A Boss Helps a Worker Address His Depression and His Heavy and Excessive Drinking After a Broken Relationship
Russ got expelled from high school when he was seventeen years old and eventually got a job at a local copper smelting plant. For the past nine years he has gained a reputation as a hard-working and conscientious employee who rarely calls off work due to illness.
Roughly nine 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 fun together.
The Excessive and Irresponsible Drinking Begins
When Russ met Emma, he hardly ever drank. This situation totally changed when Russ and Emma started dating on a fairly regular basis. In fact, their relationship was going great until Emma called Russ one night just about 3:30 AM and said that she had to call off their relationship 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 that Emma had already moved out. Russ took this extremely hard. In reality, he was astounded because they appeared to be getting along so well.
When Excessive and Heavy Drinking Leads to Problems at Work
So what did Russ do? Rather than working through his grief and anguish, he began 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 time after time called off sick. Moreover, some of the workers made an appointment with staff in Human Resources and mentioned that Russ frequently came to work with a strong odor of alcohol on his clothes or on his breath.
Russ’s manager heard about all of this from Human Resources and also from Russ’s co-workers. So one Wednesday morning he invited Russ into his office. He told Russ that he had recently noticed a clear-cut change in his attendance, work performance, sick time, and in his behavior.
When a Manager Can Encourage an Employee to Get Help For His or Her Hazardous and Excessive 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 the strong smell of alcohol. His supervisor then stated the following: “Russ, your co-workers are not reporting you to Human Resources 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 meddle with your life outside of work, but it is evident that you are manifesting some of the normal symptoms and signs of alcohol abuse. Consequently, I want you to go and see a healthcare professional in the employee’s assistance program to discuss your drinking situation and your depression.”
“Russ, I’m no healthcare professional or a therapist, but I have seen many of my relatives and friends suffer through some extremely negative 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 neighbors, co-workers, relatives, friends, and family.”
Russ respected his manager very much and consequently followed through with his recommendation the very next 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
Even though Russ didn’t necessarily feel any better or less depressed about the loss of Emma, he felt comfort knowing that his boss and his co-workers wanted what’s best for him and cared about 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 back on track with his life.
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