the cost of not testing and not knowing the status of substance use and abuse in the workplace.

• Estimates gleaned from Australian and USA studies indicate alcohol may contribute to approximately 5 percent of work related fatalities

• When sued in court, an employer without an alcohol and drug testing program can be found in breach of the general duty, required by law to provide a safe workplace, if someone is injured due to the use of alcohol or drugs by co-workers

• Worker turnover leads to high tangible and intangible costs associated with employee replacement that include the costs of recruiting and training, and the loss of the exiting employee’s skills, training, knowledge, expertise; empirical data indicates that lost productivity accounts for two-thirds of total turnover costs

• Cost of reduced job performance by substance abuser requiring co-workers to either re-do work or fill in for employee using alcohol or drugs

• Cost of lost productivity through job withdrawal behaviours like taking long lunch breaks, sneaking extra breaks, spending time on non work related activities and sleeping on the job

A 2008 report on the costs of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug use identified quantifiable tangible costs for households, businesses and the government. The following statistics for 2004/2005 were reported for businesses:

Costs of lower productivity in the workplace due to alcohol consumption is estimated to be at least $3.6 billion due to alcohol and $1.6 billion due to illicit drugs

• Costs of absenteeism as those who drink alcohol are 1.2 times more likely to be absent from work compared to those who don’t drink

• Employees are 3 times more likely to be injured leading to increased workers’ compensation and disability claims

• Health insurance and workers’ compensation costs soar due to increased medical and hospital expenses of $192 million related to drugs and alcohol

• Vehicle accidents lead to workplace disruption costs plus associated legal, vehicle and insurance expenses costing businesses $576 million

• Increased workplace criminal activity like theft costing over $1.4 billion

The total annual tangible costs to business associated with alcohol misuse were over $5.6 billion. The costs for illicit drug abuse were $3.2 billion. However, it is impossible to measure the full costs of alcohol and drug use in the workplace. For example, how do you measure the real cost of an employee trying to work under the additional stress of completing job duties with a co-worker who is under the influence of a substance?

The cost of employee alcohol and illicit substance use in the workplace runs into the billions of dollars each year. The cost of not instituting alcohol and drug testing is simply too expensive to forego. Mediscreen at offers high quality flexible Onsite drug and alcohol screening services that can help you contain the potentially high cost of employee substance abuse.

Lessons Learned from the Roadside Test

Today Mediscreen considers some of the lessons learned from roadside testing and how certain facets of the roadside testing programmes that exist in Australia have been successfully adapted to an onsite screening regime.

All the states of Australia utilise roadside testing. Why? Because the vastness of the continent is connected by an extensive and complex network of highways and roads that are the main means of transport for recreation, business, organisations and families and communities.

Roads and vehicular use are synonymous with life in Australia and equates with the old adage have vehicle will travel.

Drug Testing Australia relies so heavily on vehicular use for most practical aspects of life and we do so in a manner that is far more intensive than many other countries. Compare travel distances in Australia as compared to the United Kingdom or Europe and it is evident that the distances and conditions here are uniquely extreme for a westernised nation.

While freight transport in the form of trains picks up a degree of the transport load, the use of heavy transport vehicles is still a major feature of industry and product transport nationally and state wide.

Random Testing

Random Workplace Drug Testing is the practice of screening vehicle drivers for indication of alcohol or drugs. This involves breathalysing with a hand held unit or the saliva testing of the drivers. The Police force in Australia performs “random roadside saliva testing to detect drivers travelling while affected by illicit drugs.” Testing aims to ensure road safety and reduce road accidents and death. It also effectively acts as a deterrent, the 2010 ROSITA study states.

According to the Federal Government’s full report on Drugs and Driving, safety approaches over the last 3 decades have reduced road trauma statistics. It has also contributed to debate on the use of illegal drugs behind the wheel and says that there is “increasing evidence that pharmaceutical drugs and illicit drugs impair driving ability and are thus a safety concern. Cannabis, methamphetamines and ecstasy appear to be the drugs of most concern from a road safety perspective… some pharmaceutical drugs – benzodiazepines in particular, are implicated in a considerable proportion of road accidents and trauma.”

Saliva Testing

Saliva testing is the preferred method of drug test used by Police. It is easy, quick, efficient and less invasive and allows for less disruption to the Police operations and less disruption to those being tested. It allows for a greater throughput in terms of testing ratios and numbers and is therefore a comparatively cost effective mode of bulk testing.

There is no doubt drug urine tests also have their place and are exceedingly important as an option in certain contexts and each have distinct advantages.

However, for a cost effective and efficient mode of screening that can detect recent use, saliva screening may be ideal.

Onsite Screening Programmes

The efficiency and adaptability factors of saliva tests, as well as the recent use detection factor, translate well to a workplace screening context. This form of Drug Alcohol Testing actually dispels with the possibility of identification of drugs through urinalysis, where the window of detection is longer and therefore usage may not be specific to recency of use. A positive urine sample may well indicate use, but the use may be in the distant past and this can cause issues for both employees who demand rights to privacy in relation to recreational use of substances on a weekend.

If your organisation requires Onsite Drug And Alcohol Screening, consider the options available through Mediscreen and discuss the possibility of a saliva screening programme. 

Educating Employees about Drugs and Alcohol

In the Australian workforce climate of 2011, many organisations now recognise that the use of drugs and alcohol can be an impediment to safe and sound business practices. Consequently they have implemented drug test requirements to safeguard against workplace safety compromises that are due to the onsite use of alcohol and/or drugs. May organisations also use workplace drug testing because of legislative requirements or a zero tolerance approach, such as that which occurs in the mining and the transport industries. Safety is of the essence, and minimising risk or accidents caused by the use of drugs and/or alcohol is of paramount importance. Private employers and large scale organisations have a wide range of options when developing drug alcohol testing policies that work in their specific industries. Mediscreen can in fact advise on the development of tailored onsite screening programmes suitable for all contexts.

Education efforts focus on health risks

One of the complementary efforts employed by organisations to safeguard against workplace substance and alcohol abuse is the use of education s to teach their employees about the dangers and health hazards of using drugs and alcohol. These complementary efforts are a vital part of a drug and alcohol programme but may only go so far, and without Drug & Alcohol Testing it is difficult to measure success.

For optimal outcomes, organisations and companies can also use a combination of efforts to greatly reduce the number of employees engaging in substance abuse. These may include such as:

• Pre-employment Drug Screening
• Random workplace drug testing
• Employee education programs
• Supervisor awareness training

These combined approaches and efforts may afford the greatest security for organisations who require a consolidated approach in the fight against drugs and alcohol onsite.

Early detection provides better atmosphere

Pre-employment screening is a fact of life with large organisations in the United States and may also be gaining in momentum here in Australia. The rationale behind pre-employment testing is one of early identification and deterrence with the view being that suing addicts and alcoholics are perhaps less likely to apply for jobs where pre-employment screening in company policy. When people who can’t pass a drug test are looking for a job, they often find their opportunities limited by the number of companies that require drug screening before making a job offer. Such a test, typically consisting of urinalysis, may in fact screen out and even deter those recent drug users who may have the qualifications on paper, but whose addiction patterns render them unsuitable for long term, reliable employment.

Work environment compromised by substance abuse

Employees, who go to work under the influence, or who are still suffering from the effects of their addiction can create an unsafe work environment or an environment that is extremely problematic or hostile to other employees and the employer. OH&S supervisors may be trained to keep an eye out for difficult or problematic employees who may exhibit the signs and symptoms of drug influence or addiction and this may in some cases lead to the individual employee being recommended for drug alcohol testing to determine their current alcohol and drug status.

Following legal guidelines for workplace drug testing

While private employers are pretty much unbridled in drug test requirements, they must be certain that the test and its results are handled in accordance with state and federal privacy laws. Chain of Custody paperwork is often a necessary feature of testing and screening procedures to safeguard against privacy breaches, and one company that has a fully comprehensive and thorough approach to privacy is Mediscreen.

Remember to activate a clear education programme about alcohol and other drugs at your workplace. IF you also require a thorough and expert onsite screening programme for your organization.

How Fitness for Duty Policies are defined

Fitness for Duty as defined by major safety oriented organizations is the ability of an individual to perform a task completely, safely and effectively. This particular definition has been a major consideration to several organizations—both big and small—particularly to those which operate in ‘high risk’ environments such as the aviation, mining, transport and construction industries.

All organisations, which fall under these categories, strive hard to provide a work place that is safe, drug-free and efficient so that the employees can carry out their assigned tasks safely, completely and efficiently. To bring this statement to reality, there have to be policies (called Fitness for Duty policies) in place that stand as guidelines to both the employers and the employees in achieving the motto.

How Fitness for Duty policies is defined?

Fitness for Duty policies are usually defined by:

• Analysing the potential threats and to the extent those threats can affect the organization
• Listing of the various prohibited substances that contribute to those potential threats
• Implementation of various Alcohol Drug Testing procedures to identify the existence of these prohibited substances inside the individual system.
• Strategies to carry out the retention/exit procedures for an individual in case the tests show positive results.

Factors responsible for framing Fitness for Duty policies

There might be several fitness factors that degrade the performance and productivity of an employee impacting the company in the long run. And these factors might be different for different working environments. But there are three major factors that are common across all the working environments despite their nature of work. If proper Workplace Drug Testing Laws are put in place, controlling the mishaps at the work place can be as easy as grabbing a cheese.

What are those three major common factors?

Fatigue, Drugs and Alcohol are the three major common factors affecting the overall performance and productivity of an employee and these factors are common across all the working environments—be it mining, be it aviation, be it construction or be it even the transport environments.

How Fatigue?

Fatigue revolves round the concept of ‘lack of sleep’. Lack of sleep for an individual in an organization is generally caused due to excess working hours and the need to put extra effort in order to meet the stringent deadlines.

How Drugs?

Drug can be of two types—prescribed and non-prescribed. Excess intake of drugs can cause instability in the mind and slowly paralyzes the ability to take right decisions at the right time. The non-prescribed drugs can include marijuana, cocaine, black sugar and others that addicts an individual. Prescribed drugs too, unlike how they sound, when taken in excess can cause instability in the employee’s mind.

How Alcohol?

According to a research, 28 per cent of all the drivers who were killed in road accidents in 1997 died because of excess alcohol consumption. Similarly, alcohol in a workplace slows down the performance of the employee resulting in poor work quality, increased absenteeism and at times creates fights among the peers.

Employees under the influence of these factors may be unsafe both for themselves and for the organization. Proper policies to locate and reduce these hazards can ensure a secure ambience to those ‘safety oriented’ environments.