A Manager Helps an Employee Address His Depression and His Irresponsible and Excessive Drinking After a Shattered Relationship
Written by admin on February 8th, 2010 in Love.
Russ got suspended from high school when he was seventeen years old and eventually got a job at a local water treatment facility. For the past four years he has gained a reputation as a reliable and hard-working individual who only once in a blue moon calls off work due to illness.
Roughly four months ago he started dating a young woman named Emma. They appeared to hit it off immediately and gave people the impression that they had a lot of good times with one another.
The Hazardous and Irresponsible Drinking Begins
When Russ met Emma, he almost never drank. This circumstance changed when Russ and Emma started seeing one another on a fairly normal basis. In truth, everything was going great until Emma called Russ one night just about 2 AM and said that she had to stop dating him and that she couldn’t tell him what was going on at that time.
The next morning before he went to work, Russ drove to Emma’s apartment and immediately discovered that she had already moved out. Russ took this really hard. If truth be told, he was surprised because they seemed to be getting along so well.
When Abusive and Irresponsible Drinking Leads to Problems at Work
So what did Russ do? Instead of working through his pain and suffering, he began getting intoxicated almost 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 three times per week and that he repeatedly called off sick. Moreover, some of his co-workers made an appointment with staff in the HR Department 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 supervisor heard about all of this from Human Resources and also from Russ’s co-workers. So one Wednesday afternoon he invited Russ into his office. He told Russ that he had recently noticed an extreme change in his behavior, work performance, attendance, and in his sick time.
When a Boss Can Motivate a Worker to Get Help For His or Her Heavy and Hazardous Drinking
Russ’s boss also mentioned 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 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 don’t like you but rather because they are concerned about you. And I am concerned too. I don’t want to pry into your affairs, but it seems very clear that you are exhibiting some of the typical symptoms and signs of problem drinking. Consequently, I want you to go and see a therapist in the employee’s assistance program to discuss your drinking behavior and your depression.”
“Russ, I’m no medical doctor or a psychiatrist, but I have seen quite a few of my friends and relatives go through some really negative alcohol side effects. Furthermore, I have also witnessed 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 friends, co-workers, family, relatives, and neighbors.”
Russ admired his supervisor a lot and as a consequence followed through with his recommendation the next work day when he called and scheduled an appointment with a counselor 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 sorrow he still has about Emma, he felt comfort knowing that his supervisor and his fellow employees cared about him and wanted what’s best for him. This gave him some emotional relief for the first time in more than a few weeks and he truthfully felt some hope that he would get his life back on track.