A Considerate Manager Helps An Employee Address His Irresponsible And Abusive Drinking After A Shattered Relationship
Barry got suspended from high school when he was sixteen years old and eventually found employment at a local aluminum processing plant. For the last nine years he has gained a reputation as a hard-working and reliable person who only once in a blue moon calls off work because of illness.
About nine months ago he started going out with a woman named Carol. They seemed to hit it off right away and looked as if they had a lot of fun together.
When Barry met Carol, he hardly ever drank. This situation changed when Barry and Carol began dating on a basis. In truth, their relationship was going fine until Carol out of the blue called Barry one night nearly 3:30 AM and told him that she had to stop dating him and that she couldn't explain the reason at that particular time.
The next morning before he went to work, Barry drove to her condo and found out that Carol had already moved out. Barry received this news very hard. In point of fact, he was bewildered because they appeared to be getting along so well.
So what did Barry do about Carol's departure? Rather than working through his pain and sorrow, he began getting inebriated just about every night. It didn't take long for his fellow employees and for his manager to see that Barry was coming to work late at least once per week and that he time after time called off ill. What is more, some of the workers made an appointment with staff in Human Resources Department and said that Barry over and over again came to work with a noticeable smell of alcohol on his clothes or on his breath.
Barry's manager heard about all of this from Human Resources and also from Barry's fellow employees. So one Tuesday morning he invited Barry into his office. He mentioned to Barry that he had recently noticed a distinct change in his sick time, work performance, attendance, and in his behavior.
"Barry I am not an authority about alcohol facts and I'm not especially all that knowledgeable about alcoholism facts, but I have personally seen more than a few of my relatives and friends experience some really painful issues because of their excessive and hazardous drinking. My suggestion is that you learn more facts about alcohol and what alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency can do to an individual."
"Why is this important? When people engage in heavy drinking, their drinking difficulties not only adversely affect the drinker, but they also adversely affect his or her co-workers, relatives, family, friends, and neighbors. Barry, in short, I want you to get some help for your irresponsible and excessive drinking from our fine employee's assistance program."
Barry respected his boss very much and as a consequence followed through with his suggestion the very next day when he called and scheduled an appointment with a psychologist in the employee's assistance program. Even though Barry didn't automatically feel any less depressed or feel better about the hurt he still has about Carol, he felt some comfort knowing that his boss and his fellow employees cared about him and wanted what's best for him. This gave Barry some psychological relief for the first time in a number of months and he truthfully experienced some hope that he would get his life back on track.