What do you do as a manager when you suspect an employee to be under the influence?

11 Comments

1. Barb HansenSeptember 27,2022 at 3:49PM UTC

   1- Document everything you have noticed immediately

   2- Check with your HR representative on what your companies policies regarding drugs/alcohol abuse during working hours and your responsibilities regarding those policies

   3-Based on your conversation with your HR rep, move forward.

   I would also have a 1-1 meeting with the suspected employee not to talk about your suspicions but to check in with them in general.

2. AnonymousSeptember 27,2022 at 4:04PM UTC

   The conversation was with the employee’s direct manager and the HR manager.

   The questions the employee was asked were “Did anything happen recently that might be cause stress or fatigue?” Neither manager directly asked or implied any use of drug or alcohol use. The employee was asked how are they coping with stress and if they have a support system.

3. Tracey MorrisSeptember 27,2022 at 4:04PM UTC

   Great advice from @Barb. You might also consider referring this employee to your EAP (Employee Assistance Program). There should be programs available to assist this person if they are having difficulties, like counseling, coaching, finance education, legal services and other resources to help them navigate this issue.

4. AnonymousSeptember 27,2022 at 6:11PM UTC

   I work with HR to ensure that I know the rules before taking any action.

5. AnonymousSeptember 27,2022 at 6:20PM UTC

   A lot of good advice here! Good luck to you and sincerely hope everything is okay.

6. AnonymousSeptember 27,2022 at 6:49PM UTC

   I agree with what everyone has said! definitely check to see the policy on drugs and alcohol, also if they are under your supervision have you noticed this before, are they not performing how they usually perform. Hope everything is alright!

7. AnonymousSeptember 27,2022 at 7:57PM UTC

   All good advice. I would add think about the consequences of not reporting, especially impaired driving. This is one place where you do need HR’s involvement. If they do nothing at least you will know you tried.

8. AnonymousSeptember 27,2022 at 8:24PM UTC

   I'd also add that you should look at it from the lens of "how is this impacting their ability to do their job?"

   Sans doing a drug test, it's really hard to go off of your suspicions, and even then, they could be off. Maybe they took cold medicine or are just having an off day. Maybe something really horrible happened recently in their personal life and it is adversely affecting them.

   But if you've noticed significant changes in their work behavior and work in general, I'd document it and approach them from that front. That might mean looping in HR to design an Action Plan or Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) to address that behavior.

   At the end of the day, it's difficult without a test to accuse someone of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol and I wouldn't go down that road without first addressing the other issues related to work performance/attendance and other duties assigned.

9. Terrie McWhorterSeptember 27,2022 at 9:03PM UTC

   The important thing is to COMMUNICATE. Do you ever bring them into the office to find out how they are OUTSIDE of the job???

   Honestly, since I communicate with my employees, I can tell when something is off. I had one female admin that wore the same thing 3 days in a row which was so NOT like her. She didn't look herself. I called her into the office and simply said, "Pattie, I am worried about you. Is something going on in your life that is stressing you out?" Pattie said, "What do you mean?" "Well, I noticed that you have worn the same outfit 3 days in a row and I was concerned you weren't feeling well." Turns out Pattie was locked out of her apartment and spent the last two nights in her car because she didn't have the $45 to have the manager get a locksmith out to the apartment until payday. Mind you, Pattie was one of my best employees at the time. Yes she was extremely embarrassed. But I was young once too. Not wanting to ask mom and dad or reach out to a friend. I was able to give her the funds with NO expectation that they would ever be given back AND I told her to take the rest of the day off. That was some time ago in my career and it taught me to have empathy as a supervisor. I don't need to know everything about my employees and if they don't want to share that is fine too. BUT they must all know that they can come to me if a problem arises outside of the office that is going to make things difficult for the office. Like changing someone's start time to accommodate dropping a child off at school. I am all over that kind of flexibility!!!

10. AnonymousSeptember 27,2022 at 9:22PM UTC

    I'm a recovering alcoholic and I was called out by my employer.

    It was the step I needed to enter rehab...I'm just a few weeks shy of being 5 years sober. Some thoughts on this question from someone who has truly been there.

    -Obviously you'll need to check with HR to see what procedure is when dealing with drug or alcohol use. Skating around the issue, asking if everything is OK at or outside of work will do NOTHING! Please don't sugar coat your questions. Be direct and say you think the employee is under the influence or using during work hours.

    -All addicts are arrogant! I speak from experience. Until I got called out by my employer, there were few if any consequences to my drinking. I would drink in the car on the way to work, I would get pulled over by the cops as I drank on my way to work but b/c I drove a nice car and would be in business gear, I would always get let go with a warning. I brazenly went out at lunch and drank, I brought bottles of vodka into work with my in my purse. Despite slurring my way through meetings, there were never any consequences to my behavior UNTIL I got called out at work.

    -My employer told me that people had complained about my alcohol use. They were VERY clear: if we catch you drinking you will be terminated. Read: consequences to my behavior!

    -The biggest gift you can give anyone at your workplace is to clearly explain consequences to behaviors. If you need to, give them a breathelizer or a random drug test. If you suspect addiction, think about the liability to the organization. This is NOT being mean, you will enable the addict if you continue to facilitate their behaviors by not calling it out.

    -If you suspect this person is drinking on the job, please do yourself a favor and scan the workplace for things like bottles of liquor, wine or beer. Think about the environment you allow in the workplace. Its not on the workplace to accommodate the addict, but consider how you best set up your employees for success.

    -Please connect with a recovering addict before you approach this employee. I can't possibly imagine someone who is not an addict or a person in recovery trying to accurately capture all the deceit and arrogance we as addict weave into our every day lives.

    Best of luck with next steps. I truly appreciate your curiosity about the best way to navigate this situation.

11. AnonymousSeptember 28,2022 at 9:32AM UTC

    Your boss saved many lives without realizing it.