Drinking on the job? Don't ever assume...
SSD
5 Posts
I have a situation at work that I would love professional opinions on:
We have this employee who is really good at what he does and he's our main contender for a newly created position however there are some reservation with him because a number of people have smelled "alcohol". Now, with that being said, the man is always punctual, methodical in performing his job duties, has even won awards last year for his work. I have advised a number of managers not to approach the employee for a number of reasons:
1. If there's no disruption in workflow & productivity and there's no gross misconduct - why ruin a great Employer/Employee relationship?
2. The smell could be a form of medication that we're unaware of. (Call me naive but he did ask me about our prescription plan...)
3. If he admits to a drinking problem, all he would have to do is enroll in an AA program to protect his job and then we would have to manage and document every time he had to attend a meeting.
What are your thoughts? One of the hiring managers for the newly created position feels strongly that we should approach the situation but I feel it's opening "Pandora's box". Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
We have this employee who is really good at what he does and he's our main contender for a newly created position however there are some reservation with him because a number of people have smelled "alcohol". Now, with that being said, the man is always punctual, methodical in performing his job duties, has even won awards last year for his work. I have advised a number of managers not to approach the employee for a number of reasons:
1. If there's no disruption in workflow & productivity and there's no gross misconduct - why ruin a great Employer/Employee relationship?
2. The smell could be a form of medication that we're unaware of. (Call me naive but he did ask me about our prescription plan...)
3. If he admits to a drinking problem, all he would have to do is enroll in an AA program to protect his job and then we would have to manage and document every time he had to attend a meeting.
What are your thoughts? One of the hiring managers for the newly created position feels strongly that we should approach the situation but I feel it's opening "Pandora's box". Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Comments
>Of course, the day he zaps himself and two other
>people on a two-phase 220V circuit and his flask
>of vodka is boiling in his pocket when the
>paramedics shut-off power you can tell the
>family and the lawyers and OSHA that you had
>your suspicions but didn;t want to open a
>pandora's box and ruin a great EE/ER
>relationship.
Good luck.
James Sokolowski
HRhero.com
The point is that you are in a potentially serious situation, regardless of what type of business you are in. I would not drag him in for a breath test because someone reported several days ago that they smelled alcohol. (I guess this statement depends on just how long ago the issue was. ) I would NOT pass him over because of this, but I would PREPARE the company to deal with it, and any similar issues, from this point forward. I would create a policy about alcohol/drugs on the job. The next time someone stated that an ee smelled of alcohol I would immediately go to that person, along with their supervisor, and if either of us smelled it, send them for a breath test.
>would take a step back and think, "Am I that
>naive? Could the situation be THAT serious?"
>instead of getting offended. The response gave
>you a scenario that it does not appear you have
>thought of. That is helpful advice, if you're
>willing to accept it.
>
Very Well Said th-up
Send the person in for a reasonable suspicion test. If you don't have such a policy then create one. Do not broach the subject of AA meetings, etc. Like James S. said, you do not want to perceive the individual as disabled because even he is not, your mere perception that he is is enough to grant him protection.
Over the last couple of years we have had 3 ee's go through rehab and now they are excellant employees and feel indebted to us for helping them out of their time of dependancy.
Just wondering why you wouldn't want to save them.
As to opening the ADA topic - once you have done that, the game changes with an EE that is so perceived. It is not that the "evil HR" people do not want to work with good EEs, it is up to the EE to identify the possibility of a disability to start the interactive process to arrive, or not, at an accomodation.