You suspect that a coworker has a substance abuse problem. What should you do?
Make specific observations about what you find suspicious, said Kelly Clasgens, a licensed professional clinical counselor with the St. Elizabeth Employee Assistance Program.
“Go talk to the manager or supervisor,” Clasgens said. “And make sure you use descriptive, specific terms and observations, not just broad-stroke accusations.”
“Why do you have these suspicions? Because it has to be documentable,” she said. “It can’t be ‘I suspect it because their hair was a mess today.’ It has to be, ‘I smell an odor,’ ‘I notice a change in appearance,’ ‘their head is nodding off,’ and, ideally you would consult with someone else and have someone else confirm your observations as well.”
Another tip: Don’t confront that person in a challenging way.
You shouldn’t feel conflicted about reporting your observations to a manager because there are reasons substance abuse is not allowed in the workforce: It introduces liability issues and can endanger others when employees are not on top of their game.
“And the earlier the intervention, generally, the better,” Clasgens said. “You don’t want it to be a situation where, ‘Oh, everybody knew this, and nobody said anything.’”
At that point, the manager or supervisor should either call or walk down to the HR (human resources) department, and should help come up with a plan. “And that’s why you want documentable information,” Clasgens added.
Clasgens also pointed out that whether or not the person has a substance abuse problem, they are obviously still struggling with something.
“There’s still a problem, because you’re noticing strange behavior or a productivity issue. It’s just not that problem. Something may still be off with this person, so at that point it’s a rule-out process” to figure out what the problem is, she said.
To sum up, “If you’re not the manager, get information, talk to the manager, let them handle it, and hopefully they will take the appropriate action,” Clasgens said.
