Russ dropped out of high school when he was seventeen years old and eventually got a job at a local copper smelting plant. For the past five years he has gained a reputation as a diligent and hard-working individual who almost never calls off work due to sickness.
Nearly four-and-a-half months ago he started going out with a woman named Emma. They appeared to get along real well immediately and looked as if they had a lot of good times with one another.
The Excessive and Abusive Drinking Begins
When Russ met Emma, he almost never drank. This circumstance changed when Russ and Emma started dating on a regular basis. Actually, everything was going fine until Emma called Russ one night approximately 4:30 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 that Emma had already moved out. Russ took this awfully hard. Actually, he was bewildered because they seemed to be getting along so well.
When Hazardous and Irresponsible Drinking Leads to Work Problems
So what did Russ do about Emma’s leaving? Rather than working through his pain and misery, he began getting inebriated just about every night. It didn’t take long for his coworkers or for his manager to notice that Russ was coming to work late at least once per week and that he frequently called off ill. Not only this but some of his co-workers made an appointment with staff in Human Resources and said that Russ over and over again came to work with a strong 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 Monday morning he asked Russ to come into his office. He told Russ that he had recently noticed an extreme change in his sick time, work performance, attendance, and in his behavior.
When a Boss Can Motivate an Employee 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 a noticeable smell of alcohol. His manager then stated the following: “Russ, your fellow employees are not reporting you to the HR Department to get you into any trouble or because they dislike you but instead because they are concerned about you. And I am concerned too. I don’t want to pry into your business, but it is apparent that you are exhibiting some of the common symptoms and signs of problem drinking. As a consequence, I want you to go and see a healthcare practitioner 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 suffer through some really bad alcohol side effects. Furthermore, I have also experienced the signs of alcoholism first-hand in my own family. When individuals 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 boss very much and as a consequence followed through with his suggestion the next morning when he called and scheduled an appointment with a counselor 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 hurt he still has about Emma, he felt comfort knowing that his manager and his co-workers cared about him and wanted what’s best for him. This gave him some psychological relief for the first time in a number of weeks and he actually felt some hope that he would get his life back on track.
