By Glenn Dobson, CEO, The Drug Detection Agency
New Zealand’s job market is in recovery mode. According to recent data, job ads are up 13 per cent year-on-year (YoY), with the biggest gains in construction (up 36 per cent YoY) and trades, manufacturing, transport and logistics (each up 22.5 per cent YoY), industries where workplace safety is non-negotiable.
Here’s where some companies make the big mistake. In a rush to move quickly and fill roles, they skip key due diligence checks that ensure the company is not inviting issues, like drugs and alcohol, into the workplace. In the push to secure the best talent, pre-employment testing turns into an afterthought, and an inexpensive test that greatly reduces workplace risk gets skipped.
Instead of setting expectations on day one, people wind up on the job unfit and noncompliant with regulations.
The Drug Detection Agency’s Q1 2026 Imperans Report, shows that drug use is an ever-present concern for business owners and managers.
Opioid – usually prescription pain medication – detections rose about 35 per cent from last year – the largest increase of any substance nationally, with rises recorded in 11 out of 16 regions. People in the trucking, trades and manufacturing industries are known to accumulate wear and tear, and back pain is a known issue. But you can’t use opioids and get behind the controls of a digger.
Opioids quietly embed themselves into workplace culture before most employers even notice. In safety-sensitive roles – operating machinery, driving vehicles and working onsite – substance use is a risk to the individual and also to everyone around them. Taking prescription medication is absolutely legal, but it still needs to be managed as a workplace risk. If left unchecked, business owners risk compromising their chain of responsibility and exposing themselves to legal challenges. Substance use policies must cover illicit, synthetic, prescription drugs and alcohol.
Unlike illicit or synthetic substances, opioids are usually prescribed, but that distinction does not reduce the risk they pose in safety-sensitive roles. Whether a substance is obtained from a pharmacy or otherwise, impairment on the job puts people and businesses at risk.
Pre-employment testing is one of the most effective tools for stopping, or managing, risks at the door. It is not about penalising job seekers; it is about two things:
- identifying persistent, habitual substance use that puts people and businesses at risk
- establishing from day one that a company’s substance use policy is more than words on paper.
Pre-employment testing sets the tone of the employment relationship from the very beginning. It clearly communicates that workplace safety is a commitment, not just a compliance check box.
For industries like construction, trucking and logistics, a growing workforce means growing responsibility. Embedding pre-employment testing into the hiring process is not just due diligence; it is essential. Because behind every policy, every test and every hire, there is a real person trying to earn a living and get home safely.
Read more about TDDA’s Why – The Girl on The Bike Campaign at www.tdda.com/protecting-the-girl-on-the-bike/.