Can you identify if your employees are functional alcoholics?

Opinion Piece: Can you identify if your employees are functional alcoholics? 

By Rhys Evans, Director at ALCO-Safe

Most businesses are well aware of the negative impact of alcohol abuse and the dangers of alcohol consumption at the work place, and are generally capable of recognising the signs of alcoholism in its most common form. There is a perception that the signs of alcoholism are easily identifiable through certain traits and characteristics, most notably in the deterioration of an alcoholic’s performance and appearance. However, there is a stark difference between identifying a “full blown” alcoholic who displays all of the aforementioned signs, and a “functional” alcoholic, who may display none of them – and, for many businesses, this poses a challenge.  

Functional alcoholics hiding in plain sight

A “full blown” alcoholic is typically recognised by his or her inability to function properly at a basic level. This type of alcoholic generally “clocks out” of day to day life and is invariably easy to spot. Often the odour of alcohol alone can give them away, but they are also usually erratic, not very coherent, and generally appear to be drunk in both looks and mannerisms. In the workplace, a person who has imbibed enough alcohol to be visibly intoxicated, either in a single occasion or on a regular basis, is easy enough to identify and deal with.

Functional alcoholics tend to hide in plain sight, being less easily identified as having an alcohol problem than a “full blown” alcoholic, but often drinking just as much. They usually don’t come across as intoxicated, they appear to be coherent and capable, and they seem quite able to perform normal tasks. In fact, they do such a good job of covering up their problem and portraying normality that, often, even if organisations suspect a drinking problem, they tend to not address it as the functional alcoholic seems to have a handle on their work and social life.

Typically, functional alcoholics will have built up a tolerance to alcohol over time, which inadvertently fuels their need to consume more to achieve the desired effect. For this reason, functional alcoholics can still ‘get drunk’ at functions while seeming normal the rest of the time, even though they are often entirely dependent on alcohol.

The risks of functional alcoholics

Although the outward behaviour of functional alcoholics can be deceptive, they are constantly under the influence of alcohol, which can cause them to make costly – and sometimes even deadly – mistakes while at work.  Even if a person is able to disguise their alcoholic drinking, they still put themselves and others at risk when they abuse alcohol. 

There have been several instances of alcohol induced mistakes where the perpetrator was not evidently drunk; shaky-handed surgeons who have left surgical implements inside patients, mothers who have carpooled children and ended up in accidents, pilots who have crash landed passenger-filled aeroplanes – all examples of functioning alcoholics. Mistakes aren’t always as obvious as these, though, and can often be a series of small, seemingly inconsequential errors that appear harmless in isolation but, collectively, can costs companies a lot of money. 

Alcohol works to slow down a person’s impulses and, given enough time, most functioning alcoholics end up as “full blown” alcoholics. Their reflexes will slow down, along with their attention to their work and other areas of their life. Their focus will dwindle and their attention will drift. Slowly, alcohol will deteriorate their functionality and, in direct response, increase their risk of accidents and mistakes. 

There is also a far more insidious and subtle risk at play with functional alcoholics, and that is the slow changing of company culture. Functioning alcoholics tend to be the people who always call for after work drinks and who encourage situations where they can openly drink instead of hide their habit. This, in turn, engenders a culture of acceptable drinking in the workplace, often disguised as “team building” or “company bonding”. Eventually, organisations could find themselves hosting frequent drinking sessions, which further increases and spreads the risk of alcohol abuse and resulting mistakes. 

The signs to identify functional alcoholics

Often, organisations suspect that a member of staff may be a functioning alcoholic, but tend to not do anything about it due to lack of “proof”. It is also uncomfortable to address a problem when the person seems to be functioning perfectly fine and so, many companies “leave well enough alone” – often to their detriment, as described above. The proof, however, is there if one looks closely enough. 

Functioning alcoholics are experts at disguising their problem. They usually are aware of having a problem and are ashamed of it, hence the need to hide it. Here are some signs that could indicate functional alcoholism:

• Smell - they mask any smell of alcohol with things like excessive cologne, breath mints and chewing gum. They can often be found to carry eyedrops on their person at any time.
• Excuses – functional alcoholics often find any excuse to have a public drink. They are also often full of excuses for being late, not completing a task or being absent from work.
• Sickness – a functional alcoholic will be absent from work frequently due to one or another illness. Alcohol lowers the immune system sand slowly deteriorates a person’s health. Common complaints include liver problems, stomach illnesses and headaches.
• Behaviour – frequent or increasing outbursts at colleagues, a lackadaisical approach to work and responsibility, poor memory or total memory loss and being over gregarious are all common signs of functional alcoholism.
• Erratic schedules – these people will often find a reason to leave work early to head to the pub, or have a “drinking lunch”, and will frequently vacillate between being “on the wagon” and at their best behaviour, to falling off again, and being cagey and erratic.

The cure for functional alcoholics

As with any drug and alcohol problem, functional alcoholism is a disease and is not something a person chooses. This is why functioning alcoholics try so hard to hide their affliction – they feel shame and remorse but are unable to control their habit. 

Companies need to treat these matters with delicacy and sensitivity. They can start by creating an environment that encourages people to come forward if they have a problem. Educational material backed by a confidentiality policy goes a long way to ensuring that people understand the effects of alcohol and feel safe enough to speak up when they recognise their dependency. 

Frequent alcohol testing is recommended; however, this should be supported by an assistance program to avoid negative backlash and an environment of resentment. Organisations should supply their employees with a safe and confidential means to address any negative test results with them and are encouraged to offer help. 

Providing access to a rehabilitation facility, sufficient sick leave to attend, and ongoing support and therapy can go a long way to not only retaining key skills that the employee may have, but also to prevent relapses and more incidents. Some organisations have incentivised their staff, offering rehab payment plans or assisting with obtaining medial aid assistance for rehab, with much success. 

We have found that organisations who go above and beyond to assist their employees in overcoming alcoholism tend to have fewer alcohol problems among staff, have a happier and more productive work force, and experience far fewer accidents and errors in their workplace.

Editorial contacts
ALCO-Safe
Rhys Evans
Managing Director
Tel: 012 343 8114
Email: rhys@alcosafe.co.za

Evolution PR
Tamsyn Woolley
Tel: 011 462 0628
Email: tamsyn@evolutionpr.co.za