Top Seven Ways Employee Addicts Play Their Supervisors

You’ve finally got the goods on an employee who is coming to work drunk, and you appropriately confront him about his behavior. You may not know it, but you’ve just put yourself

in the sights of a master manipulator.

Will you understand the disease of addiction properly or will you be hoodwinked by enabling?

Addicts are experts at pulling at your heartstrings, lack of self-confidence or your common sense. Through reasonable suspicion training, you’ll learn how to spot the following manipulative behaviors and techniques to stop them.

 “     But I haven’t had a drink since last night.” Your employee smells like a distillery, but he tries to convince you that you can’t trust your own perceptions. Point out what you are seeing, hearing and smelling.

 “    I thought we were friends.” Playing on your loyalty is a classic manipulation. Remind him that you’re his boss first. And even if you are his pal, true friends confront each other with bad behavior.

       “It’s medicine.” Even If bourbon was prescribed by a doctor (which it won’t), no one is allowed by policy to come to work with alcohol in their system. Keep hammering home his coming to work “medicated” is the problem.

        “You’ll ruin my career.” Addicts often take no responsibility for their actions by blaming others. They can’t perceive that their drinking may possibly ruin their career. His behavior has created your response.

  

 “    What you’re smelling is mouthwash.” Heck, it may be. But your employee may have used enough of it to get drunk. Many cold medications and mouthwash contain copious amounts of alcohol, and they can and will get someone drunk. It doesn’t matter whether your employee has been drinking mouthwash or champagne. It all causes the same behavior when it’s not used responsibly.

 “    Yes, I did drink, but I’m an alcoholic.” It may sound noble that your employee realizes he has a problem, but it’s important to remember it’s not an excuse for being intoxicated at work. The issues his condition cause in the workplace are the real problem.

“    Give me a pass this time. I’m going through something at home.” Again, the employee is blaming his wife leaving him, his father dying, his child not speaking to him, etc., for his drinking. Your giving him a pass isn’t going to the solve the problem: He’s drunk at work. 

Through DOT supervisory training, you will earn how to be assertive, firm and respectful when confronting an employee about coming to work impaired. It’s important to learn these skills, as well as de-escalation techniques, to keep your workplace safe and productive for your other employees.