Alcoholic boss adds to office chaos

Go to Alanon. Its free, and there are meetings everywhere. It is the sister program of AA, where hopefully your boss is, or will end up. It WILL help you. In the meantime, remember that alcoholism is a disease, not a moral issue. Your manager's personal life is none of your business--even tho it affects your work environment. Its VERY unfortunate that your HR dept has not handled this properly--i.e. confidentially. Hang in there and have compassion--I've been there. On both sides.

Alcoholism and Drub Abuse are very real problems in the financial world. From Wall Street to Main Street these afflictions don't discriminate based on gender or socio-economic status. Thankfully there are many treatment options for the client looking to do something about their problem. There are Discreet Home Detox services with early recovery coaching to Concierge Luxury Rehabs. I encourage the client or Human Resource representative to acquaint themselves with an understanding of what is being offered to discerning clients.

"Its VERY unfortunate that your HR dept has not handled this properly--i.e. confidentially"

Where was that stated. She supposed it was alcoholism from the dui's and smell of booze on breath.

Compassion can only go so far. I spent about 2 years dealing with a coworker who had a serious drug addiction. At first, I was very supportive and compassionate. However, each successive leave of absence was longer and I ended up bearing more and more responsibility, even after he returned. I was unable to take vacations and my workload skyrocketed while my pay stayed the same. What about MY stress levels? MY mental health? I had to watch him like a hawk at work, and could no longer trust anything he did. Eventually, HR got tired of this, and fired him. He had multiple chances to get his life together, and he wasted them all. I do feel bad for what happened and I do understand it's a disease. But I don't think some people are going to get better until they hit rock bottom and face the consequences to their actions (ie, getting fired). Giving someone a 3rd, a 4th, a 5th chance is not much different then enabling them.

The next time you smell booze on her breath at work you should call HR and anonymously inform them of such. They may be looking for a way to get her out and this may be just what you all need. If she keeps relapsing then she is not ready to quit. Maybe a job loss would shake her up as HR is only abetting her behavior by keeping her there. This may be just what she needs to get her act together.

the better advice is to complain to HR ASAP. The personnel dept is waiting for proof of performance. Complaints from subordinate staff is the proof that would cause action to taken... i.e. removing the non-performing manager from their position.

What? Having a drinking problem is a "disability"? Are you kidding me? It sounds like this manager is totally incompetent and can't handle the job that she is hired to do.

If she has a drinking problem, she should just stop drinking. I know it's difficult, but it's certainly not a "disability". You have to be kidding me that heavy drinkers are now a protected class.

What about your every day hard workers that just want to go into work, get the job done, work in a good environment and live a good life? Why is it always the honest hard workers that have to deal with these degenerates?

If she has a drinking problem, she should leave it out of the office. Would it be cool to just spark up a joint in the office? Probably not. Would it be cool if a "sexaholic" started making suggestive comments to co-workers? Would that act be protected?

What a society of pansies we live in. I'm all for her getting help, but she shouldn't be bringing everybody else down. By keeping her there at her job, it's basically enabling her to continue drinking. She knows she's protected, she knows she's not going to get fired, so what's the incentive to stop drinking? They are totally enabling her! Maybe you can write up an anonymous complaint to HR about your issues. You probably are not the only one with this same complaint. She needs to go, they need to hire somebody new, and your company just needs to move forward. There is no time in the world to deal with degenerates like her, especially if she has absolutely no incentive to stop her actions.

There are always choices in any situation. I agree with the Alanon suggestion, but not to invest a significant amount of your time- only for initital information if you feel it would be of value to you. Also, you could start being proactive and look for another job. It will help you feel empowered and that you are taking steps to control your own destiny. I would also advise you to document any and all work related instances involving your manager which specifically affect you with regards to inconsistencies/discrepencies as a result of her impairment that directly affect you. This will also help you to feel empowered in addition to having documentation prepared in case you choose to bring anything forward.

Why should the EMPLOYEE go to Alanon????
It's the BOSS with the drinking problem, not the employee. This is a JOB, not a family.
I would definitely rat her out the next time I smelled booze on her breath at the office.
End of story.
Maybe then she'll smarten up and QUIT DRINKING.

Shecky28-
Why should the EMPLOYEE go to Alanon you ask? Because we are trying to be HELPFUL to the writer of the question. The writer is the one having to cope with this issue every day and whatever choices he or she makes to get support should be explored and respected. If Alanon helps the person feel empowered and supported then who are you to judge that? Also, if you think that alcoholics can stop drinking by "smartening up" then you should go to Alanon immediately and become informed before you spew more misinformation.

Whoa! To those posters who just say "stop drinking" -- Understand that with alcoholism, it isn't just a matter of just "willing" oneself to quit. Doesn't work that way.

I support the idea of alanon. It is for people who are dealing with other people in their lives who are drinking. I also don't think it's fair to the others at the workplace to be in a position to have to pick up the slack...HR should be able to do *something*. I'm not in the HR field, I don't know what's possible. Is it possible to transfer out of her department?

Please when its a woman people are like how disgraceful, how tacky, when its a man is just part of business, men sit around and mull over the difficult decision over breakfast and lunch on a daily basis -

We are a society of enablers.

Leave a bottle of vodka in her drawer each time she comes back from drying out. Problem solved: she'll be on permanent leave (high?). Get the real rotgut stuff though.

Your company must view their status in the financial services industry as very stable because if something like her alcoholism got out would it not be viewed as a huge negative? Interesting how managers and higher ups cover for eachother and do not take into consideration what the "help" thinks about such a person. She would have been laid off and the reasons given would have been her illness needs to be addressed and the company is giving her time off to deal with it. Easy as pie if you ask me. That would be a nightmare to deal with every day. Employees need to get some backbone and talk to her superiors about her "condiditon".

you know of course if this were just a regular work a day employee they would have been dismissed on the spot. a manager lives in a different world where allowances for such unfortunate actions are more liberal. smelling alcohol or her breath or noticing slurred speech or odd behavior should be immediately reported to HR. why would anyone want a huge nightmare liability like a drunk manager within a hundred feet of them? why upper management hasn't kicked miss whino to the curb is amazing. people are let go for much less than arriving at the office drunk on several occasions. stay on top of this persons issues with her superiors and say it's too disruptive to be around a manager who arrives at work drunk.

i've seen from past experience that issues like this are only addressed when it starts to affect upper management. if it doesn't bother the ceo or president, then it's viewed as a non issue. you will see. the alcoholic will keep her job until it starts to affect the company's bottom line or reputation. then and only then will upper management boot the nightmare.

While being an alcoholic is a disability that is covered by ADA, drinking is not. That is, as long as the person is staying sober, ADA applies. If the situation is as the LW says, this boss is not covered by ADA.

I hope my money isn't associated with this company - sounds like a whacky place. You can't walk through my place of employment even during your off time to pick up something you forgot if you have a hint of alcohol on you -- it is finito time. A young man who goes crazy with the hand sanitizer stuff...rubs it everywhere, even on his bald head - figured out after being "talked to" just a few times [the sanitizer stuff smells like booze in large doses] that his pate can go without.

I don't agree that the situation will take care of itself because the problem worker will leave.

No, the poor performer has few options and will cling to this job for the salary and health insurance. Why would she want to leave? It's the good performers who will move on. Years from now this person will still be there because she won't change and the company will be too afraid of a lawuit and workers comp claim to fire her.

Work is a business transaction. You provide goods, services, or expertise and in exchange you get paid in cash and in benefits.

In some cases, the employer recruits individuals by promising a certain type of environment such as one that offers a career path, mentoring, and performance reviews and professional development. If this was a recruitment promise to you as part of your employment "deal", then this is not a good business transaction for you at this time.

You either need to go to her supervisor and ask for suggestions on how to access what was "promised" to you when you were offered the job even though you have an absentee manager who is incapable of providing what you need. This person may become a mentor for you. Or, you can transfer within the company, or leave it.

Or, you can sit around and whine. Nothing changes if nothing changes. You have options: use them or don't blame your supervisor. Believe me, as an active alcoholic, her options are way more limited than yours.

YouAreAllMySons...

Yes, disturbing but true. Drug addiction and alcholism are not only classified as disabilities, individuals harboring these issues GET DISABILITY CHECKS!

I used to work at a mutual funds firm here in Boston and two of the three fund managers I reported to were drunks. It created a very difficult environment especially since one of them would routinely take 2 -3 hour lunches, come back totally bombed, and try to place trade orders "for the benefit" of the mutual fund he managed. We did what we could to minimize the ficudiary damage to the client portfolios but we weren't always successful. The other one (female) didn't drink at work so much but would come in incredibly hungover and always late. Her drinking made her moody and unpredictable and difficult to support. At one of our annual outings, at which clients were present, she got so hammered that she was literally carried out of the dining room and put into her hotel room. I don't care if it's considered a "disability" - the actions of my two gems directly impacted the performance of the company, the reputation of the company, and the financial health of the clients. I finally left the firm after 7 years, to follow the only sober fund manager we had, to a boutique investment firm. Bottom line is, if the actions of an employee are either detrimental to his/her co workers, the firm, or the clients, they should not be a protected class. I like post 7's idea to spark up a fatty in the office and claim that you are a protected class. At least you would be more relaxed at the office!

It is entirely possible that the manager is indeed an alcoholic, and I would say that the DUIs probably confirm that.

However, it's important to keep in mind that one symptom of diabetes can be smelling like alcohol, particularly one's breath or sweat. Low blood sugar can also cause disorientation, slurred speech, and confusion. This particular manager sounds like she is indeed an alcoholic, but commenters might want to keep in mind that things aren't always what they look like.

As someone who works in the field of EAP, we deal with this issue in companies daily. If there is an EAP, use this service- this is what we do for a living. The ADA was intended to support individual's rights to seek treatment without prejudice, not enable ongoing drinking. The key is to speak to management in "behavioral terms" not diagnosis. Tell the HR dept that your boss has a strong odor that smells like alcohol on her breath, that her speech is slurred or her gait unsteady- then you are not saying she is drinking but observing behavior which can be documented and used as a workplace intervention to get her assessed for fitness for duty by a professional.. This gets the company

To those of you commenting that only management gets to use FMLA for alcoholism, not so. One of my employees went through 3 leaves for alcoholism in a matter of months. I counted the days to 12 weeks where I could terminate her. Being intoxicated at work is another matter. You might want to check with your HR department - in many places intoxication at work is grounds for immediate termination.

There are reasons for proclaiming alcoholism as a disability. It is probably an inherited affliction, and a very, very hard thing to beat. But the downside is that OTHER PEOPLE are affected by this disability.

When she comes to work with alcohol on her breath, that means she is drunk (she has had several DUIs before). What happens when she leaves work and gets into her car? Shouldn't the company think about that???

It's only a matter of time until she starts driving the wrong way down a major highway and kills people (re: the recent new story about the woman on the Taconic Parkway who killed 5 or more people).

The people at the top in this organization are following the rules, and they are also cowards who don't want to look at the bigger picture.

You have 2 choices here. Get out and find a better place to work (best bet), or get rid of the boss. If you don’t want to leave, document everything you boss does. You need a record of every bit of chaos she creates. Don’t forget to include times when you smell booze. Include dates and times. It would be better if your co-workers did the same thing. When you have gathered sufficient evidence, present a copy to HR and use these magic words “Ms X creates a hostile work environment for us” and here is our documentation backing up our claim.

The company is probably looking to remove this person but needs the leverage. This type of documentation will provide them the necessary leverage (proof).
MiloT