Facts About Drug Testing in the Workplace
The workplace today is full of employees taking drugs for recreational reasons. And this is why there are regular or random drug testing being done in many companies today. If you are an employee, then you should know what to expect so that you are prepared if you are required to take one. And employers should also know more about drug testing to ensure that they are doing something effective.
Both employers and employees need to know these facts about drug testing.
The most common drug test used by companies today is the urine test but the problem with this test is that your employees have already found ways to manipulate the results of a urine drug test. While this test is cheap, fast, and effective, employees only drink large amounts of water before taking the test so that drug residues are flushed out from their system. What will become of the urine drug test is a negative dilute test. When urine is diluted will not give an accurate result. While some employers let this go, others would request for a restest.
If you undergo a urine test it will be able to detect drug use from drug traces it can pick up used as far back as a week. There should be an immediate urine drug testing if an employer suspects drug use in the workplace.
Employers can use different types of urine drug tests. The difference is in the number of panels that they use. The number of panels indicates the number of drugs that are being tested for. The most popular drug tests are either the 6-panel or the 10-panel urine drug test. The widest variety of drug tested in urine is 16 kinds and this uses the 16-panel drug test.
Today, many companies are already switching to hair follicle drug tests. Compared to urine tests, hair follicle test results are more accurate. Hair follicle can test for the presence of drug traces that have been there for 90 to 120 days. This means that if an employee has taken drugs within this time period, then they will be tested positive of drug use. Another thing that a hair follicle drug testing can reveal about a person is his history of drug taking. It is also very difficult for employees to cheat hair follicle drug test. Loose samples of hair are not allowed because they could be switched. A sample of hair from the back of the head will be taken by the examiner and then sent for analysis. You might be in trouble if you took drugs within the past 3 or 4 months if you take a hair follicle test unless you know how to pass a hair follicle test. Hair follicle drug testing is more expensive than urine drug testing.