4 ms·

Very true. It's definitely now a situation where we are dealing with the fallout from years of not dealing with the problem. Yea I recently read a story where a

by xt00 10y ago

Very true. It's definitely now a situation where we are dealing with the fallout from years of not dealing with the problem. Yea I recently read a story where a factory tried to hire around 50 people and could only hire a small number due to the vast majority failing drug tests. I was actually fairly surprised to hear that. So yea now we are dealing with the problem that has been festering and getting worse for years..

mschuster91 10y ago
> could only hire a small number due to the vast majority failing drug tests. I'm surprised mandatory drug testing is a thing in the US. In Germany it's actually outright illegal to do drug tests on employees (exceptions are rare, generally employers need reasonable suspicion (!) and the job must be safety critical, per http://www.zeit.de/karriere/beruf/2013-11/arbeitsrecht-drogentests-mitarbeiter http://www.zeit.de/karriere/beruf/2013-11/arbeitsrecht-droge...). As long as it does not involve any heavy machinery, weapons or healthcare no one gives a f..k here what you do in your free time as long as you don't show up drunk or high on the job. And even then, many policemen and healthcare personnel has issues with alcohol abuse...
- soundwave106 10y ago
  Yes, practically speaking, the way its done now, corporate drug tests are indeed of not insignificant cost and of questionable deterrence. There sometimes is financial incentive for them (insurance discounts), but unfortunately at least some of the reason they show up here more than anywhere else is image. The modern mandatory corporate drug test in America sprung up during the Reagan era, when zero tolerance / "War on Drugs" culture was at its peak. (https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/06/drug-testing-effectiveness/394850/ https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/06/drug-te...). "Zero tolerance" policies are rightfully being softened in some of the US, but unfortunately in certain quarters, this attitude lives on.
tbrownaw 10y ago
Yea I recently read a story where a factory tried to hire around 50 people and could only hire a small number due to the vast majority failing drug tests. Maybe the problem is whatever stupidity requires/incentivizes employers to police what "their" employees do when not at work?
- leroy_masochist 10y ago
  I think it's a valid concern on employers' behalf as far as opiates and meth are concerned. You do not want to be the manager of any business that has a lot of expensive stuff within arms reach -- whether it's a restaurant kitchen or a Home Depot or a jobsite or whatever -- when one of the employees loses control of their habit, needs cash badly, and commits a spectacularly stupid act of larceny to get that cash. I have seen this play out a few times in friends' businesses and it is not pretty. With that said, I'd agree it's complete bullshit to be testing your employees to try to sniff out recreational marijuana use. A lot of BigCo middle management are socially conservative people in their 40's-60's, and unfortunately many of them operate from a simplistic baseline of "all drugs are bad"...pretty clear that this preponderance is changing, perhaps not quickly enough.
- WJW 10y ago
  Depends on the drug of course, but since the vast majority of these substances are both highly addictive and also severely impact your ability to operate heavy machinery, people who test positive for (certain types of) drugs are obviously more of a liability on a factory floor. I don't think it's stupidity that makes employers hesitant in this case.
- xt00 10y ago
  Companies on the west coast in US generally are becoming pretty soft on marijuana due to the recent law changes, but things like opiates or meth definitely they are screening for. There definitely are instances of risk of injury with equipment at work if they show up high, but also many businesses end up with expensive easy to sell machines suddenly walking off the site. So simply theft alone to support a habit of using drugs often is the reason for screening out drug users. The theft issue I've heard of happening from many business owners and can be pretty substantial. Like 2k a week of equipment disappearing until they figure out who it is. Typically expensive tools and electronics that are easy to sell on Craigslist.

by xt00 10y ago

mschuster91 10y ago

> could only hire a small number due to the vast majority failing drug tests. I'm surprised mandatory drug testing is a thing in the US. In Germany it's actually outright illegal to do drug tests on employees (exceptions are rare, generally employers need reasonable suspicion (!) and the job must be safety critical, per http://www.zeit.de/karriere/beruf/2013-11/arbeitsrecht-drogentests-mitarbeiter http://www.zeit.de/karriere/beruf/2013-11/arbeitsrecht-droge...). As long as it does not involve any heavy machinery, weapons or healthcare no one gives a f..k here what you do in your free time as long as you don't show up drunk or high on the job. And even then, many policemen and healthcare personnel has issues with alcohol abuse...

soundwave106 10y ago
Yes, practically speaking, the way its done now, corporate drug tests are indeed of not insignificant cost and of questionable deterrence. There sometimes is financial incentive for them (insurance discounts), but unfortunately at least some of the reason they show up here more than anywhere else is image. The modern mandatory corporate drug test in America sprung up during the Reagan era, when zero tolerance / "War on Drugs" culture was at its peak. (https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/06/drug-testing-effectiveness/394850/ https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/06/drug-te...). "Zero tolerance" policies are rightfully being softened in some of the US, but unfortunately in certain quarters, this attitude lives on.

tbrownaw 10y ago

Yea I recently read a story where a factory tried to hire around 50 people and could only hire a small number due to the vast majority failing drug tests. Maybe the problem is whatever stupidity requires/incentivizes employers to police what "their" employees do when not at work?

leroy_masochist 10y ago
I think it's a valid concern on employers' behalf as far as opiates and meth are concerned. You do not want to be the manager of any business that has a lot of expensive stuff within arms reach -- whether it's a restaurant kitchen or a Home Depot or a jobsite or whatever -- when one of the employees loses control of their habit, needs cash badly, and commits a spectacularly stupid act of larceny to get that cash. I have seen this play out a few times in friends' businesses and it is not pretty. With that said, I'd agree it's complete bullshit to be testing your employees to try to sniff out recreational marijuana use. A lot of BigCo middle management are socially conservative people in their 40's-60's, and unfortunately many of them operate from a simplistic baseline of "all drugs are bad"...pretty clear that this preponderance is changing, perhaps not quickly enough.
WJW 10y ago
Depends on the drug of course, but since the vast majority of these substances are both highly addictive and also severely impact your ability to operate heavy machinery, people who test positive for (certain types of) drugs are obviously more of a liability on a factory floor. I don't think it's stupidity that makes employers hesitant in this case.
xt00 10y ago
Companies on the west coast in US generally are becoming pretty soft on marijuana due to the recent law changes, but things like opiates or meth definitely they are screening for. There definitely are instances of risk of injury with equipment at work if they show up high, but also many businesses end up with expensive easy to sell machines suddenly walking off the site. So simply theft alone to support a habit of using drugs often is the reason for screening out drug users. The theft issue I've heard of happening from many business owners and can be pretty substantial. Like 2k a week of equipment disappearing until they figure out who it is. Typically expensive tools and electronics that are easy to sell on Craigslist.