One in ten suspect colleagues of illegal drug use

New research commissioned by Intelligent Fingerprinting, suggests that one in ten workers across the UK suspect a colleague of taking illegal drugs.

The figures vary widely across the UK, with nearly a quarter in London suspicious of a colleague’s behavior, while only six per cent have raised eyebrows in the North East.

The research was commissioned to determine UK attitudes to drug screening in the workplace. It showed, that while 43% of people are concerned that someone under the influence would make the workplace unsafe, one in five would take no action. Similarly, just under a quarter (22%) have suspected a friend of taking illegal drugs, but again those one in five did nothing about it.

Would simple drug tests in the workplace help? New technology enables employers to screen employees using a simple fingerprint sweat test.

Dr Paul Yates of Intelligent Fingerprinting commented: “Drug misuse has always been a concern when it comes to health & safety in the workplace, however this latest research suggests the issue could be even more widespread than previously thought. It is clear that drug usage not only puts the safety of individual employees at risk, but also contributes to the cumulative workplace accidents that cost the UK some £4Bn every year. It’s particularly an issue in those sectors where drug misuse takes place in safety-critical working environments such as construction, manufacturing, logistics, public transport networks and utilities.”

“What is notable from the research is that colleagues are reluctant to act – perhaps because they do not have the ability to provide proof or evidence that drug usage has actually taken place,” adds Paul Yates.

“Employers who do implement a drug and alcohol policy are often frustrated by the practical challenges within their specific workplaces. Operating a traditional drug screening service using urine tests on a construction site, for example, is rather inconvenient. However, it takes only a few seconds to collect a fingerprint sweat sample, which screens for multiple drugs of abuse – amphetamines, cannabis, cocaine and opiates – in a single test, delivering results in under eight minutes. It’s an ideal platform for spontaneous workplace drug screening and we know that regular random drug screening, combined with an effective drug and alcohol policy, acts as a strong deterrent to drug use in the workplace.”

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