Whole Foods Market, Inc is a grocery chain of natural and organic food products in the United States. It is headquartered in Austin, Texas, and was established in 1978. Whole Foods is based in more than 500 locations operating in the United States, Canada, and the UK.
Whole Food’s products include local and organic produce, beverages, meat, pantry essentials, bread and rolls, body care, gift baskets, supplements, etc. In 2017 Whole Foods Market was acquired by the e-commerce giant Amazon for a whooping deal valued at about $13.7 billion.
Table Of Contents:
- Working at Whole Foods
- Job application steps at Whole Foods
- Does Whole Foods drug test?
- Who will be tested and why?
- The bottom line
Working at Whole Foods
Since its inception, Whole Foods has been dedicated to selling the highest quality of natural and organic foods. Coupled with this standard of excellence and the company's mission to nourish and nurture the planet, Whole Foods has gained the trust of thousands of satisfied customers. Working with Whole Foods is about continuing this core legacy of quality commitments and excellent service.
The benefits of working at Whole Foods are many that go beyond the paycheck and a secured 401k retirement plan. Employees are covered under physical and mental health programs that ensure their well-being and productivity at work.
Employees and their family members are also provided free access to Whole Foods Employee Assistant programs. Working at Whole Foods is financially rewarding, with excellent scope for overall personal and professional growth. Their minimum pay is higher than most other competitors in the country.
Job application steps at Whole Foods
Whole Foods currently employs about 91,000 employees and receives over 1.5 million applications to work every year. Taking the time to find the jobs that excite you and tailoring your resume according to fit the job description is imperative. Job opportunities at Whole Foods range from store, technology, human resource, distribution, and facility, to marketing and communications, accounting and finance, business operations, and others.
Before you apply, it is advisable to dig deep and learn about life and work culture at Whole Foods in general. Read reviews on job listing and recruiting sites like indeed and Glassdoor. A quick look at their profile and activities on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter will go a long way in helping you learn about what it takes to work at Whole Foods. Their official website also provides a ton of information concerning business opportunities, careers, and benefits of working at Whole Foods.
Once you have applied for a matching job, one of the Whole Foods recruiters will reach out to you via email. They will inform you about the next step and provide a broad overview of the hiring process. Next, your recruiter will schedule an informal 15 minutes phone call to clarify any doubts, ask questions and tell about yourself.
After this, you will be required to talk to your potential manager either on-site or over the phone for a detailed discussion about the role you applied for. This is followed by the panel interview where you'll speak to a group of peers consisting of 3-8 direct and indirect existing team members to induct the new recruits to their teams. At the end of the process, everyone will vote whether or not you will join the team.
As their website unabashedly likes to claim, the hiring rate is lower than even Harvard University, and so making the cut to work at Whole Foods is going to be challenging. If you make it through, you will be notified via phone call and email with all the information on starting and being part of the Whole Foods Market team. Congratulations!
Does Whole Foods Drug Test?
Whole Foods does not require employees to submit to a drug test. However, Federal law requires periodic testing of employees in safety-sensitive positions and industries like transportation. As such, applicants seeking Whole Foods safety-sensitive transport workers and drivers who fall under the Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act may have to undergo drug testing.
Who will be tested and why?
Drug testing in the workplace is not prohibited or restricted unless it violates other legal provisions such as employee or applicant rights to privacy, dignity, and reputation.
A drug test provides information about the presence of certain controlled substances or alcohol using sample testing methods such as urine, blood, breath, etc. This information allows government and non-government agencies like schools, law enforcement agents, medical service providers, and employers to properly assess a new applicant or a working employee's ability and competence.
A drug test may be performed for a variety of reason that includes:
- Pre-employment Drug Test
- Random drug test
- Test on return to work
- Schedule drug test
- Drug testing on reasonable doubt
- Post-accidental/ traumatic drug test
- Follow-up drug testing
Whole Foods does not have any drug-free workplace program that requires an employee to submit to either a drug test for controlled substances or an alcohol test.
However, certain locations, such as the Whole Foods store in Mountain View, California, conducts mandatory pre-employment drug testing. On the whole, it reserves the right to a drug test and may require an employee to submit to the test as a condition of continued employment.
Under such conditions, employees may be required to undertake specific tests such as Urine drug testing for detecting amounts of controlled substances. Whole Foods generally employs the standard 5 panel urine drug testing to detect the presence or absence of five of the most common drugs of abuse. A 5-panel drug test screens for MMJ, opiates, phencyclidine (PCP), cocaine, and amphetamines.
Refusal to comply with a drug test on the part of the employee constitutes grounds for considering him/ her equivalent to a positive test case and may provide the necessary justification to discipline the employee.
The bottom line
Whole Foods Market was listed on Forbes Best Employers for New Grads 2021 and America's Best Employers 2021, making it one of the most sought-after companies to work in the United States today.
Their massive infrastructure and a supportive peer network make it an ideal place to work, mainly for one looking at long-term personal and professional growth. While a drug test as a condition of employment isn't mandatory, the company reserves the right to a drug test whenever necessary. In this regard, a standard 5-panel urine drug screening is the most common way to perform the test at Whole Foods.