Collaboration with a range of partners is essential to the successful development and implementation of harm reduction policies and programs. The relative importance of addictions problems, their associated harms, and the benefits and limitations of a given strategy must be assessed. The issues associated with substance use and abuse are complex and require a multifaceted response, including workplace strategies. Some Context Use and abuse of alcohol and other drugs in the workplace can create serious problems for employees and employers, problems like industrial accidents, greater use of disability benefits, poor morale, absenteeism and lower productivity. Risks to the general public and to the environment are also of concern, particularly when individuals in safety-sensitive positions use alcohol or other drugs.
Employers have a responsibility to ensure the safety of their employees, their customers and others.
An increasing number of employers is implementing testing programs in the United States and Canada. Many employers are required to have such programs before bidding on contract work where safety is a concern. Others introduce testing in response to U.S. regulations for domestic and foreign commercial vehicle operators. Employment-related drug testing may be used when there is reasonable cause to believe someone is under the influence of a banned substance, as an investigative method for establishing possible cause of an accident or incident, as an employment screening device, as a condition of reinstatement, and as a deterrent to substance use. It can be a contentious aspect of employer-employee relations.