A Supervisor Helps a Worker Address His Depression and His Heavy and Excessive Drinking After a Shattered Relationship

Russ dropped out of high school when he was sixteen years old and eventually got a job at a local Home Depot. For the last nine-and-a-half years he has gained a reputation as a diligent and hard-working individual who infrequently calls off work due to sickness.

About six months ago he started dating a young lady named Emma. They appeared to get along real well right away and looked like they had a lot of good times with one another.

The Irresponsible and Hazardous Drinking Begins

When Russ met Emma, he hardly ever drank. This circumstance changed when Emma and Russ started seeing each other on a fairly constant basis. In truth, everything 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 particular time.

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 exceedingly hard. In reality, he was bewildered because they seemed to be getting along so well.

When Hazardous Drinking Leads to Work Problems

So what did Russ do? Instead of working through his suffering and pain, he started getting drunk nearly 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 once per week and that he again and again called off ill. Moreover, some of his co-workers made an appointment with staff in Human Resources and stated that Russ frequently came to work with a strong odor 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 Thursday morning he invited Russ into his office. He told Russ that he had recently noticed a definite change in his sick time, attendance, behavior, and in his work performance.

When a Supervison Can Encourage an Employee to Get Help For His or Her Irresponsible and Abusive 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 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 care too. I don’t want to meddle with your business, but it is evident that you are manifesting some of the typical signs and symptoms of a drinking problem. As a result, 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 medical doctor or a psychologist, but I have seen several of my relatives and friends suffer through some very bad alcohol side effects. What is more, I have also witnessed the signs of alcoholism first-hand in my own family. When individuals suffer from problems with drinking, these difficulties not only affect the drinker, but they also make an impact on his or her relatives, friends, neighbors, family, and co-workers.”

Russ respected his manager quite a lot and as a result followed through with his recommendation the next morning when he called and scheduled an appointment with a healthcare professional in the employee’s assistance program.

Russ is Still Depressed But Feels Some Hope That He Will Get His Life Back on Track

Although Russ didn’t necessarily feel any better or less depressed about the sadness he still feels for 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 several weeks and he truthfully felt some hope that he would get back on track with his life.

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