Need advice re boss at work

[Feelverystrange209]

Yesterday at work my manager was drinking in the staff room with another member of staff. The other members of staff left and we were alone she was very very drunk asked me 13 times if I watched something on the TV, also repeated a lot of other things. Even a regular customer was looking at her. She started getting a bit 'cheeky' and I felt very very uncomfortable being alone. She's worked for the company a considerable amount of time and is well respected I don't want to report and make myself look like a trouble maker. But I really don't know if I can go back to work after this i felt like a baby sitter at one point.

But I really don't know if I can go back to work after this i felt like a baby sitter at one point.

Why?
And why?

She didn't assault you, or - from what I can tell - be verbally abusive even. Why are you so traumatised you can't go back to work? And why did you feel like her babysitter? When you finish your break, you leave the room. Unless she was knife juggling or trying to drink water straight from the freshly boiled kettle, you have no responsibility to her.

If you want to report, go ahead. If you don't, then wait and see if it happens again.

And why was a regular customer in the staff room?

Why didn't you just get up and leave?

Not sure what your question is, but just go back to work and do your job.

That's a very strange situation and also very uncomfortable for you. Can you give an indication of your work and a bit more context? Hopefully she will take the lead and apologise to you and feel ashamed. If it is the type of work where others might be harmed then you have a duty to report and protect others. If it's an office and she'd been out for a boozy lunch then that's different.

Why wouldn't you be able to go back to work?!

If I were you, I would have just left her to it! Why did you stay?!

Sorry, the first thing that jumped out at me was , you were at work and your manager was drunk?

What type of place do you work in?

The whole situation sounds totally inappropriate?

You sound over sensitive. Why cant you go back to work? Nothing terrible happened or did it? What a strange thread

The customer wasn't in the staff room she was in the shop when manager came out, I work in a customer service environment with hot ovens etc. I couldn't just leave as no one else was there. She isn't the type of person you could talk to and she won't apologise, I've smelt drink on her before at work.

I don't want to be left alone with her again as she was being very sly and saying things about me and other staff

I agree, you do sound oversensitive. If she's saying things that are 'sly',then simply report her for this,as well as her drinking in work, to her manager. There really isn't any need to avoid going back to work surely?!

If you work in a chain or franchise there should be a confidential method of notifying her manager/line manager that she has been drunk at work and that it is not an unusual situation, however recently it has started to become obvious to customers as well.

Her behaviour is absolutely inappropriate in a work place, I am not sure why some of the initial responses seem to suggest that being drunk at work makes you over-sensitive for noticing it.

I couldn't just leave as no one else was there.

WHY? You're not her mum.

As freak says, if she's saying nasty things about you and other staff, report her for that. You don't have to mention the drink if you don't want to.

Why were they drinking at work?

Why were they drinking at work?

What a bizarre question. She obviously has an alcohol problem

Not really, it could have been a birthday, celebration..

If you read the (very short) thread, OP says they've smelled drink on the manager before.

Also, while it may be normal to have a drink at work functions, you don't generally get completely pissed when you're expected to be on the shop floor, especially when you're a manager. So = drink problem.

Ok point taken, but I thought I might, ON THIS OCCAISION, have been something like a celebration or birthday as the op didn't seem to think it odd they were drinking and added t he smelt alcohol on her bit in a later post. I was just clarifying.

I don't think you're oversensitive and I see why you felt unable to leave.
This is an hr issue, surely? Or if you don't have an hr team, something you take to a manager above the one who was drunk at work?

It's a customer service environment with hot ovens involved, so surely there's a H & S issue here. Even if it were a one off celebration, then to become noticeably drunk is inappropriate over and above the personal behaviour making remarks about staff.

As you say you don't want to report and potentially be marked as a 'troublemaker' OP, your options here are very limited.

I'm not a fan of anonymous whistleblowing because I believe you should stand behind your convictions. You could of course report to head office or higher management anonymously if a customer had witnessed the situation, however, as you say this person has been employed there a long time and is well respected, that quite probably wouldn't cut any ice anyway.
If you're absolutely certain you won't report this yourself it leaves two options, one is to suck it up and do nothing and the other is to find a different job and leave her to it.

I think you have a personal duty of care to report