A Boss Helps an Employee Address His Depression and His Heavy and Abusive Drinking After a Ruined Relationship

Russ dropped out of high school when he was sixteen years old and eventually got a job at a local asphalt manufacturing plant. For the past nine-and-a-half years he has gained a reputation as a hard-working and reliable individual who only once in a blue moon calls off work due to sickness.

Around seven-and-a-half months ago he started dating a lady named Emma. They appeared to hit it off right away and looked as if they had a lot of good times together.

The Heavy Drinking Begins

When Russ met Emma, he almost never drank. This totally changed when Emma and Russ started dating on a basis. Actually, everything was going fine until Emma called Russ one night around 4:30 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 went to Emma’s apartment and found out in an instant that Emma had already moved out. Russ took this very hard. Actually, he was stunned because they seemed to be getting along so very well.

When Irresponsible and Heavy Drinking Leads to Work Problems

So what did Russ do about Emma’s leaving? Instead of working through his pain, he began getting drunk almost every night. It didn’t take long for his buddies at work or for his manager to notice that Russ was coming to work late at least twice per week and that he frequently called off ill. Moreover, some of his fellow employees made an appointment with staff in Human Resources Department and mentioned that Russ time after time came to work with a strong 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 Tuesday morning he asked Russ to come into his office. He told Russ that he had recently noticed a great change in his work performance, sick time, attendance, and in his behavior.

When a Supervison Can Motivate a Worker to Get Help For His or Her Hazardous and Heavy Drinking

Russ’s boss also stated 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 boss then stated the following: “Russ, your fellow employees are not reporting you to the Human Resources 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 intrude into your business, but it is obvious that you are exhibiting some of the obvious signs and symptoms of a drinking problem. As a result, I want you to go and see a healthcare practitioner in the employee’s assistance program to discuss your drinking and your depression.”

“Russ, I’m no medical doctor or a counselor, but I have seen quite a few of my relatives and friends go through some very bad alcohol side effects. Furthermore, I have also experienced the signs of alcoholism first-hand in my own family. When people suffer from problems with drinking, these difficulties not only affect the drinker, but they also make an impact on his or her friends, relatives, neighbors, co-workers, and family.”

Russ respected his manager quite a lot and consequently 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 Experiences Some Hope That He Will Get His Life Back on Track

Although Russ didn’t automatically feel any better or less depressed about the sorrow he still has about Emma, he felt some reassurance knowing that his supervisor and his fellow employees wanted what’s best for him and cared about him. This gave him some emotional relief for the first time in a number of weeks and he truthfully felt some hope that he would get his life back on track.