Business
Just as it is illegal to drink and drive, workplaces have strict rules against drug use as well. This is because the organizational setting involves exchanges of extremely valuable information along with interaction of a huge number of employees. It is always better to remedy a situation rather than taking drastic actions and the traditional ways of dealing with employees testing positive for drug use follow the same path.
The two methods that involve rectifying the employee internally are disciplining and in-house counseling. As can be inferred from the name, disciplining involves taking strict stance on the employee found positive of drug use. This is because certain aspects of the performance of the organization rest on the employee and they represent the company through their behaviors. This measure would involve putting the employee on probation and stating that there is improvement in their conduct. In-house counseling does the job of listening to the concern the employee might have and rectify their behavior through a softer stance. This would involve setting out a schedule that the employee can follow to get rid of the habit and periodically talk out the issue with the counselor.
If the company does not have a counselor of its own then it can refer the employee to an outside agency to do the counseling job on their behalf. Finally the most extreme measure in such a scenario would be to discharge the employee and let them go. Usually companies try to avoid this method as it is believed this might prove worse for the employee in terms of them deviating further on their behavior.
Employees are after all humans as well and can at times become victim to their desires. This is not take away anything from their wrong behavior, just the fact that the situation can be rectified. If the employee shows admittance and willingness to be better, the company can help out and make things better. Otherwise a tougher stance is necessary for the benefit of all parties involved.
