A Boss Helps a Worker Address His Depression and His Heavy Drinking After a Destroyed Relationship
Russ dropped out of high school when he was seventeen years old and eventually found employment at a local asphalt manufacturing plant. For the past nine-and-a-half years he has gained a reputation as a hard-working and conscientious employee who hardly ever calls off work due to sickness.
Around three months ago he started dating a woman named Emma. They appeared to get along real well immediately and gave people the impression that they had a lot of good times with one another.
The Irresponsible and Hazardous Drinking Begins
When Russ met Emma, he hardly ever drank. This circumstance changed when Russ and Emma began seeing each other on a basis. If truth be told, everything was going great until Emma called Russ one night around 4:30 AM and said that she had to stop dating him and that she couldn’t explain the reason at that moment.
The next morning before he went to work, Russ went to Emma’s apartment and found out that Emma had already moved out. Russ took this extremely hard. In reality, he was dismayed because they seemed to be getting along so very well.
When Hazardous and Excessive Drinking Leads to Problems at Work
So what did Russ do? Instead of working through his pain and agony, he started getting drunk just about every night. It didn’t take long for his buddies at work or for his supervisor to notice that Russ was coming to work late at least three times per week and that he frequently called off ill. Furthermore, some of his co-workers made an appointment with staff in Human Resources and said that Russ time after time came to work with a strong smell of alcohol on his breath or on his clothes.
Russ’s manager heard about all of this from Human Resources and also from Russ’s fellow employees. So one Tuesday morning he called Russ into his office. He told Russ that he had recently noticed an explicit change in his attendance, work performance, sick time, and in his behavior.
When a Manager Can Motivate an Employee to Get Help For His or Her Hazardous and Excessive 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 a noticeable smell of alcohol. His boss then stated the following: “Russ, your co-workers are not reporting you to HR to get you into any trouble or because they don’t like you but instead because they are concerned about you. And I care too. I don’t want to poke my nose into your life, but it is evident that you are exhibiting some of the common symptoms and signs of excessive 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 doctor or a psychiatrist, but I have seen several of my friends and relatives go through some really negative alcohol side effects. What is more, I have also seen the signs of alcoholism first-hand in my own family. When individuals have problems with drinking, these issues not only affect the drinker, but they also make an impact on his or her co-workers, family, friends, neighbors, and relatives."
Russ respected his manager quite a lot and consequently 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 His Life Back on Track
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 boss and his fellow employees wanted what’s best for him and cared about him. This gave Russ some emotional relief for the first time in more than a few weeks and he frankly felt some hope that he would get his life back on track.
