Russ got suspended from high school when he was sixteen years old and eventually found employment at a local steel mill. For the past three-and-a-half years he has gained a reputation as a hard-working employee who rarely calls off work because of illness.

Roughly five-and-a-half months ago he started going out with a young lady named Emma. They appeared to get along real well right away and looked like they had a lot of fun together.

The Excessive and Abusive Drinking Begins

When Russ met Emma, he hardly ever drank. This circumstance changed when they started seeing one another on a fairly regular basis. Actually, everything was going fine until Emma called Russ one night just about 2 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 she had already moved out. Russ took this really hard. If truth be told, he was astonished because they seemed to be getting along so well.

When Heavy Drinking Leads to Work Problems

So what did Russ do? Rather than working through his grief and anguish, he began getting drunk almost every night. It didn’t take long for his buddies at work or for his boss to notice that Russ was coming to work late at least twice per week and that he time after time called off ill. What is more, some of his co-workers made an appointment with staff in the HR Department and said that Russ continually came to work with a strong odor of alcohol on his clothes or on his breath.

Russ’s supervisor heard about all of this from Human Resources and also from Russ’s fellow employees. So one Monday morning he called Russ into his office. He told Russ that he had recently noticed a distinct change in his attendance, sick time, behavior, and in his work performance.

When a Supervison Can Motivate an Employee to Get Help For His or Her Heavy and Abusive Drinking

Russ’s boss also said that a number of his fellow employees 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 fellow employees are not reporting you to HR to get you into any trouble or because they don’t like you but instead because they are concerned about you. And I am concerned too. I don’t want to intrude into your life outside this company, but it seems very clear that you are manifesting some of the classic symptoms and signs of a drinking problem. Consequently, I want you to go and see a healthcare professional in the employee’s assistance program to discuss your drinking circumstance and your depression.”

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

Russ admired his supervisor very much and as a result followed through with his suggestion the next morning when he called and scheduled an appointment with a therapist in the employee’s assistance program.

Russ is Still Depressed But Feels 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 sadness he still feels for Emma, he felt comfort knowing that his manager and his fellow employees wanted what’s best for him and cared about 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.