Is a Drug Screening Process Important When Hiring a Remote Worker?

Drug Screening New Hires

You’ve always drug tested employees who work at your physical business location, but now you’re starting to hire remote workers. Since these people will be working from home, you’re employing your standard drug screening best practices is necessary.

The thing is, having drug users on staff is always a problem — no matter where they’re working. Therefore, you can’t afford not to drug test every single person on your team. Here’s a look at the issues you could face if you inadvertently hire someone who uses drugs.

Four Reasons to Drug Test Remote Workers

Liability

Drugs put people in an altered state of mind. If an employee is high, they’ll likely do and say things they don’t really mean. This is especially dangerous if they interact with customers, but can also be an issue among their peers.

Even outside of work hours, employees represent your company. If this person gets into trouble and it’s revealed they work for your company, there could be negative backlash.

Quality

Someone working while high might try to perform to the best of their ability, but it’s unlikely they’ll truly be able to do so. This will result in sloppy work that reflects poorly on your company. The rest of your team will have to keep a careful watch for errors from this person, and they will not appreciate that.

Productivity

You can’t expect someone on drugs to work in an efficient manner. Their productivity will seriously ebb and flow, making it hard to meet deadlines. Obviously, this will become a problem for your entire team, because it’s hard to accomplish anything when one person slows everyone else down.

Retention

It’s hard to rely on someone who abuses drugs. They could make it impossible for you to keep them on board — i.e., a spotty attendance record, lack of productivity, complaints from other employees. If they’re not in the best frame of mind, they might also quit their job within a relatively short period of time. Essentially, you can’t depend on a drug user, so you can’t expect to keep them on your team for the long haul.

Settling into all the changes associated with bringing your company remote is hard work, but ECS can help. We’re here take on your employer of record services, so you have more time to run your business. Contact us today to get started!

 

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