A Manager Helps a Worker Address His Depression and His Irresponsible and Hazardous Drinking After a Ruined Relationship
Russ got expelled from high school when he was seventeen years old and eventually found employment at a local copper smelting plant. For the last ten years he has gained a reputation as a reliable and hard-working employee who only once in a blue moon calls off work because of illness.
Around five months ago he started going out with a young lady named Emma. They seemed to hit it off right away and gave people the impression that they had a lot of good times together.
The Irresponsible Drinking Begins
When Russ met Emma, he rarely drank. This situation changed when Emma and Russ began seeing one another on a fairly normal basis. In reality, their relationship was going great until Emma called Russ one night nearly 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 drove to Emma’s apartment and found out almost immediately that Emma had already moved out. Russ took this very hard. In reality, he was stunned because they appeared to be getting along so well.
When Excessive Drinking Leads to Work Problems
So what did Russ do? Instead of working through his sorrow and pain, he began getting inebriated just about every night. It didn’t take long for his fellow employees or for his boss to notice that Russ was coming to work late at least three times per week and that he constantly called off ill. Moreover, some of the workers made an appointment with staff in the HR Department and said that Russ continually came to work with a strong smell of alcohol on his clothes or on his breath.
Russ’s boss heard about all of this from Human Resources and also from Russ’s co-workers. So one Tuesday morning he asked Russ to come into his office. He told Russ that he had recently noticed a distinct change in his work performance, sick time, attendance, and in his behavior.
When a Supervison Can Encourage an Employee to Get Help For His or Her Excessive and Abusive Drinking
Russ’s supervisor also articulated 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 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 don’t like you but rather because they are concerned about you. And I am concerned too. I don’t want to intrude into your business, but it is apparent that you are manifesting some of the well known signs and symptoms of excessive drinking. Consequently, I want you to go and see someone in the employee’s assistance program to discuss your drinking situation and your depression.”
“Russ, I’m no doctor or a psychiatrist, but I have seen many of my friends and relatives suffer through some really negative alcohol side effects. What is more, I have also witnessed the signs of alcoholism first-hand in my own family. When individuals have problems with drinking, these difficulties not only affect the drinker, but they also make an impact on his or her relatives, family, neighbors, co-workers, and friends.”
Russ respected his supervisor a lot and as a consequence followed through with his recommendation the next morning 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 automatically feel any better or less depressed about the hurt he still has about Emma, he felt some comfort knowing that his manager and his co-workers cared about him and wanted what’s best for him. This gave Russ some psychological relief for the first time in a number of weeks and he frankly felt some hope that he would get his life back on track.











