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Leading with Courage – How to Handle Alcohol Misuse in Your Team
When an employee begins to change, it often creates uncertainty within the entire team. As an employer, you have both a medical and legal responsibility to act, but the path forward is guided more by empathy and clarity than by legal paragraphs.
Early Signs – What Should Employers Look For?
Individuals with substance misuse often manage to conceal it well, but certain patterns are difficult to hide over time. It is rarely about someone smelling of alcohol in the morning, but rather about small and subtle signals:
- Behavioral changes: Increased irritability, defensiveness when asked about their well-being, or sudden withdrawal from social situations.
- Physical indicators: Tired eyes, changes in personal hygiene, or noticeable trembling in stressful situations.
- Attendance patterns: “Sick leave” that frequently occurs around weekends, or the employee starting to work late in the evenings to conceal reduced daytime performance.
How to Initiate the Conversation
If you suspect something, the most important step is to actually have the conversation. The approach may vary between workplaces, but the following can serve as a foundation:
- Preparation: Have concrete observations ready. Do not say “I think you are drinking,” but instead: “I’ve noticed you’ve been absent three Mondays in a row and that you seem more tired than usual.”
- Choose the right setting: Sit privately and allow sufficient time. Make it clear that your starting point is concern for the employee’s health.
- Be clear but compassionate: Express your concern directly. “I’m worried about you and I’d like us to talk about how you’re really doing.”
- Offer an objective solution: Rather than entering a debate about “right or wrong,” suggest a rehabilitation plan. This shifts the focus from personal opinions to medical facts.
“The High-Functioning Alcoholic” – When Performance Hides Ill Health
It is a common misconception that alcohol misuse always appears as reduced productivity or high absenteeism. On the contrary, the “high-functioning alcoholic” is often one of the company’s top-performing key individuals. The challenge is to look beyond strong results and identify subtle warning signs before the facade cracks.
- Excessive control: The person closely guards their responsibilities to hide potential mistakes caused by fatigue or cognitive impairment.
- High-performance cycles: Periods of extreme productivity followed by days when the person is hard to reach or “in external meetings.”
- Personality changes: Increased need for control, a shorter temper during setbacks, or defensiveness when asked about personal well-being.
If you observe these signs and have concerns – do not wait until performance is affected. For high performers, work is often the last area to decline. By the time delivery and results suffer, the problem has usually been ongoing for a long time.
The Employer’s Responsibility – More Than a Moral Issue
Under occupational health and safety legislation, employers are responsible for preventing ill health and accidents in the workplace. If alcohol affects an employee’s ability to work, it is no longer a private matter – it becomes a workplace safety issue.
You also have a rehabilitation responsibility. This means you are obligated to assess the need for support and, if dependency is identified, offer a plan for treatment and return to work.
Acting early is therefore not about control, but about fulfilling your responsibility while reducing the risk of long-term sick leave, safety hazards, and employment-related conflicts.
Health Screenings for Employees
With regular health screenings for your employees, you can identify early signs of ill health. This facilitates constructive conversations and makes it easier to offer timely support. As part of a general health screening, you may also offer the option to include alcohol biomarkers, if the employee chooses to do so.
If test results show values outside the expected range, our physicians conduct a medical assessment. When necessary, they contact the employee for further dialogue, evaluation, and guidance. The aim is to identify potential health risks early and provide appropriate support when needed.
