Executives often live high-pressured lives. With challenges coming at them not only from work but also at home. Financial, personal, reports, statistics, targets, quotas, discipline, travel, appointments, schedules, the boss, staff—the list can go on and it is often not easy to catch a break.
This is not including unexpected emergencies and difficulties that can come up, difficulties with children, elderly parents, problems with a spouse, illness, unexpected bills, staff disciplinary issues and backlogs, the list is long.
Executives often have business meetings over drinks or meals, drinking is a normal way of socialising and relaxing. When that combines with the above pressures it is easy to see how alcohol and drugs can become a refuge.
A couple of drinks after work becomes a nightly activity. Maybe marijuana doesn’t seem that bad, and the executive wants to ‘switch off’ and have some time away from work and stress. Alternately, maybe it’s prescription medication to sleep, or for ‘those headaches.’ Maybe those pills sometimes get taken to help relax or for reasons not quite what the doctor ordered; what starts off as the occasional indulgence can soon become dependence.
Before long life may be being structured around the drugs that are now needed just to get by. Along the way work will begin to suffer. No matter how strong the executive is, there are so many balls that can be juggled at one time. Family may begin to be neglected, deadlines passed and meetings missed. His temperament may change too, staff may begin to cover for him, hoping that the person they knew will get back to their old self soon. It is not a good route for the individual, or the company, who will be relying on the executive’s usual productivity and accomplishments.
Signs of Drug or Alcohol Addiction
Companies are legally obliged to help employees before dismissing them. Though this does necessarily include rehab, if you used to have a strong and effective executive then it can be truly worth it to help get them out of this difficult situation; especially if they helped build the company to where it is now.
Here are some ways to identify an executive with an alcohol or drug dependency:
- Deadlines are missed, reports are absent or poorly done and targets are not made.
- The executive may not seem to care as much about performance, his own or his staff.
- His appearance may be deteriorating, no longer showing up looking sharp. He may also have a big weight change, gaining or losing a lot.
- He could be often unwell and looking haggard. Accidents may be occurring too.
- It is quite likely the executive will be less friendly and personable. This could be to staff and clients alike. He may seem to be intentionally rude or argumentative.
- There may be unexplained absences, whether it is arriving late, leaving early, long lunch breaks or missed days. He is usually secretive about these absences.
- There may seem to be unusual financial or legal problems
- Lastly but the most obviously is the executive showing up with signs of alcohol or drugs, smelling of it, very drowsy, dilated pupils etc.
Here at Narconon we would like to help you; rather than dismiss such a valuable employee, we offer an alternate. A full rehab in our beautiful centre, out of the way of the stresses of life. Your executive can get the time and care to get through both the physical and mental cravings and get the skills necessary to get his or her life back on track.
We understand an executive’s privacy is important and to be respected.
