Drug Use in the Workplace

Although educational efforts about drugs and their dangers in our society are becoming more and more extensive – partly due to media coverage as well – we are nevertheless faced with the problem of increasing acceptance, especially among adolescents and young adults, of even harder drugs such as cocaine, ecstasy, various amphetamines, opioids, and so on. Parties are not infrequently places where entire pharmacy shelves of natural and chemical narcotics are exchanged; those who do not take them are often either the scapegoat (peer pressure) or bored as the only sober person among friends in a trance. It is not uncommon for pure party and weekend use to become an addiction in the medium term, one that finds its way into the daily work routine of employed people.

Our detective agency from Stuttgart has in the past been commissioned several times by employers to monitor individual employees who were suspected of coming to work under the influence of drugs – we would also be happy to work for your company: +49 711 7153 011-0.

Brief Case Example from the Aaden Detectives Stuttgart

In 2016, our investigators were commissioned by a company from Reutlingen to examine an office employee who had for some time been noticed for exhaustion, declining communication skills and willingness to compromise, and generally weak work performance. Although management tried to reason with her, the talks did not lead to any satisfactory result. Since the employee in question had important tasks to perform in accounting, the problem was acute. We then acted both with an undercover female detective from Baden-Württemberg and with off-site surveillance, during which the employee was observed not only at night-long parties before or on workdays, but also as she snorted two “lines” of a white powder in the company restroom, which a subsequent test of the residue left behind identified as cocaine.

Drugs in the workplace not only have negative effects on the productivity, motivation, and performance of employees, but in areas such as healthcare or social work they can even threaten the lives of third parties. One can hardly imagine what a surgeon under the influence of drugs might do to a patient during an operation.

Immediate Dismissal for Use in Road Traffic

Even if one might think that employees can do more or less what they want in their free time without the employer having any interest in it, there are of course exceptions in which the use of our Stuttgart corporate detectives is also justified. Recently, the Federal Labor Court (AZ: 6 AZR 471/15) recognized as legally valid an immediate dismissal issued to a truck driver as a result of his recreational use of the party drug crystal meth. Although he showed no signs of impairment during a police check conducted three days later, the drug could still be detected in his body. Since the truck driver’s drug use at least endangered other road users, the cargo, and the reputation of the contracting company, the dismissal was unavoidable for his employer. Despite the absence of visible impairment, the court found the truck driver guilty in the third instance, since professional drivers are generally not allowed to endanger their cargo by using drugs.

Now, the case described above concerned a particularly safety-sensitive occupational group; however, there are still no rulings regarding office employees who consume illegal narcotics in their free time (as of March 2017). It is therefore necessary to weigh what a company manager can do in the event of such an employee.

Behavioral Signs of Drug Use

Is there not just a small hand-rolled cigarette during the smoking break, but does the smell of marijuana drift through the courtyard? Does the department head have a red nose, glassy eyes, and a sugar-like powder on the collar after a trip to the restroom? Is the intern suddenly unusually emotional and needy for affection (“Can I hug you?”) or sweating excessively despite moderate temperatures in the office? Any of these behaviors may indicate drug use: marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy/MDMA, and so on.

Even if the job in question has no safety relevance, that by no means means employees are free to happily use drugs at work or come into the office under the aftereffects of a wild weekend. After all, every boss has a legitimate interest in ensuring that employees handle their tasks responsibly, purposefully, and with discipline. In most cases, addicted employees do not admit their use in a private conversation. To nevertheless prove the drug problem and bring the employee back to reason, an assignment of our corporate detective agency from Stuttgart can help: info@aaden-detektive-stuttgart.de.

Drug-Addicted Employees in the Workplace as a Threat to Colleagues’ Health and to Company Property

In particular, business managers of companies responsible for human life and safety cannot tolerate drug addiction among their employees. But even in other industries, tolerant bosses should be aware of the damage a drug-dependent employee can cause in the company. Although some chemical drugs enjoy a reputation for increasing motivation and concentration, such performance boosts are never permanent. In the medium or even short term, absences and withdrawal symptoms occur, and for most addicted individuals, mental and motor skills deteriorate sooner or later. Numbers are altered, entered incorrectly, deleted, or forgotten in drug-induced haste and excitement, customer appointments are “missed,” sensitive data are accidentally forwarded to unauthorized persons, or accidents occur when operating heavy machinery.

Also not uncommon: if the addiction becomes so severe that tasks are neglected and acquisition crime is used as a means to finance the addiction, company property is no longer safe from the employee in question. In such cases, and much earlier as well, the use of our professional private detectives from Stuttgart is recommended so that the problem can be solved early and the company suffers as little damage as possible. For the sooner a drug addiction is recognized, the sooner action can be taken against it. In some cases, the employee concerned is even given a second chance – a shot that may backfire, but does not necessarily have to (see counterexample).

My employee is showing signs of drug use – what can I do?

If, as a department head, you notice that an employee occasionally seems distracted at work, has red and/or glassy eyes, behaves manically and hectically or lethargically, and does not seem like themselves, these or similar behaviors may be indicators of drug use. Whether they are aftereffects of the previous night or symptoms of drugs recently taken (at work), it is important to find evidence of such uncollegial, company- and revenue-damaging, and illegal behavior. This is where the use of our detectives from Stuttgart is appropriate, as they have a wide range of options available for gathering evidence. Depending on the evidence, the case, and the client’s wishes, our investigators can be deployed undercover as employees, observe employees privately, and use many other methods.

Our experienced and qualified private investigators personally and case-specifically address your needs as a client. All photo and video evidence obtained, the written investigative report, and any witness statements from our detectives that may be added are admissible in court. If you have first suspicions regarding individual employees, contact our Stuttgart detective agency at any time during our business hours (Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 19:00) at the following phone number: +49 711 7153 011-0.