A Supervisor Helps a Worker Address His Depression and His Abusive Drinking After a Broken Relationship
Posted by Bereaved - 08/02/10 at 09:02 pmRuss got suspended from high school when he was fifteen years old and eventually got a job at a local Walmart. For the last eight-and-a-half years he has gained a reputation as a conscientious and hard-working person who almost never calls off work because of illness.
Nearly six-and-a-half months ago he started dating a young woman named Emma. They seemed to get along real well right away and looked like they had a lot of fun together.
The Excessive and Irresponsible Drinking Begins
When Russ met Emma, he rarely drank. This situation changed when they started seeing each other on a fairly normal basis. In reality, everything was going fine until Emma called Russ one night approximately 3 AM and said that she had to breakup and that she couldn’t explain the reason at that particular time.
The next morning before he went to work, Russ went to Emma’s apartment and found out in an instant that she had already moved out. Russ took this awfully hard. In reality, he was bewildered because they appeared to be getting along so well.
When Irresponsible and Abusive Drinking Leads to Problems at Work
So what did Russ do about Emma? Instead of working through his pain and sorrow, he began getting drunk almost every night. It didn’t take long for his fellow employees or for his manager to notice that Russ was coming to work late at least twice per week and that he again and again called off sick. Moreover, some of the workers made an appointment with staff in the HR Department and stated that Russ frequently came to work with a noticeable smell 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 fellow employees. So one Thursday afternoon he asked Russ to come into his office. He told Russ that he had recently noticed a clear-cut change in his sick time, attendance, behavior, and in his work performance.
When a Supervison Can Motivate a Worker to Get Help For His or Her Heavy Drinking
Russ’s supervisor also said that a number of his fellow employees reported him to Human Resources because he had been coming to work with the strong odor of alcohol. His manager then stated the following: “Russ, your fellow employees are not reporting you to the HR Department to get you into 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 this company, but it is apparent that you are exhibiting some of the typical signs and symptoms of problem drinking. Consequently, 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 medical doctor or a psychiatrist, but I have seen several of my relatives and friends go through some very bad alcohol side effects. Not only this but I have also witnessed 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 family, friends, relatives, neighbors, and co-workers.”
Russ respected his manager quite a lot and as a result followed through with his recommendation the very next day when he called and scheduled an appointment with someone in the employee’s assistance program.
Russ is Still Depressed But Experiences Some Hope That He Will Get Back on Track With His Life
Even though 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 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.
