A Supervisor Helps a Worker Address His Heavy and Excessive Drinking After a Destroyed Relationship
Russ got suspended from high school when he was fifteen years old and eventually got a job at a local auto assembly plant. For the past eight years he has gained a reputation as a hard-working and conscientious individual who seldom calls off work due to sickness.
Roughly six months ago he started going out with a young lady named Emma. They appeared to hit it off immediately and looked as if they had a lot of good times together.
The Heavy and Irresponsible Drinking Begins
When Russ met Emma, he almost never drank. This situation changed when they began seeing one another on a fairly usual basis. As a matter of fact, their relationship was going fine until Emma called Russ one night nearly 2:30 AM and said that she had to call off their relationship and that she couldn’t explain the reason at that moment.
The next morning before he went to work, Russ drove to Emma’s apartment and found out right away that Emma had already moved out. Russ took this very hard. In point of fact, he was astounded because they seemed to be getting along so very well.
When Heavy and Hazardous Drinking Leads to Problems at Work
So what did Russ do about Emma’s leaving? Instead of working through his pain, he started getting inebriated almost every night. It didn’t take long for his pals at work or for his supervisor to notice that Russ was coming to work late at least once per week and that he constantly called off ill. What is more, some of his co-workers made an appointment with staff in Human Resources Department and mentioned that Russ often came to work with a strong odor of alcohol on his breath or on his clothes.
Russ’s boss heard about all of this from Human Resources and also from Russ’s co-workers. So one Monday afternoon he invited Russ into his office. He told Russ that he had recently noticed a great change in his sick time, behavior, work performance, and in his attendance.
When a Boss Can Encourage a Worker to Get Help For His or Her Abusive and Hazardous Drinking
Russ’s boss also stated that a number of his fellow employees reported him to Human Resources because he had been coming to work with the strong smell of alcohol. His manager then stated the following: “Russ, your co-workers are not reporting you to Human Resources to get you into any trouble or because they dislike you but rather because they are concerned about you. And I am concerned too. I don’t want to butt into your personal life, but it is evident that you are exhibiting some of the common signs and symptoms of problem drinking. Consequently, I want you to go and see a healthcare professional in the employee’s assistance program to discuss your drinking circumstance.”
“Russ, I’m no healthcare practitioner or a psychiatrist, but I have seen more than a few of my friends and relatives suffer through some really negative alcohol side effects. Not only this but I have also witnessed the signs of alcoholism first-hand in my own family. When people experience problems with drinking, these issues not only affect the drinker, but they also make an impact on his or her relatives, neighbors, friends, co-workers, and family.”
Russ respected his manager quite a lot and as a consequence followed through with his recommendation the next work day when he called and scheduled an appointment with a healthcare practitioner in the employee’s assistance program.
Russ is Still Depressed But Feels Some Hope That He Will Get Back on Track With His Life
Although Russ didn’t necessarily feel any better or less depressed about the hurt he still has about Emma, he felt some comfort knowing that his supervisor and his co-workers cared about him and wanted what’s best for him. This gave him some emotional relief for the first time in several weeks and he truthfully felt some hope that he would get back on track with his life.