Alcohol consumption is a common social activity for people from all walks of life. People meet with friends or colleagues over drinks after work. Additionally, alcohol misuse poses significant health and safety hazards. Drinking excessive amounts can lead to severe impairments that affect the senses, reasoning, and motor functions. Unfortunately, these impairments can compromise workplace safety if not detected or monitored. For this reason, companies establish alcohol policies to deter alcohol use. An alcohol test for job applications is a procedure that can effectively help maintain workplace safety. 

Alcohol impairment in the workplace often leads to decreased productivity, accidents, increased absenteeism, and high turnover rates. Likewise, relationships become strained as the impaired employee may act aggressively or inappropriately. If safety risks due to alcohol use continue, it can affect the staff morale and the overall integrity of the business. Additionally, it may mean high costs for the employers. Therefore, hiring the right people is a good start toward maintaining a healthy and safe working environment. An alcohol test for job applications can help employers find the right candidate. Moreover, employers can also frequently use the workplace breathalysers from Breathalysers New Zealand to help keep the workplace alcohol-free. 

Benefits of an Alcohol Test for Job Applications

An alcohol test for job applications is the technical analysis of biological specimens to determine alcohol use or exposure. The test involves tracing for ethyl alcohol (ethanol) in the breath, urine, saliva, blood, or hair. For high-risk industries, alcohol screening is mandatory. Regulated sectors like mining, construction, transportation, and production facilities rely on alcohol testing to manage safety risks. Nowadays, private businesses include an alcohol test for job applications as part of hiring. Furthermore, its implementation helps employers achieve the following results: 

• Hire employees who do not have risky alcohol behaviours
• Minimise accidents and injuries
• Prevent alcohol use or impairment on the job
• Improve work performance or output
• Reduce staff turnover, training, and operating costs
• Minimise conflict
• Reduce healthcare costs

 

Implementing Workplace Alcohol Test Programs

The main reason to implement a testing program is to manage alcohol use and its adverse consequences. Employers must know all the legal matters in establishing a workplace alcohol program. The alcohol policy covers the purpose, regulations, testing methods, and the frequency of tests. Furthermore, employers must consider employee rights, costs, benefits, impacts of workplace testing, and how to respond to a positive test result. As a vital part of safety, companies may implement a zero-alcohol tolerance. This entails that all staff must not have any detectable amount of alcohol in their blood. Moreover, one of the common procedures is to conduct an alcohol test for job employment. It enables employers to determine if a prospective employee has a substance use problem that can potentially endanger the workplace. 

Having an effective alcohol policy also helps employers mitigate risks and legal liabilities. To conduct an alcohol test for job applications, the employer must explain the purpose of the test, conditions, and expectations. For example, applicants must pass the screening test to be accepted for the job. A failed or positive test result may render them ineligible for the job. In addition, the employer needs to let the applicant sign a consent form to proceed with the alcohol test. Apart from a pre-employment test, the workplace may administer alcohol screening randomly, after an accident, or if with reasonable suspicion to a specific employee. Lastly, consistent monitoring through alcohol breath tests can drastically improve productivity, safety, and employees’ well-being. 

Alcohol Test for Job: Breath Tests and Other Methods

Workplace testing can use several methods to screen for alcohol. Most companies use a breath test to detect alcohol through a breathalyser. Breathalysers are portable devices consisting of powerful sensors to process the breath sample. Employers or testing centres use breathalysers with fuel cell sensors to measure the Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) accurately. Fuel cell sensors react and produce small electrical currents when it comes in contact with the ethanol. The strength of the currents is proportional to the concentration of alcohol in the breath. The greater the currents, the higher the BAC. Breathalysers NZ has a robust selection of workplace alcohol testers. It is an excellent device for an alcohol test for job applications to determine the precise BAC level. 

Workplaces may use other options to trace ethanol such as urine, saliva, hair, and blood sampling. However, trained professionals are necessary to facilitate these procedures. Testing centres or laboratories follow a strict collection and sampling protocol to ensure the test result’s validity. An employer may require a blood test if the initial screening returns a positive result. Blood tests are the most accurate test but they are also the most invasive. On the other hand, a hair follicle test is suitable for determining past alcohol use because of its longer detection window. Typically, they cost more and have a longer turnaround time than a breath test.  Therefore, a breathalyser can be more cost-efficient for use in an alcohol test for job applications and compared to other workplace testing methods. 

Features of the BACrack Breathalysers

Getting an accurate device like BACtrack is critical in ensuring reliability in an alcohol test for job applications. The professional devices from Breathalysers NZ offer high performance through their advanced and user-friendly functionalities. The main features are:

• Enlarged fuel cell sensors – The enlarge Xtend fuel cell sensors in the S80 Pro Gen2 and Mobile Pro Gen2 are pro-graded. It can trace alcohol concentrations from 0.00 to 0.40% BAC, thereby, giving unparalleled precision with each breath test. Likewise, it is the same technology that police officers use in a roadside inspection. 
• Fast results – The BACtrack breathalyser can analyse the breath sample and deliver the BAC results in 10 to 15 seconds.
• One-button operation – It only takes one press of the power button to activate the sensors and start the test. 
• Consistent BAC readings – Fuel cell sensors maintain consistency longer despite high-volume applications than a standard semiconductor breathalyser. They are also specific to ethanol and do not react with other substances. 

Safety through BACtrack Breathalysers

Managing safety occupational hazards is one of the legal obligations of any workplace. Employers must ensure that they have exhausted all means possible to keep the workplace safe and healthy. An alcohol test for job applications and other workplace tests is one of the cost-effective measures to deter alcohol use and prevent accidents. Companies can administer frequent alcohol testing through a breathalyser as necessary without the need for laboratory examinations. Furthermore, it promotes healthier habits in and outside work. Employees can moderate their alcohol consumption to remain safe while driving home and working the next day. Breathalysers New Zealand has a wide selection of BACtrack alcohol testers ideal for personal or commercial use. Therefore, you can ascertain safety from hiring new employees to monitoring the workplace.