Canadian and American Reactions to Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs in the Workplace

Authors: Seijts G.H.1; Skarlicki D.P.2; Gilliland S.W.3

Source: Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, Volume 15, Number 4, 200312 , pp. 191-208(18)

Publisher: Springer

Key:
Free Content - Free Content
New Content - New Content
Subscribed Content - Subscribed Content
Free Trial Content - Free Trial Content

Abstract:

We investigated U.S. and Canadian reactions to workplace drug and alcohol testing programs. Canadian truck drivers (n = 183) deemed drug and alcohol testing policies less fair, and were less accepting of these policies, than their American counterparts (n = 153). We also compared the perspectives of recipients versus third-party observers with regard to their reactions to a drug testing program. Unlike the pattern observed among American observers, the responses by Canadian observers were highly similar to those of the recipients. Canadian observers were more inclined to file a formal protest regarding the implementation of a drug and alcohol testing program than were U.S. observers. The results also showed that procedural and interactional justice principles contributed to the program's fairness, acceptance, and lower levels of protest intentions in both Canada and the United States. We propose that scholars and practitioners can gain a better understanding of multinational reactions to drug and alcohol testing by considering not only cultural but also historical, social, political, and other environmental factors that can shape reactions to personnel practices.

Keywords: drug and alcohol testing; fairness; organizational justice; third-party perceptions

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada;, Email: gseijts@ivey.uwo.ca 2: Faculty of Commerce, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 3: Department of Management and Policy, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona

The full text electronic article is available for purchase. You will be able to download the full text electronic article after payment.

$47.00 plus tax      Refund Policy

 

OR

Back to top

Key:
Free Content - Free Content
New Content - New Content
Subscribed Content - Subscribed Content
Free Trial Content - Free Trial Content
Share this item with others: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
Page Help Click here for Page Help
Shopping cart
Tools
Sign in






Need to register?
Sign up here
Text size: A | A | A | A