When a Co-Worker’s High as a Kite, Job Can Be the Pits

For three years, Sylvia loved her job as an assistant to a Newport Beach advertising executive. They became friends, and she earned a reputation around the office for her ability to read her boss’s mind, knowing just what he would need before a client meeting.

“He would walk into the conference room, and I’d have notes, graphics, everything ready. I’d even finish his sentences,” said Sylvia, who asked that her last name not be used.

But although her boss had the talent to bring new business to the firm, he was also an alcoholic who relied on Sylvia’s organizational ability to keep his job.

“It got to the point where I’d call him at 7:30 in the morning to see how alert he was, how drunk he got the night before, then I’d cancel his appointments if he was going to be out of it,” she said.

Eventually, Sylvia found the pressure of covering up for her boss unbearable.

“I met him one afternoon at a restaurant where we were supposed to meet a client, and he was plastered. I pulled him into the ladies room and splashed water on his face and tried to sober him up, but he was gone,” she said. “I just set him in a dark corner of the bar, and I made the presentation after telling the client my boss was sick.”

Soon afterward, Sylvia’s boss admitted that he had a drinking problem and sought professional help. He left the company to start a business last year, and the first employee he hired was Sylvia.

“When he’s sober, he’s brilliant, the best person I’ve ever worked for,” she said. “I wanted to work for him again for that reason, but I needed a way to handle the situation.”

Sylvia attends meetings of Al-Anon, where the family and friends of substance abusers meet in relative anonymity to learn how to cope with the disease.

“It’s given me a chance to understand where he was coming from, where I was coming from, and how he and I can improve our working relationship,” she said.

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While alcoholism and drug addiction take a heavy toll on family and friends, it’s often the people who work for and with the substance abusers who face the most pressure. Some are trapped by an employer who becomes surly when under the influence, and the fear of losing a job keeps them from leaving. Others, like Sylvia, find that loyalty to a superior or associate forces them to do the work of two people.

“It’s a difficult position these employees and co-workers are placed in,” said Grant McNiff, acting executive director of the Orange County chapter of the National Council on Alcoholism. “No one likes to work with someone who’s impaired; it becomes a form of abuse.”

In a 1991 Gallup survey of 1,000 workers in different fields, one in four knew of fellow employees who were impaired while on the job.

McNiff said that businesses have worked on the problem but that the issue doesn’t generally surface until it’s too late. “When you add up all of the lost time, the lost productivity, not just by the employee but by everyone around him or her, it becomes expensive,” he said.

Although some might look to the lower-level work force to find substance abuse, experts say it occurs just as often in management. In October, the chief executive officer of Union Pacific Corp., Drew Lewis, shocked the business world when he revealed in the midst of his company’s major bid to take over Santa Fe Pacific Corp. that he was admitting himself into an alcohol-treatment program.

“And he’s not the exception. There are a lot of people running big companies out there who are out of control, and they don’t know it,” McNiff said.

In 1988, Congress passed the Drug-Free Workplace Act, which sets up guidelines for businesses to deal with a substance-abusing employee. Companies with 50 or more workers must have an employee assistance program.

“There are now a lot of excellent programs designed to help both the employee and his or her co-workers,” said McNiff. “If you’re under that kind of pressure, you don’t have to take it any more.”

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James, a computer repair technician in his early 50s, once suffered through a painful ordeal at work. Both his supervisor and his closest co-worker were alcoholics.

“My boss was a binge drinker, and on weekends he’d get wasted, and it would carry over into Mondays. My friend would drink in his car at lunch and wouldn’t get much work done in the afternoon,” he said.

“Trying to deal with my supervisor while he was either drunk or in a foul mood was one thing, but knowing that my friend had a family and couldn’t afford to lose his job, I covered up for him a lot.”

Feeling too stressed to keep up, James met with one of the company’s executives and explained the situation. “He had suspected there were substance-abuse problems in our department but wasn’t sure how to resolve them,” James said.

His friend eventually found help through his church and was able to save his job and family, but James isn’t sure what happened to his boss.

“His supervisors talked with him, and they made an effort to get him some help, but the guy wouldn’t stick to it, and he’d show up less and less for work,” James said. “Eventually, he was fired, and I don’t know what became of him. I just hope he’s sober.”

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Dealing with a substance-abusing boss or co-worker can be a trying, emotional experience.

“A lot of people might personalize what goes on at work,” said Karyn Sandberg, a psychologist in Irvine. “One day the abuser is feeling great, and the mood in the office is fine. The next day they’re in withdrawal or they’ve had a drink after lunch and their actions toward you change. You might think, ‘What did I do wrong?’ or ‘How could I have prevented this?’ But it has nothing to do with you.”

By not taking the actions of others personally, an employee can keep from feeling responsible for the behavior of someone under the influence of alcohol or drugs. “Instead of thinking that something’s wrong with you, that there’s something you need to fix, try to remember that it’s not you,” Sandberg said.

Dan didn’t have to deal with an alcoholic co-worker or supervisor because he ran his own machine shop in Anaheim. But he did have to deal with his own alcoholism.

“I’ve learned that management sets the tone for a business. When I was drinking, a lot of guys in my shop wanted to be my friend and liked working for me because they could get away with a lot of things, not getting work done, not doing it right, things like that,” he said.

“I wasn’t abusive when I drank, but my employees abused me and my business. I almost went under and finally got my life back together and became a better manager, and they didn’t like it. They liked me better drunk.”

McNiff said: “In time, (Dan) will probably be a better leader and businessman. There are a lot of substance abusers who might appear very functional on the job, but they’re not.”

If you suspect a co-worker or supervisor has a substance-abuse problem, confronting him or her is not recommended. “It’s probably best to seek out your company’s employee assistance program or go to a community assistance program,” said McNiff.

“If you feel you need to confront this person you suspect is having a problem, why do you feel that need?” asked Cory Phillips, a human resources consultant in Laguna Hills. “Many times it’s a friend, and you really want to see that person get help. There is lots of help out there, both for you and the substance abuser. Don’t feel like you’re alone.”