Colleague possibly drinking alcohol on the sly at work

[WhoBobWhatPants]

There's a bloke where I work (an office of 11 plus Directors),who’s been with us since February, who I think has been drinking alcohol while he's at work.

Throughout the day he goes to his car regularly, between 6-8 times a day, and 'fiddles about', quite a lot with a bottle, like moving it from the front to the back if he's giving a lift or stopping 20-50yds down the road to have a drink of it after leaving work for the day (which I've seen myself)

Today it's come out while a few of us were talking in the office, that 5 out of the 11 of us have noticed the smell of alcohol on his breath after he's been out to the car.

There are 2 bosses 'we' could go to, but one of them has been done for drink/driving themselves (which may skew his take on the matter, albeit he knows it was an idiotic choice on his part following a big night out) and I can't help wondering what may happen if they ask the bloke about it.

What if he denies it, or he hasn't been drinking alcohol, or hasn't been drinking more than the equivalent of a half at lunchtime, or says he has been but will stop straight away, how can they make sure he has?

The main thing for me is whether he's drinking and then going out in his car, but as it's not 100% certain he is drinking alcohol, short of the police catching him in the act, how can anyone know whether he is or not?

I have thought about just going to the police myself, but rather than that, wouldn't the next step in the process be to go to my bosses because of not being totally certain he is drinking?

He's actually a really nice person and does a good job which makes it harder to 'grass him up' when there's a possibility he might just be swigging mineral water (if he was then why not bring it into the office?).

I know it's come to a time where something has to be done. It doesn't feel right to go to him directly and 'accuse' him, so if I go to my bosses is that doing enough to stop him drink driving (if he is)?

If I go to the police it's too hit and miss as to whether they'd be able to catch him at it, if they did anything at all, and how long would they take? Would he be back driving his car home on Monday pissed? (And aren't the police the easy option so nobody in the office has to take responsibility for accusing him.)

So it's back to the bosses and them asking him.

It's a vicious circle.

Gah!

i was asked to meet HR on a couple of occasions as people suspected i was drinking at/before work. i of course vehemently denied it and explained it was due to sleeping pills i had been prescribed.

was it bollocks. it was due to the alcohol i was drinking when i got up in the morning, the alcohol i was drinking on the way to work, and at lunchtime. at the end, it was also the alcohol i had cleverly disguised as vitamin water and kept on my desk.

i am sober now. but at the time i was so stuck in the hideousness of my alcoholism that i couldn't do the right thing. if you are concerned about this colleague, speak to your manager and/or HR. i'm pretty sure that had i admitted my problem i would have been supported to go to rehab. in the end i resigned about 10 minutes before i was going to be fired.

just my experience.

I would speak to one of the managers with my concerns. They could then ask him why he was leaving the office 6 - 8 times a day to go to his car. That, after all, would be a perfectly reasonable question. Maybe he would then admit what he is doing (unlikely though I suspect), and then they could raise the issue of the smell of alcohol on his breath.

Think that approach would be a better way that phoning the police first.

Please give him a chance to explain. He must be drinking for some reason, perhaps anxiety about being able to do the work (which is why he hasn't admitted it to the bosses). However, he need to do something, or his anxieties will be confirmed as truth, which no doubt is the last thing he wants.

You must report your concerns to management. There will be policies and procedures for such situations. I know the conflicted feeling of not wanting to get someone in trouble but you can't collude with hiding it nor can you risk jumping to a conclusion that for argument sake may be unjustified. It's occurring at work on the premises or the car park so the employer has a need to know and a duty of care.

A colleague of mine was behaving erratically, going missing for hours and not coming in for days. He was new and relocating to the country and we assumed it may be to do with that at first. He was a lovely man and we were very fond of him. Then one day he became incapacitated. In all our collective wisdom we suspected a stroke and he was hospitalised. We stayed with him in casualty as he had no family nearby. It wasn't a stroke. He had mixed alcohol and medication and was unable to function. Management were aware by now and empty vodka bottles were found concealed in his office. We were relieved it wasn't a stroke but it meant he would face disciplinary proceedings potentially. It is gross misconduct in most workplaces. In the end he was allowed resign to save face and get a reference. It turned out he'd had a history and never addressed it. Now he had to and thankfully he did so.

Oh, and drink driving is also another idea which may horrify him enough to make him stop, so do talk to him about that.

If it doesn't dtop him (e.g. if he sets out from the office having been drinking), definitely call the police.

You may have to band together to keep an eye on him, as if he is really bad, he will hide the drinking.

I don't think it is setting him up. No-one apart from police can determine if he is over the limit. What if you have a quiet word, he denies it and a week later drives home from work and kills someone as he is over the limit.

If the police stop him and he isn't over the limit maybe it will be a bit of a fright into realising how close he could have come to arrest. If he is over the limit then I would have no sympathy.

Of course he may not be drinking at all during the day but from what you say that's unlikely.

I agree there are two issues: possible drinking at work and possible drink driving.

the first is less important depending on what he does; if he is a brain surgeon or a machinery operator it is very important.

the second is extremely important, and the playground 'don't sneak' attitude on here is what gets people killed.

please at least report the second. How do you deal with the first? Perhaps a kind word with him first. If he denies and you can still smell alcohol, you then go to the boss who is paid to deal with this.

possible scenario: he may be an alcoholic who is too much in the grip of it to get or accept help, but if he is driving drunk he must be stopped.

The firm might be miffed with you if they learn somehow you went to the police first.
Make an appointment with your boss for Monday afternoon (so allow time for drinking to have occurred)
Your boss could develop a plan later to deal with work and rehab, but he must talk to your colleague THAT SAME DAY to establish if he has been drinking, to prevent him drink driving his way home.

Talk to your manager. If necessary, 2/3/4 of you together, so they can't ignore.

Management need then to confront him - kindly - that day. They can deal with next steps - which hopefully will include supporting him on the road to recovery. But if after that chat he goes to get into his car (and only then), they can call the police.

It does really sound like he's got a problem. I've known people who had miniatures hidden in the cistern in the staff toilets. The ingenuity of addicts known no bounds (I should know, that used to be me).

Getting him arrested yourself may well let him hit rock bottom, but it might not work, and you could end up in a whole heap of trouble (eg management wondering why on earth you didn't involve them). Confronting him yourself would be much kinder, but might just make him sneakier, and it's potentially not humiliating enough.

Good luck - to you, and him.

I think Exwifebeginsat40's experience above is very informative. If your colleague is sneaking out if work to drink in his car then it's not simply a case of someone going to the pub after work with colleagues and then driving (which is of course wrong but not necessarily a sign of having an alcohol problem).

I think you should speak to your manager and say you're concerned about your colleague's welfare.

I work in an organisation which (for safety reasons) has a very strict drugs and alcohol policy. It is made very clear to us that if you have a drugs or alcohol problem and seek help then you will be supported, but if you're caught under the influence at work then it's treated as a disciplinary matter.

I hope it works out ok. It's a very awkward situation.

"Setting him up to be arrested is just the pits."

On the other hand it might just be the wake up call he needs. I agree that you need to talk to management.

Thanks for all the helpful replies so far.

The suggestions of going to the Directors would seem the logical move to make next.

The next dilemma in that though, the boss I'd probably rather raise it with is away all next week, so it remains with the other (who can be rather the joker at times).
Although this is obviously a different matter to the run of the mill minor disciplinary carryings on which would normally end up with joking comments made about it afterwards. I'd hope the seriousness of the matter would prevail over the comical attitude he seems to display at most times (but I have that little niggling thought at the back of my mind that he won't be able to help himself at some point afterwards, maybe even weeks, making some comment to all in the office).

It's not a prudish office, and drinking tales etc. are well discussed at times. We sometimes receive bottles of wine & beer from sub-contractors/suppliers, and the suggestion that we should crack open a few bottles there and then always come out. From time to time we will go out for a pub lunch, and generally everyone will have an alcoholic drink, then off back to work after, so a lunchtime drink isn't frowned upon.

If he's as nice as you say, why don't you have a word with him?

If there's so much evidence for him drink-driving, why are you worried he'd be clear if the police breathalised him?

With respect, I can't imagine watching any colleague the way you apparently monitor this man.

With respect, I can't imagine watching any colleague the way you apparently monitor this man.

I wouldn't say "I" have been monitoring him, maybe the "others" I have observed (and spoken to yesterday) could be said to be monitoring him? But isn't it better to be more sure of your suspicions before escalating it? "If" he is an alcoholic, then he's without a doubt a Functioning alcoholic, as he doesn't slur his words or show any signs of being under the influence.

He does get hot and feels uncomfortable with the temperature of the office, however that means nothing as another member of the office and I are the same if not worse at times. It's just the rest of the office are cold arses blooded and expect the office to be at 25deg all the time, but that's a different topic altogether.

Tough one.

Personally, unless his actions are impacting particularly on his work - which is, after all, what he is there to do - then i would mind your own business. So many busy bodies about these days.

I think when someone is vulnerable, and thereby possibly making other people vulnerable, busy-bodies are vital people.

But nobody is doing anything to help him ShutUpPan.

If he's a high functioning alcoholic then there's no problem with his work.

Are they still busy bodies of they stop him getting behind the wheel drunk and killing someone

Well, that would be good, but so far they seem reluctant to report him to the police because they think he'll pass the breathalyser because..?

"Personally, unless his actions are impacting particularly on his work - which is, after all, what he is there to do - then i would mind your own business. So many busy bodies about these days."

And if it is impacting others by driving under the influence of alcohol is it still wise not to be an" interfering busybody"?

If he's a high functioning alcoholic then there's no problem with his work.

Surely it is impacting it, if he's taking several breaks a day at his car. People who have smoke breaks generally get them before work, after work, once in the morning, once in the afternoon, and at lunch. You wouldn't really expect more for loo breaks, either. 6-8 times a day is a lot of breaks.

Well, the OP is trying to formulate a plan to help. (btw I think you should just inform him that a few of you have noticed all isn't well and you need to draw it to the attention of whatever responsible person is around on Mn/Tues)

The alcoholic/work thing? Alcoholism, as a disease, usually becomes more serious over time. The fact he is managing to stay on top of things right now isn't sufficient to stay schtum. IF the trips to the car is for alcohol, and it's been noticed, then he has a big problem hiding in plain view. To not assist him as fellow person (never mind the work colleague bit then) is a bit poor, imho

Surely it is impacting it, if he's taking several breaks a day at his car.

I didn't call him a functioning alcoholic, his colleague did.

Are you sure he is not taking medication? My son takes meds for his mental health issues every 4 hours, but tends to sneak off into a quiet corner with a bottle of water or whatever to do it as he doesn't want the world to know.