Drug testing in the office? Say what?

[Borris]

I've recently been interviewing for, among other places, a US financial company.

I've been to see them a few times, and spoken to a few of their big cheeses in Chicago.

Things have been positive, and they are keen to get things moving along.

Then I get hit with, what I consider to be, a bombshell. They require all employees (even consultants) to undergo drug tests.

So I told them (with a certain degree of tact), that they could shove their drug testing up their sanctimonious, fat, septics tank *****s.

I don't take drugs (except for booze and the occasional fag), and generally do not condone the use of them (although not in a fanatical way).

Is it short-sighted of me to strand on a principle that effectively shuts a potential door on my career path?

 

[Borris]

Exactly what i was going to say, if you got nothing to hide then take the test simple as that. Unless your going to harp on about how your civil rights are being abused or something lol

It would only be a question of civil liberties if it was a government agency.

I'm quite aware that the company has a right (to some extent) under law to require drugs testing of their employees, just as I have a right to not work for them.

This is taking a stand on principle, in that, legal or not, I don't believe that I should have to prove my status as a non-drug taker.

I will not work for a company that holds no faith in their employees honesty.

 

[Borris]

Every american company require this preety much. Its very standard in the US. If your clean then there is nothing to worry about and youve thrown away a very good oppertunity quite stupidly.

I perhaps haven't made it clear in the OP - I have more than this opportunity available to me.

Ironically, one of the other companies is a mahoosive US company, and they do not require testing.

(The other is Dutch - you figure out their policy).

 

[Borris]

You ask for opinions and then get semi-upset (from your replies) when people post an opinion that goes against you.
That opinion being yes, you are being extremely short-sighted.

Then you say you hadn't made it clear in your OP that this wasn't the only option open to you and hadn't made that clear....
Could you possibly make it clear what it is you want people to say in this thread?

If you really want honest opinions then you need to stop getting upset when they go against yours.
If you're really not bothered about the job you've passed up on maybe you need to re-phrase your original post so that you get a different set of answers (less personal) to your question.

The joys of misinterpretation I'm certainly not upset by anybody's opinion - I welcome the diversity in points of view, whether I agree or not.

(I haven't read the complete thread yet - still working through it after returning from the gym).

 

[Borris]

He'll be a straight up hero who didn't get the job fairly soon, and the company will move on without caring one iota.

Borris: 0
The man: 1

Unfortunately for them, it's a sellers market (in terms of people that can do the job).

They are a hedge fund, and every day they don't have somebody doing the job, they lose far more money than they would be paying me.

Borris evens the score

 

[Borris]

Thanks for everbody's input - I feel that I definitely needed to see others' viewpoints on this.

This is proving to be a much tougher decision than my original reaction might have led me to believe - and one which I really didn't want to ever have to make.

On the one hand, I fully understand and appreciate the reasons and motivation for a company to have such procedures.

On the other, I disagree with them, and view them as, to a certain extent, attempts to give an appearance of control / security over the productivity of their current and potential staff.

I find that I am in a unique position, in that I am, potentially, not facing personal loss by taking a stand - as I previously posted, I have at least one other position on offer (the other US institution, which, on checking, has no drug-screening programme, either for current or potential employees - which surprised me a great deal, I have to admit).

On balance, I feel that I could make this job work for me in the long run, and there I am already in discussions about leading this, and other, accounts (I currently contract through another consultancy - It's all a bit complicated), which has implications for future earnings and vested equity interests.

I have said that I will provide an answer by close of business tomorrow.

:/

 

[Borris]

edit/ I wouldn't have aproblem being tested myself. If it's their procedure and everybody had to take the test then fine. If I felt was being singled out for any reason then I might think differently.

Ironically, I don't think that I would have as much of a problem with targetted drugs testing - specifically, reasonable cause or suspicion (obvously, within stringent guidelines to prevent abuse).

 

[Borris]

Zero hour has passed, and I made my decision, and accepted that if I was to take this position, I would accede to a drug screen.

My only provisos being that I was fully informed of the method of testing, what they were testing for, why they were testing (essentially, I wanted their full policy), who would see the results and what would happen to them afterwards.

I also made it clear that I was deeply unhappy with being forced to make this decision, and that I disagreed with it whoelheartedly as a matter of principle.

Half a day after my decision, I receive a call from my people (the consultancy that I am contracting through), informing me that they had contacted HR in the US, and informed them of my decision and my feelings on the subject.

I have now been excused any drug screening at all, based partly on my feelings and partly on the fact that I will not be a permanent employee.

So how confused do I feel? I have basically shown that my convictions aren't as strong as I would have liked, only to find out that it was all moot.

I'm also happy that the company I wil be working for are conscientious and flexible enough to make such a concession.

I am also disappointed that there has a cloud over me, suggesting that I might have had something to hide by not wanting to take a test - Not wanting to have the cupboards of my life opened for inspection does not equate to having skeletons in there.