Russ got suspended from high school when he was seventeen years old and eventually found employment at a local paint manufacturer. For the past nine years he has gained a reputation as a hard-working and conscientious person who only once in a blue moon calls off work because of sickness.
Just about five-and-a-half months ago he started going out with a young woman named Emma. They seemed to hit it off immediately and gave people the impression that they had a lot of good times together.
The Irresponsible and Hazardous Drinking Begins
When Russ met Emma, he hardly ever drank. This circumstance changed when they started dating on a regular basis. In truth, their relationship was going fine until Emma called Russ one night roughly 3 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 went to her apartment and found out almost immediately that Emma had already moved out. Russ took this exceedingly hard. As a matter of fact, he was surprised because they seemed to be getting along so well.
When Heavy and Excessive Drinking Leads to Problems at Work
So what did Russ do about Emma’s departure? Rather than working through his pain and suffering, he began getting intoxicated almost every night. It didn’t take long for his pals at work or for his boss to notice that Russ was coming to work late at least twice per week and that he routinely called off sick. Not only this but some of his co-workers made an appointment with staff in Human Resources Department and said that Russ often came to work with a strong 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 co-workers. So one Wednesday afternoon he asked Russ to come into his office. He told Russ that he had recently noticed a definite change in his sick time, behavior, work performance, and in his attendance.
When a Manager Can Motivate a Worker to Get Help For His or Her Irresponsible and Abusive Drinking
Russ’s manager also said that a number of his co-workers reported him to Human Resources because he had been coming to work with the strong smell of alcohol. His boss then stated the following: “Russ, your fellow employees are not reporting you to the Human Resources Department to get you into any trouble or because they dislike you but instead because they are concerned about you. And I care too. I don’t want to pry into your affairs, but it is apparent that you are exhibiting some of the classic 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."
"Russ, I'm no healthcare practitioner or a psychiatrist, but I have seen many of my relatives and friends suffer through some extremely negative alcohol side effects. Furthermore, I have also seen the signs of alcoholism first-hand in my own family. When people have problems with drinking, these problems not only affect the drinker, but they also make an impact on his or her friends, co-workers, relatives, neighbors, and family."
Russ respected his manager very much and as a consequence followed through with his recommendation 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 Back on Track With His Life
Although Russ didn’t automatically feel any better or less depressed about the sorrow he still feels for Emma, he felt some comfort knowing that his boss and his co-workers cared about him and wanted what’s best for him. This gave Russ some emotional relief for the first time in quite a few weeks and he truthfully felt some hope that he would get his life back on track.
