Drug Testing and a Personal Problem

[Lost in the Dunes]

So, I was offered a new job this week, which is awesome. Up to this point, it had not been presented as a 'conditional' offer. Well, as it turns out, it is indeed a conditional offer. Which is fine. This thread is not intended to be about the morality of pre-employment drug testing.

However, I do have a problem with the most widespread form of testing. Basically, I can't do it. I have mentioned it to a few others, but they think I'm being dramatic and overreacting. What they don't seem to understand is that the anxiety I experience when asked to take a test of this form is crippling. I managed one test in a small room with a loud fan, walked away from an observed test (is this even legal? Non-military), and passed one only because the lady (nurse? drug test mill) was in a good mood and gave me more time (originally three minutes). I was pretty much a nervous wreck at the end of each instance because I was so afraid of failing the test without even being able to take it.

Today, I learned that the proper name for this condition is 'paruresis,' more commonly known as 'shy bladder.' While it helps to know what I'm facing, I must admit that I also feel kinda overwhelmed. I can't name a well-paying job off the top of my head that does not require a drug test in America. And again, I'm not concerned with the drug test in and of itself. Give me a blood test, a saliva test, a hair follicle test--heck, give me all of them the same day and I'll pay the difference to get the job. But the fact that I'm probably going to be stuck between a rock and a hard place with the one kind of test that I can't do has me feeling really down.

Important note: I emailed the HR lady of this new company and she said they would have no problem with my request for an alternative type of test. So, what the heck am I on about here? Well, pretty much the anxiety that I felt prior to getting a response from her. The last place I asked to do this would have nothing but the one test, even though I was willing to pay out-of-pocket for an alternative of their choosing. So, for about an hour, I was re-experiencing all of the old dreadful experiences instead of a thinking about the cool new opportunity that I have with this company. And I'll be honest: in the back of my mind, I'm still afraid that I'll show up for my first day next week and they'll have changed their mind about letting me submit an alternative

Anyway....

- Is workplace drug-testing an American thing? Is this commonplace in other countries?
- Any of you guys experience this problem?

And sorry, this got kinda long.

 

[Miyenne]

I'm Canadian, and I know it's common down there in the US, but here I don't think it is at all. But half of all the media I see is American so it's rather hard to tell.

No one I know has ever had one, not even people who work with children. So I suppose not.

But shy bladder is a thing. Just explain it to the people again if you need to, but it seems they're accommodating you as they know it is an actual thing. Many people have it.

Good luck with the new job.

 

[Jonluw]

I don't think workplace drug-testing is normal in Norway. At least I've never experienced an employer asking me to take a drug test, and I don't know anyone who has.

And I'm happy about that. If a person seems like a good candidate for the job, I believe his or her relationship to drugs is no business of the employer's.

 

[Lost in the Dunes]

I'm Canadian, and I know it's common down there in the US, but here I don't think it is at all. But half of all the media I see is American so it's rather hard to tell.

No one I know has ever had one, not even people who work with children. So I suppose not.

But shy bladder is a thing. Just explain it to the people again if you need to, but it seems they're accommodating you as they know it is an actual thing. Many people have it.

Good luck with the new job.

Yeah, that's the thing: before finding out about the condition, I had just assumed that standard drug testing would naturally make anyone extremely uncomfortable. First, you have to speak with your prospective new employer about using the restroom, which I've always found to be humiliating and demeaning. Then, you're expected to go to a facility of perfect strangers (again, no idea if these people are actually medical professionals, but quite frankly, I have no respect for them if they are)and do one of various things...go in front of some person you don't know in a dead silent room, go in two to three minutes in a dead silent room, etc...I mean, it's a basic biological function that is known to be really difficult to force under those circumstances. I've read that the condition is sometimes 'cured' using self-catheterization... And all I can think is 'Seriously?!? That's easier for some employers than paying extra for a hair follicle test?!?'

The one test I had for my first job a few years ago was the only one that made sense to me...I relinquished all of my belongings and went into a small room with a loud fan and all the time I needed. While it was still really difficult for me to do it, I was able to do it under those conditions. I understand that they're reasonably concerned with people cheating, but if that's the case, then the employers should be spending the extra money for the cheat-proof hair follicle test, not humiliating new hires to prove their innocence. I read an article in which a business owner was lamenting the cost of drug testing since so many qualified applicants failed...the entire tragedy of the article was not that all of the employees had to surrender their right to the most basic privacy to get a job, but that it cost him a lot of money to do this to people. Yeah, no sympathy, dude :|

And I know they say that you can't be coerced into taking a drug test, but isn't the fact that virtually every job in America requires a drug test coercion? Having no job indefinitely is not a reasonable alternative. I'm not kidding when I say that, in the past, I've considered leaving the country over this...I just can't understand how something so blatantly violating became widely accepted in the first place. And again, I would have much less of an issue if it was simply a hair test or a saliva test...but the restroom is private. We have it drilled into us our entire lives, only to be informed that your employer, who you are supposed to otherwise have an impersonal relationship with, has the right to have your private business viewed and tightly controlled. Prior to getting my first job, I had always thought that when you consented to a drug test, it would only be done in the event of reasonable suspicion or if your record showed a history....but no, everyone. You are literally guilty (don't take the test? Marked as failed) until proven innocent, and I just can't see the legality in that.

Sorry, turned into a bit of a rant :x

I don't think workplace drug-testing is normal in Norway. At least I've never experienced an employer asking me to take a drug test, and I don't know anyone who has.

And I'm happy about that. If a person seems like a good candidate for the job, I believe his or her relationship to drugs is no business of the employer's.

I understand the concern about drug-addicted employees being more likely steal and what not...but any employee should be fired for stealing, frequent lateness, being 'out of it' on the job, etc. Job performance evaluations should not be restricted to drug addicts. Perfectly sober people can be amazingly lazy.

 

[NoMercy Rider]

Just adding a quick $.02, I think if the employer denied you on the grounds of not being willing to take a pee test, you could probably file a claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). I am sure "shy bladder" is a very real medical condition, and you could easily see a doctor and/or psychiatrist that will verify you have the condition. Under the ADA, employers must be accommodating to all individuals based on "disabilities" and you opting to take a different type of drug test would fall under that category.

So in summary, the employer wouldn't be able to dismiss you based on that merit alone. I also think that since you vocalized that you are willing to do a different type of drug test, that is showing you really care and aren't just trying to opt out.

I hope that helps.

 

[Lost in the Dunes]

Just adding a quick $.02, I think if the employer denied you on the grounds of not being willing to take a pee test, you could probably file a claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). I am sure "shy bladder" is a very real medical condition, and you could easily see a doctor and/or psychiatrist that will verify you have the condition. Under the ADA, employers must be accommodating to all individuals based on "disabilities" and you opting to take a different type of drug test would fall under that category.

So in summary, the employer wouldn't be able to dismiss you based on that merit alone. I also think that since you vocalized that you are willing to do a different type of drug test, that is showing you really care and aren't just trying to opt out.

I hope that helps.

I've read a few articles on the condition being covered by the ADA, and virtually all of them were written in a condescending manner. Basically, "you're being ridiculous, this condition does not cause any major life impairment" ... Except when you set it up as a barrier to most paying jobs, then it absolutely is.

I have to wonder how older people feel about this. I'm sure they remember when you got offered a job on merit and a handshake without having to expose your most personal matters to your boss. I think it has really empowered the employers at the expense of the workers.

 

[Bertylicious]

Okay, so you have a condition but you should approach a doctor about it so that you can present evidence, whatever the us equivalent to a doctors note, in order to clarify the point to your prospective employer. You should also make it clear that you are not refusing the test. I don't think they will hold it against you.

for what it's worth, I disagree with drug testing employees; what people do in their own time is their business. If someone is intoxicated at work, for any reason, then you deal with it there and then.

 

[Angie7F]

No we dont have drug tests in japan.
If they did i probably would not have landed a job in the defense ministry.lol

shy bladder is better than holding it all in.

 

[Mersadeon]

From Germany: What the hell? There are drug-tests for ALL of the well-paid jobs in America? Jesus. Look, I haven't even thought about the morality of this, so I won't comment on that, but isn't that a bit excessive? I haven't heard of a single mandatory drug test to get a job here.

 

[OneCatch]

From Germany: What the hell? There are drug-tests for ALL of the well-paid jobs in America? Jesus. Look, I haven't even thought about the morality of this, so I won't comment on that, but isn't that a bit excessive? I haven't heard of a single mandatory drug test to get a job here.

Seconding this - I've heard of one or two people I know getting drug tests (one of them failed) but it's certainly not normal here in the UK. The vast majority of jobs don't require it.

I'm kind of two minds about it.
I think that one one level it's none of your employers business what you get up to out of work, but on the, the guy who I know got caught used to lose jobs all the time for being stoned, and I can see why employers would want to avoid that rigmarole.

It's a difficult one.

 

[Glongpre]

Maybe you should look into breathing exercises or tai chi or something to try and relieve your anxiety.

 

[HyenaThePirate]

I have a piggy back question. Down here, there are increasing companies that are refusing to hire people who smoke. How they are able to get away with this level of discrimination astounds me, but I assume it is because nobody likes smokers. I have to wonder how long before companies decide they also will not hire obese or overweight people. Nobody really likes them either, which is why they don't have girlfriends.. lol jk.

But seriously. So does anyone know how they test for nicotine and how long it would take to show negative in a test for nicotine? Also, how long does it take a single cigarette and it's chemical traces and metabolites to flush completely out of your system to appear as a non-smoker? I'm assuming someone here would have that info.

On another note, I'm not against people doing whatever in their own time, but using any substance on the job or before a job where you'll still be under the influence poses significant risks. One needs only to look at that incident earlier this month in New York I think with the collapsed building on a thrift store... the operator of that machine was high on mary jane when it happened. Just something to think about.