Russ dropped out of high school when he was fifteen years old and eventually found employment at a local glass manufacturer. For the past three-and-a-half years he has gained a reputation as a reliable and hard-working individual who infrequently calls off work because of sickness.

The Likelihood of Getting Married

Approximately eight-and-a-half months ago he started dating a woman named Emma. They appeared to get along real well immediately and looked as if they had a lot of good times together. In truth, they had such a close relationship that they started discussing the possibility of getting married.

The Hazardous and Irresponsible Drinking Begins

When Russ met Emma, he rarely drank. This circumstance totally changed when Emma and Russ started seeing each other on a fairly constant basis. In actual fact, their relationship was going great until Emma called Russ one night approximately 4 AM and said that she had to call off their relationship and that she couldn’t tell him the reasons for her decision at that moment.

The next morning before he went to work, Russ drove to her apartment and found out right away that Emma had already moved out. Russ took this exceptionally hard. As a matter of fact, he was astounded because they appeared to be getting along so very well.

When Abusive and Hazardous Drinking Leads to Problems at Work

So what did Russ do? Rather than working through his suffering and pain, he started getting drunk almost every night. It didn’t take long for his coworkers or for his supervisor to notice that Russ was coming to work late at least once per week and that he routinely called off sick. Furthermore, some of his co-workers made an appointment with staff in Human Resources and mentioned that Russ continually came to work with a noticeable smell of alcohol on his breath or on his clothes.

Russ’s boss heard about all of this from Human Resources and also from Russ’s co-workers. So one Monday morning he invited Russ into his office. He told Russ that he had recently noticed a clear-cut change in his work performance, attendance, behavior, and in his sick time.

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

Russ’s manager also articulated that a number of his co-workers reported him to Human Resources because he had been coming to work with the strong odor of alcohol. His manager then stated the following: “Russ, your co-workers are not reporting you to HR to get you into trouble or because they dislike you but instead because they are concerned about you. And I care too. I don’t want to pry into your affairs, but it seems very clear that you are displaying some of the characteristic symptoms and signs of a drinking problem. Consequently, I want you to go and see a healthcare practitioner in the employee’s assistance program to discuss your drinking circumstance and your depression.”

“Russ, I’m no healthcare practitioner or a psychologist, but I have seen more than a few of my friends and relatives go through some extremely negative alcohol side effects. Not only this but I have also experienced 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 neighbors, co-workers, relatives, family, and friends.”

Russ respected his supervisor a lot and as a result followed through with his suggestion the next work day when he called and scheduled an appointment with a healthcare professional in the employee’s assistance program.

Russ Begings to Experience Some Self Esteem, a Positive Attitude, Personal Success, and Some Happiness for the First Time in More Than a Few Months.

Even though Russ didn’t necessarily feel any better or less depressed about the sorrow he still feels for Emma, he felt some comfort knowing that his supervisor and his co-workers wanted what’s best for him and cared about him. This gave Russ some psychological relief for the first time in a number of months and he actually felt some hope that he would get back on track with his life. In truth, Russ started to feel happiness, a positive attitude, personal success, and some self esteem for the first time in quite a few months.

Russ Fortifies His Time, Anger, and Stress Management Skills

In addition to feeling better about himself, and to a great extent due to the backing of his manager, Russ began to enhance his anger, stress, and time management skills.