Libertyville, IL — January 8, 2010 —Wonderlic, Inc. today announced a consistent finding between the company’s human resource research and the recent report released by the National Institute of Drug Abuse.
According to the survey sponsored by the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), almost one third of high school seniors reported using marijuana in 2009. This survey of over 46,000 students noted increasing levels of marijuana use from 8th to 10th grade and from 10th to 12th grade. The survey also indicated that 3.4% of high school seniors used cocaine, and almost 10% reported using the prescription painkiller Vicodin for non-medical reasons.
“These findings from NIDA’s annual report are consistent with the research that Wonderlic, Inc. has conducted in the human resources field,” stated Wonderlic’s David Arnold, Ph. D., J.D. Through administration of the Wonderlic Productivity Index®—Background Questionnaire (“WPI®-BQ”), Wonderlic’s researchers have determined that current job applicants commonly have a recent history of illegal drug use. Dr, Arnold continues, “In one study involving the WPI-BQ, the results indicated that 23.5% of current employees and potential job applicants had recently used marijuana, while 8.5% had used other illegal drugs.” The research also documented that such individuals commonly steal from their employers, and often engage in counterproductive behaviors like texting and surfing the Web.
The WPI-BQ is a short, two-part assessment designed by Wonderlic’s industrial psychologists to help identify job applicants whose personality and background experiences are conducive to their becoming highly productive, low-risk employees. The personality portion of the assessment is based on over 50 years of research on the validity of personality traits for predicting job performance, while the background portion is based upon applied, practical experiences of today’s employers. The WPI-BQ can be administered in about 12 minutes online or via paper. The assessment is commonly used in many industries including retail, banking, property management and hospitality to reduce the likelihood of hiring employees with undesirable work habits that affect profitability. Additionally, the assessment serves as a strong defense against negligent hiring liability.
Wonderlic, Inc. is the leading provider of on-demand employee and student recruiting, selection and retention solutions that enable employers and schools to optimize their ability to select, place, manage and retain talented individuals. Since 1937, Wonderlic has worked with over 50,000 clients across more than 60 industries and organizations, providing solutions that have helped pre-qualify over 150 million job candidates and students.
David W. Arnold is General Counsel for Wonderlic, Inc., where he is involved with legal issues concerning privacy, negligent hiring, employment testing and equal employment matters. He also serves as General Counsel for the Association of Test Publishers. In this capacity, Dr. Arnold has testified on many occasions before various legislative committees on issues related to testing.
This press release was distributed through PR Web by Human Resources Marketer (HR Marketer: www.HRmarketer.com) on behalf of the company listed above.