Troubled Employee

Dear Dr. LeCrone:

I am a supervisor in a manufacturing company where safety is a big issue because our equipment requires close and careful attention during operation. An accident could produce severe injury or even death. Most of our employees do a great job but a small percentage have problems with job performance that includes problems with alcohol and other drugs. Like many companies, we episodically work with an understaffed workforce and lots of deadlines. At times, stress is part of our work environment which certainly doesn’t help someone with a substance abuse problem. Fortunately, there are drug and alcohol treatment resources in our community but I need some guidance about how to recognize the employee with these problems.

Dear reader: Individuals with a substance abuse problem often display a pattern of problems and behaviors which may include some of the following:

• Increased risk of accidents – Impaired reaction time and judgment due to substance abuse, disregard for safety procedures, diminished concern for the safety of oneself and/or others.

• Absenteeism – Unexcused absences, improbable excuses for absences, excessive tardiness, and lengthy absences for minor illnesses.

• Sporadic work patterns – Changes in productivity, changes in quality of work, working overtime to finish assignments that would have been completed during regular work time prior to the onset of substance abuse.

• Problems with co-workers or supervisors – Overreaction to criticism, mood swings, irritability, avoidance of co-workers or supervisors, complaints from other employees.

• Confusion and/or problems in concentration – Difficulty in recalling instructions, inability to correct one’s own mistakes, difficulty in attending to necessary details, making frequent errors, forgetting how to perform routine tasks and procedures.

• A marked deterioration in personal appearance or grooming. The smell of alcohol and/or attempts to mask the smell of alcohol on one’s breath with mouthwash, etc..

Remember that these problems can be a result of conditions other than alcohol or drug abuse. A supervisor or someone from the human relations department in your organization may need to refer problem employees to someone trained in substance abuse evaluation.

Unfortunately, alcohol and drug abuse is all too frequent in the workplace, and it can cause inefficiency, lowered productivity, low morale and increasing the danger of accidents and absenteeism. Professional assessment of problem behavior and then rehabilitation can help the troubled employee and those around him or her.
I hope this information will be helpful to you.

Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D. Copyright 2005