Russ dropped out of high school when he was seventeen years old and eventually got a job at a local tire manufacturer. For the last eleven years he has gained a reputation as a hard-working and reliable individual who hardly ever calls off work because of illness.
Nearly eight-and-a-half months ago he started dating a young lady named Emma. They appeared to get along real well right away and looked like they had a lot of good times with one another.
The Hazardous Drinking Begins
When Russ met Emma, he rarely drank. This totally changed when Emma and Russ started seeing one another on a basis. As a matter of fact, their relationship was going fine until Emma called Russ one night just about 4 AM and said that she had to call off their relationship and that she couldn’t tell him the reasons for her decision 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. As a matter of fact, he was surprised because they appeared to be getting along so well.
When Irresponsible and Excessive Drinking Leads to Work Problems
So what did Russ do? Instead of working through his pain and misery, he started getting drunk just about every night. It didn’t take long for his pals at work or for his manager to notice that Russ was coming to work late at least twice per week and that he over and over again called off ill. Moreover, some of his fellow employees made an appointment with staff in the HR Department and said that Russ often came to work with a noticeable smell of alcohol on his clothes or on his breath.
Russ’s supervisor heard about all of this from Human Resources and also from Russ’s fellow employees. So one Thursday morning he asked Russ to come into his office. He told Russ that he had recently noticed an explicit change in his work performance, attendance, behavior, and in his sick time.
When a Manager Can Motivate an Employee to Get Help For His or Her Abusive Drinking
Russ’s boss also mentioned that a number of his fellow employees reported him to Human Resources because he had been coming to work with a noticeable smell of alcohol. His supervisor then stated the following: “Russ, your co-workers are not reporting you to the HR Department 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 life outside of work, but it is evident that you are displaying some of the typical symptoms and signs of excessive drinking. As a result, I want you to go and see someone in the employee’s assistance program to discuss your drinking situation and your depression.”
“Russ, I’m no healthcare professional or a psychiatrist, but I have seen several of my friends and relatives go through some very bad alcohol side effects. Furthermore, I have also seen the signs of alcoholism first-hand in my own family. When individuals suffer from problems with drinking, these issues not only affect the drinker, but they also make an impact on his or her friends, co-workers, family, relatives, and neighbors.”
Russ respected his boss a lot and as a result followed through with his recommendation the next morning when he called and scheduled an appointment with a healthcare professional 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 loss of 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 a number of weeks and he frankly felt some hope that he would get back on track with his life.