A Boss Helps a Worker Address His Depression and His Heavy and Excessive Drinking After a Ruined Relationship
Russ got expelled from high school when he was sixteen years old and eventually found employment at a local landfill. For the past ten years he has gained a reputation as a conscientious and hard-working individual who almost never calls off work due to illness.
Just about eight months ago he started dating a woman named Emma. They seemed to get along real well right away and looked as if they had a lot of fun with one another.
The Excessive and Irresponsible Drinking Begins
When Russ met Emma, he almost never drank. This situation changed when they started seeing one another on a basis. In truth, everything was going great until Emma called Russ one night roughly 2 AM and said that she had to breakup 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 almost immediately that Emma had already moved out. Russ took this exceptionally hard. If truth be told, he was dismayed because they appeared to be getting along so very well.
When Excessive and Irresponsible Drinking Leads to Work Problems
So what did Russ do about Emma’s leaving? Rather than working through his misery and pain, he started getting intoxicated almost every night. It didn’t take long for his buddies at work or for his boss to notice that Russ was coming to work late at least twice per week and that he time after time called off ill. Furthermore, some of his fellow employees made an appointment with staff in the HR Department and stated that Russ repeatedly came to work with a noticeable smell of alcohol on his breath or on his clothes.
Russ’s supervisor heard about all of this from Human Resources and also from Russ’s fellow employees. So one Friday morning he asked Russ to come into his office. He told Russ that he had recently noticed a distinct change in his work performance, sick time, attendance, and in his behavior.
When a Manager Can Motivate a Worker to Get Help For His or Her Heavy and Abusive Drinking
Russ’s manager also articulated that a number of his fellow employees reported him to Human Resources because he had been coming to work with the strong odor of alcohol. His boss then stated the following: “Russ, your co-workers are not reporting you to the HR Department to get you into trouble or because they don’t like you but instead because they care about you. And I care too. I don’t want to interfere with your life, but it is obvious that you are manifesting some of the basic signs and symptoms of problem drinking. As a result, I want you to go and see a healthcare professional in the employee’s assistance program to discuss your drinking behavior and your depression.”
“Russ, I’m no medical doctor or a therapist, but I have seen many of my relatives and friends go through some very bad alcohol side effects. Furthermore, 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, co-workers, family, friends, and neighbors.”
Russ admired his manager a lot and as a result followed through with his suggestion the next work day when he called and scheduled an appointment with a therapist in the employee’s assistance program.
Russ is Still Depressed But Feels Some Hope That He Will Get His Life Back on Track
Although Russ didn’t automatically feel any better or less depressed about the hurt he still has about Emma, he felt some reassurance knowing that his supervisor and his co-workers wanted what’s best for him and cared about him. This gave him some emotional relief for the first time in a number of weeks and he frankly felt some hope that he would get his life back on track.