Evaluation of Drug Testing in the Workplace: Study of the Construction Industry

During the past two decades, drug testing in the workplace has gone from virtual nonexistence to widespread employer acceptance. This growth is particularly critical for the construction industry. High rates of alcohol and other drug use, coupled with the high-risk, safety-sensitive nature of the industry, have prompted the implementation of a variety of drug surveillance and prevention strategies. Despite this growing vigilance, however, no scholarly works have examined the impact of drug-related policies in the construction industry. The present study investigates the efficacy of workplace drug-testing programs in reducing injury incident rates and workers' compensation experience-rating modification factors within the construction industry. Analyses indicate that companies with drug-testing programs experienced a 51% reduction in incident rates within 2 years of implementation. Furthermore, companies that drug test their employees experienced a significant reduction in their workers' compensation experience-rating modified factors. Policy implications are discussed in light of the current findings.     

Receptivity and planned change: Community attitudes and deinstitutionalization.

An expectancy-value model was used to measure and explain receptivity attitudes (i.e., change climate) toward the implementation of deinstitutionalization programs. Questionnaires measuring values, expectancies, and behavioral intentions were mailed to community leaders and to members of community groups believed to be important in setting opinions and making decisions. Responses from 599 persons revealed that (a) the size of a proposed group home affected neither attitudes nor intentions of support, (b) group homes for mental health clients were viewed with less favorable attitudes and intentions than those for the retarded or the elderly, (c) members of various community groups held significantly different attitudes and intentions toward the programs, and (d) attitudes and intentions toward deinstitutionalization were more favorable than toward institutionalization. The application of this approach for assessing the implementation climate for planned change was discussed. (55 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A trickle-down model of organizational justice: Relating employees' and customers' perceptions of and reactions to fairness.

This study developed and tested a trickle-down model of organizational justice that hypothesized that employees' perceptions of fairness should affect their attitudes toward the organization, subsequently influencing their behaviors toward customers. In turn, customers should interpret these behaviors as signals of fair treatment, causing them to react positively to both the employee and the organization. The model was tested on a sample of 187 instructors and their students. The results revealed that instructors who perceived high distributive and procedural justice reported higher organizational commitment. In turn, their students reported higher levels of instructor effort, prosocial behaviors, and fairness, as well as more positive reactions to the instructor. Overall, the results imply that fair treatment of employees has important organizational consequences because of customers' attitudes and future intentions toward key service employees. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

What motivates fairness? The role of subordinate assertive behavior on manager's interactional fairness.

This study investigated the proposition that a subordinate's communication style can affect a manager's fairness behavior during decision making and, consequently, can affect the subordinate's attitudes toward the decision, manager, and organization. Two studies were conducted to test these propositions in the context of performance appraisal decisions. First, a laboratory study demonstrated that appraisers engage in more interactionally fair behavior when interacting with an assertive appraisee than with an unassertive appraisee. Second, a quasiexperimental field design showed that training employees on assertiveness, when coupled with self-appraisal, is associated with positive attitudes toward the appraisal and trust in the manager. Implications for understanding the causes of fair behavior and improving the fairness of decisions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sources of satisfaction and dissatisfaction among solid waste management employees.

Interviewed a national random sample of 911 employees in the solid waste management industry concerning their job attitudes. While white-collar employees were more satisfied with their jobs than were blue-collar employees, both the latter and the secretarial employees were more satisfied than were employees at the same job levels in other types of work. These differences are attributed to pay and work differences between solid waste management and other occupations. White-collar employees were more likely to derive satisfaction and dissatisfaction from intrinsic sources and less likely to derive them from extrinsic sources than were blue-collar workers. F. Herzberg's motivator-hygiene theory of attitudes was not supported by the data. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Identification of drug abuse

Drug abuse poses health and safety hazards, both in the workplace and in the wider community. There is increasing pressure to use urine drug tests to determine the prevalence of drug abuse, to deter illicit use of drugs, and to identify drug abusers for rehabilitation. Drug-abuse testing programs have been implemented for employees, job applicants, policemen, firemen, enlisted personnel of the army, athletes, and workers in occupations that are considered critical to public safety and health, such as those in nuclear power plants and the transportation industry. Since the consequences of a positive test can be quite severe, there is a need to develop uniform and internationally recognized methods for identifying drug abuse. The paper discusses selection of biological specimens for drug-abuse testing, main characteristics of drugs of abuse and recommended analytical techniques for their determination. The importance of a quality assurance program for drug-testing laboratories is emphasised.     

A scale measuring attitudes toward working for the government.

To develop a measure of attitudes toward government employment, a preliminary scale administered to 173 college students was item analyzed and then tried out on 493 government employees and 299 private industry employees. A final scale was selected that includes 70 items that discriminate between satisfied government and private industry employees in professional and managerial positions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Thirty years later: Attitudes toward the employment of older workers.

Replicated W. K. Kirchner and M. D. Dunnette's (see record 1955-03161-001) study on attitudes toward older workers with 71 male and 5 female hourly employees (aged 18–61 yrs) and 22 male supervisors (aged 27–63 yrs) of a nonunion manufacturing plant. Ss completed a questionnaire that was nearly identical to the one administered in the Kirchner and Dunnette study. Results are similar to those obtained in the earlier study: Hourly workers held more positive attitudes toward older employees than did supervisors, and attitude score correlated strongly with the age of hourly workers but not with the age of supervisors. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Justice-based opposition to social policies: Is it genuine?

Three studies examined whether the concern for justice can be a genuine determinant of attitudes toward affirmative action (AA) or whether justice-based opposition merely masks prejudice. In line with the hypothesis of justice as a cause, we found that, independent of their level of prejudice, people were opposed to AA programs that violate distributive and procedural justice norms, as a result of genuine beliefs in the principles of fairness that the programs violate. Nevertheless, in line with the hypothesis of justice as a rationalization, we also found that people's prejudice level was positively associated with opposition to AA programs that were not explicitly justice violating; moreover, the effect of prejudice was mediated through the tendency to construe these programs as justice violating. The present research has implications for understanding attitudes toward social policies where it is possible that justice concerns could be a genuine source of opposition or a rationalization of prejudice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Carpenter apprentices: Comparison of career transitions for men and women.

As women are encouraged to enter nontraditional occupations, it is important to identify factors that may promote a successful transition. Data from carpenter apprentices and instructors were analyzed to compare men and women. In some aspects, based on performance and satisfaction with the apprentice program, the union, and carpentry work, the transition into carpentry is as successful for women as for men. Women give themselves a higher probability of completing the program than do men. Problem areas are evident, however. Women are employed in construction less than men, and their male co-workers have negative attitudes toward affirmative action. In terms of factors associated with success, differences between men and women emphasized co-worker acceptance, fairness in job assignments, age, and realistic expectations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Salary equity: Its determination, analysis, and correlates.

Divided professional employees in a division of the Federal Public Health Service into an equity subsample (n = 96) and an inequity subsample (n = 74) based on their perceived fairness of salary treatment: (questionnaires completed by the Ss and their immediate superiors). Through the multiple-regression analysis a quantitative model was developed that predicted equitable salaries with a high degree of accuracy and served to significantly reduce the perceived inequity of the inequity subsample. This model emphasized maturity-type variables. Ss in the equity subsample demonstrated less dissonance, more favorable attitudes toward their work and the organization, and a lower propensity to terminate voluntarily employment than Ss in the inequity subsample. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes of academic clinical psychologists toward projective techniques: 1968–1983.

Replicated a survey by the 3rd author et al (see record 1968-18843-001) concerning the attitudes of academic clinical faculty toward projective techniques. The questionnaire was completed by 153 faculty in American Psychological Association (APA)-approved programs in clinical psychology. As was found in the 1968 survey, many Ss supported instruction in projectives, but they held generally negative attitudes toward projectives. More of the 1983 Ss than the 1968 Ss expressed negative attitudes toward specific projectives such as the Rorschach. Negative attitudes toward projectives were particularly prominent among the younger Ss in the 1983 survey. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

General and specific measures of attitudes toward early release of criminal offenders.

166 adults in Canada answered a set of global questions measuring attitudes toward the criminal justice system and made decisions about a set of hypothetical offenders applying for parole. The cases varied in type of offense, criminal history, and participation in rehabilitative programs while in prison. Many Ss supported parole in some circumstances (e.g., at least a majority of Ss chose some form of early release for each of the nonviolent offenders portrayed). Each manipulated variable had significant effects on Ss' willingness to recommend early release, showing that Ss' choices were not determined entirely by considerations of retribution or punishment. Global questions seemed to show much more punitive attitudes than did decisions in specific cases. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When do procedural fairness and outcome fairness interact to influence employees’ work attitudes and behaviors? The moderating effect of uncertainty.

Prior research has shown that procedural fairness interacts with outcome fairness to influence employees’ work attitudes (e.g., organizational commitment) and behaviors (e.g., job performance, organizational citizenship behavior), such that employees’ tendencies to respond more positively to higher procedural fairness are stronger when outcome fairness is relatively low. In the present studies, we posited that people’s uncertainty about their standing as organizational members would have a moderating influence on this interactive relationship between procedural fairness and outcome fairness, in that the interactive relationship was expected to be more pronounced when uncertainty was high. Using different operationalizations of uncertainty of standing (i.e., length of tenure as a proxy, along with self-reports and coworkers’ reports), we found support for this hypothesis in 4 field studies spanning 3 different countries. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes of academic and applied clinical psychologists toward training issues: 1969–1984.

Assessed the attitudes of 379 applied and 207 academic clinical psychologists toward key training issues and compared the current (1984) attitudes with those that were held at earlier (1969) surveys conducted by the 1st author and D. R. Ewing (see PA, Vols 44:18793 and 51:1172). Attitudes toward 10 programs for training clinical psychologists and ratings of various clinical psychology activity areas are presented. Findings reveal that more 1984 than 1969 Ss supported training in psychotherapy and diagnosis and expected to be useful. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When are transgressing leaders punitively judged? An empirical test.

Using Hollander's (1958) idiosyncrasy credit theory of leadership as the theoretical backdrop, we examined when and why organizational leaders escape punitive evaluation for their organizational transgressions. In a sample of 162 full-time employees, we found that leaders who were perceived to be more able and inspirationally motivating were less punitively evaluated by employees for leader transgressions. These effects were mediated by the leaders' LMX (leader–member exchange) with their employees. Moreover, the tendency of leaders with higher LMX to escape punitive evaluations for their transgressions was stronger when those leaders were more valued within the organization. Finally, employees who punitively evaluated their leaders were more likely to have turnover intentions and to psychologically withdraw from their organization. Theoretical and practical implications associated with relatively understudied leader-transgression dynamics are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Culture conflict in the treatment of "mental illness" and the central role of patient leader.

Describes new treatment programs which emphasized patients' responsibility and problem-solving action and heightened the conflict with patients' expectations that they be held unaccountable for their deviant behavior and excused from taking corrective action. Results from 50 patients showed Ss' attitudes were markedly less favorable toward a new program than toward a more traditional one. Patient leaders played an important role by organizing Ss to produce an active program, thereby encouraging staff tolerance for a nonrestrictive, continuous hospital stay for all interested Ss. Leaders were evaluated more favorably than nonleaders by both Ss and staff, with the exception of behaviors related solely to staff goals. The stalemate, successfully negotiated by the leaders, was broken only after the staff imposed a time limit on hospital stay. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Procedural justice explanations and employee reactions to economic hardship: A field experiment.

In a randomized field experiment involving 173 salaried employees, treatment Ss received an explanation for an ongoing pay freeze. This explained the fairness of the decision process leading to the freeze and the fairness of the implementation of the freeze. The explanation mitigated the effect of the resultant economic hardship on employee attitudes, turnover intentions, and perceptions of procedural justice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitude change in college students and chronic patients: A dual perspective.

Assessed both initial attitudes and attitude change among 30 college students and 320 chronic patients participating in a hospital companionship program. Student attitudes toward a number of mental health concepts were initially similar to 2 student control groups (N = 30 each). Patient expectations of college students likewise were similar to patient controls. At the conclusion of the program, students manifested significantly more favorable attitudes toward patients and less favorable attitudes toward the mental hospital; patients saw the students as more nurturant than they had initially expected. A social hierarchy hypothesis is advanced to partially account for the reported success of similar companionship programs. (22 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)