Influence of job characteristics on the acceptability of employee drug testing

Urine Collection Jars versus Video Games: Perceptions of Three Stakeholder Groups toward Drug and Impairment Testing Programs

The use of drug testing in the workplace is a controversial practice. Scholars, practitioners, unions, and organizations have therefore begun to explore whether there are alternative approaches to reduce counterproductive behaviors at work. We investigated the perceptions of labor relations experts, drivers of transportation vehicles, and users of public transportation services toward drug and impairment testing programs in the workplace. Impairment testing was viewed as more favorable in terms of combating and controlling counterproductive behaviors at work than drug testing. Perceptions of fairness, effectiveness in detecting impaired performance, and the potential to enhance a safer working environment were higher in the impairment testing condition as compared to the drug testing condition. Perceived invasiveness was lower in the impairment testing condition relative to the drug testing condition. Labor relations experts showed the least enthusiasm for both drug testing and impairment testing programs.

An assessment model for requirements identification in component-based software development

Software development literature is replete with studies that demonstrate how ineffective requirements analysis (RA) has led to failed applications. Some of the difficulties encountered in RA however are due to inherent limitations in traditional approach to software development. On the other hand, component-based software development (CBSD) presents a unique approach to developing software. Components advertise the services they offer and could be organized in a knowledge-base (i.e., repository). CBSD paradigm provides an effective communication vehicle for users and analysts by enabling them to uncover requirements as they navigate through the component knowledge-base.In this paper, we draw from the information processing theory (IPT) on problem solving to develop an assessment model for evaluating the impact of CBSD on requirements identification, arguing that the access to components in a knowledge-base facilitates the requirements identification. The key elements of the IPT on problem solving are information processing system of the problem solver, task environment and internal representation of the problem space. We propose that access to a component knowledge-base enhances information processing system of the problem solver and simplifies the task environment which together improve user's internal representation of the problem space. This theoretical framework makes it possible to empirically test the impact of CBSD on requirements identification process.

Drug testing, drug treatment, and marijuana use: a fairness perspective

The authors conducted a random statewide telephone survey of 1,484 individuals to study the relationship between marijuana use (in terms of participants' history of marijuana use) and reactions to drug testing and to study 2 hypothetical drug-treatment policies. Job safety sensitivity was related to perceived fairness of drug testing for the participant's job, and more recent marijuana use was associated with more negative reactions. Safety sensitivity was related to perceived fairness of drug treatment. Organizations with voluntary treatment were more attractive than ones with monitored treatment. Marijuana use interacted with drug treatment policy type in predicting reactions to drug treatment. Results suggest that organizations should consider job and employee characteristics when developing a drug treatment policy.

Team awareness for workplace substance abuse prevention: the empirical and conceptual development of a training program

This paper describes the empirical and theoretical development of a workplace training program to help reduce/prevent employee alcohol and drug abuse and enhance aspects of the work group environment that support ongoing prevention. The paper (1) examines the changing social context of the workplace (e.g., teamwork, privacy issues) as relevant for prevention, (2) reviews studies that assess risks and protective factors in employee substance abuse (work environment, group processes, and employee attitudes), (3) provides a conceptual model that focuses on work group processes (enabling, neutralization of deviance) as the locus of prevention efforts, (4) describes an enhanced team-oriented training that was derived from previous research and the conceptual model, and (5) describes potential applications of the program. It is suggested that the research and conceptual model may help prevention scientists to assess the organizational context of any workplace prevention strategy. The need for this team-oriented approach may be greater among employees who experience psychosocial risks such as workplace drinking climates, social alienation, and policies that emphasize deterrence (drug testing) over educative prevention. Limitations of the model are also discussed.

Effects of nonverbal behavior on perceptions of power bases

Among a sample of U.S. students, the effects of 3 forms of nonverbal behavior (facial expression, visual behavior, and body posture) on perceptions of power bases (reward, coercive, legitimate, referent, expert, and credibility) were investigated. In contrast to previous investigations of nonverbal behavior and power, a precise construct definition and reliable and valid operational definitions of power were used, and specific perceptions of power bases were examined. A relaxed facial expression, compared with a nervous facial expression, increased the ratings for referent, reward, legitimate, expert, and credibility power bases. Also, direct eye contact yielded higher credibility ratings than indirect eye contact.

Directional stimulus-response compatibility: a test of three alternative principles

The basis of directional stimulus-response compatibility was studied using a task in which 128 participants moved a cursor into targets with a joystick, resembling the operation of certain industrial and construction equipment. Compatible and incompatible versions of three alternative compatibility principles were compared in all combinations. Visual Field (VF) compatibility was present if cursor and controlling limb movement were in the same direction in the visual field, Control Display (CD) compatibility meant that the control motion was in the same direction as, and parallel to, cursor motion, and Muscle Synergy (MS) compatibility was defined as use of the muscle synergy normally associated with the required direction as seen in the visual field. VF-compatible conditions had significantly shorter reaction, movement and homing times, and fewer reversal errors, for males and females, in two testing sites. These advantages were maintained over practice. VF compatibility was confirmed as a robust spatial compatibility principle that is affected by neither the orientation of the operator's limb or head nor the muscle synergy used in executing the task. It offers not only more rapid performance, but also a markedly reduced rate of potentially dangerous directional errors. The relationship between this finding and theoretical aspects of stimulus-response compatibility is discussed.

Employee attitudes toward work-site alcohol testing

Few studies have been published on how employees feel about work-site alcohol testing. By mail, we surveyed employees (n = 6370) at 16 corporate work sites stratified by type of work force, industrial setting, and managerial tolerance toward drinking. We queried respondents about their drinking on the job and support for work-site alcohol testing under three conditions: pre-employment testing, testing after an accident, and random testing. Sixty-five percent of respondents supported pre-employment testing, 81% supported testing after an accident, and 49% supported random testing. Support was relatively consistent across hierarchy (managers, supervisors, and workers) but different by age, education, occupation, type of work force, and perceived exposure to occupational hazards. Support for work-site alcohol testing was highest among blue-collar workers whose jobs involved manufacturing or exposure to work-site hazards.

Employee Attitude Crystallization and Substance Use Policy: Test of a Classification Scheme

Previous research suggests that employees are often unaware of or ambivalent toward substance abuse policies. These studies focus on one policy component-drug-testing-and fail to distinguish employees with clear (or crystallized) from unclear attitudes. The current study explored a broader view of policy and examined both personal and situational factors that may determine attitudes. Survey data from employees in three municipalities support a distinction among five attitude categories; those who are: (a) dissatisfied with efforts to control employee abuse, (b) satisfied, (c) anti-policy, (d) pro-policy, and (e) uninformed. Discriminant analyses suggest that different profiles characterize these attitude groups. For example, dissatisfied employees report low personal alcohol use, high co-worker alcohol use, and low self-referral whereas anti-policy employees report high personal drug use, high co-worker use, and low job identity. Discussion focuses on policy as a social construction and the implications of attitude distinctions for employee training.