"Nickel and Dimed" by Barbara Ehrenreich

In the excerpt of "Nickel and Dimed", Barbara Ehrenreich discusses her trek to find a decent paying job and an 'okay' form of housing. There are many ups and downs of both journeys and you hear the multiple details of them. The first job at hand: to find a job. She hands in dozens of applications in one day and has two face-to-face interviews at different establishments. During her face-to-face interviews at both Wal-Mart and Menards, she is required to answer some form of personality questionnaires. Both times she is questioned on specific answers she had provided on the papers but is able to redeem herself. Then comes a task she makes a point to talk about: drug tests. Ehrenreich becomes slightly worried as she as unfortunately consumed drugs recently, drugs that won't just flush out of her system (marijuana). Because of this, she learns of the many deceitful shortcuts there are to these employment drug tests. She researches the different tactics used online. There are ingestible products and one website even offered a "vial of pure, drug-free urine, battery-heated to room temperature". Everyone else simply advised to flush with fluids. Ehrenreich wanted to be sure she would pass these two tests (one for Wal-Mart and one for Menards), so she drove herself to the nearest GNC and searched out the help of a worker. She finds another product mentioned online called CleanP, but she passes up the $50 pricetag and instead buys creatinine and a diuretic called uva ursis for around $30. She passes both drug tests.
When it comes to the usefulness of these tests, I definitely wouldn't say they'll stop people from using drugs. The most they'll do is stop people from using drugs at certain times. Most people know going into job interviews (at certain places) that they'll be required to take a drug test. Therefore, they know that those are the times they should not be using drugs - if they do in the first place, that is. It takes a small bit of common sense to realize this. But I guess it has the power to ween out those that use drugs very often. Now for the validity of these tests, that is hard to measure being that there are so many different ways to cheat (and many people use these ways). Although, some establishments are smart enough to make it impossible to cheat or are able to catch people in the process. But these tests have to be somewhat accurate or they would probably find another way to make sure their employees are law-abiding and completely, well, 'normal' when working there. As for companies getting more productive workers just because they are administering drug tests, that I don't really see as true. Just because they don't do drugs, or pass the test, doesnt mean they are going to be 'more productive'. Its definitely possible. But I believe it entirely depends on each person or worker. They could just be a good cheater...ha. But, I guess it makes people feel safer and better knowing that their employees passed a drug test. If they'll pass one every day...now, thats another story in itself.
Back to those productive workers...yes it matters if companies have productive and non-drug-using, as Wal-Mart calls them, associates. They don't want people that will come to work and slack off and walk around getting nothing done, or that will come to work high and on who know's what drugs. As for me, I would have no problems taking such a test. I know I would pass without a problem and I also understand they're are making you take them.