Is Drug Testing in the Workplace a Violation of your Rights

Drugs Test
Name:
Instructor:
Ethics
Date:
The current workplace environment has been complicated by not only the advent of technology, but also the slow but steady infiltration of drug usage among employees. There is this underlying reality that more and more workers are using drugs for one reason or the other. However, this has raised much debate, especially concerning the safety of other employees, particularly in workplaces that require extreme caution and attention to safety measures. This particularly raises the need to conduct mandatory drugs testing for every employee, just as a precautionary measure. On the other hand, mandatory drugs testing on employee’s presents a challenge since it undermines the personal freedoms of an individual. This paper is going to keenly analyze the raging debate, offering an argumentative approach as to why it is important to test employees for drugs. I believe that I should go to my job without the fear that other employees are not using drugs and jeopardizing my safety.
Drug usage usually poses a great risk when it comes to workplace safety. There is a high chance of accidents when it comes to individuals intoxicated with drugs than those who don’t, since drugs interfere with one’s judgment and body balance. Taking for instance, a company dealing with the manufacture of chemicals or combustibles. When an employee is using drug under such an environment, there is a greater risk of misjudgement, which can result in very harmful effects. One can easily mix the wrong chemicals, or mix them in the wrong proportions, thereby resulting in an explosion. Additionally, they can easily spill these chemicals on the floor, thereby posing a real danger to their colleagues. The impacts can even be life-threatening, when considering the case of a hospital for example. Wrong prescriptions, wrong treatment methods, and a grave risk to the lives of patients. Therefore, it is important to have drug checks for employees in the workplace. Most jobs are therefore done safely, when one is sober (Baum, 2015).
Drug tests are important since they help in increasing productivity. Employees who use drugs are generally bound to be less productive than those who don’t. Due to the psychological and physiological impacts of drugs, these individuals’ body metabolism is bound to be slower, hence their performance as well. In the long run, their productivity is greatly limited by these...