What if workplace drug testing was the answer to protecting your brand’s reputation?
When we talk about alcohol and other drugs in the workplace, safety is usually the first concern and rightly so. But the potential impact on a business can extend much further.
With almost one in five Australians aged 14 and over reporting illicit drug use in the previous 12 months in 2022–23, managing alcohol and other drug risks is an issue employers can’t afford to ignore any longer.
According to the Alcohol and Drug Foundation, among Australian workers who had consumed alcohol or illicit drugs in the previous year, one in 37 had worked under the influence of alcohol and one in nine had worked under the influence of illicit drugs. Alcohol-related time off alone is estimated to cost Australian workplaces around $3.6 billion each year.
Alcohol also contributes to an estimated 11% of workplace accidents and injuries. Among people drinking at short-term risky levels, around one in 22 had missed at least one day of work because of their alcohol use in the previous three months.
And alcohol is only part of the picture. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data shows 17.9% of Australians aged 14 and over used an illicit drug in the previous 12 months in 2022–23, equivalent to approximately 3.9 million people. That’s increased from 16.4% in 2019.
For an individual organisation, the cost of alcohol and other drug risks can appear in many places: absenteeism (which costs Australian organisations billions each year), reduced productivity, lost work time, damaged plant or equipment and workplace injuries.
The consequences become particularly serious in safety-sensitive industries.
But it’s not just this that presents a problem for any organisation. In the worst-case scenario, if an incident occurs it can become public knowledge and tarnish the reputation of any brand, no matter how long the brand has been steadfast or the good it has previously undertaken.
National Heavy Vehicle Regulator states, “A business may suffer significant reputational damage if alcohol or other drugs are found to be a cause of a heavy vehicle crash or other safety-related incident. However, effective and ongoing management of these safety risks can position a business as an employer and contractor of choice.”
Alcohol and other drugs can affect judgement, coordination, concentration, alertness and reaction time. Impairment can also affect a worker’s ability to make critical decisions, making it particularly dangerous for people working at heights, operating machinery or undertaking other hazardous work.
Think about what that can mean in practice: a truck driver responding a second too late, a construction worker making a poor decision at height or someone operating heavy machinery without their usual level of concentration.
The immediate concern is protecting people from harm. But an incident can also disrupt operations and require significant management time while the organisation deals with the aftermath.
And from then on, once the story hits the media, people have a bias and associate that company with being an unsafe place to work.
A public relations crisis can be an expensive occurrence. “Company share prices plummet 35.2 per cent on average following a reputational crisis…
Employees need to know their employer takes foreseeable risks seriously. Clients, contractors and other stakeholders may also expect organisations to demonstrate that they have appropriate safety systems in place. This is best done by having a clear and up-to-date drug and alcohol policy.
For businesses operating in mining, transport, construction, manufacturing, healthcare and other safety-sensitive sectors, those expectations can be especially high. Whilst there isn’t a single dollar figure that applies to every workplace, the risks faced by a transport company might look different from those of an office-based business and testing needs to be proportionate to those risks.
Arguably, the most interesting thing is that 76% of executives whose companies experienced a reputational crisis believed it was preventable.
Depending on an organisation’s risk profile, workplace drug testing may include pre-employment, random, reasonable cause, post-incident or return-to-work testing. At all stages, this helps prevent a disaster and consequences to reputation.
WorkSafe Victoria recommends assessing alcohol and other drug risks in the same way as other workplace health and safety issues: identify the hazards, assess the risks, introduce controls and regularly review whether they’re working. Where testing is used, it should form part of a comprehensive alcohol and other drug program supported by clear policies, procedures, education and appropriate safeguards.
Absenteeism, lost productivity, damaged equipment, disrupted operations and workplace incidents all carry a cost. A serious incident can also affect employee confidence, client relationships and the reputation an organisation has spent years building.
A proactive approach incorporating clear policies, employee wellbeing and appropriate workplace drug testing can help organisations manage those risks before they become much more expensive problems.