ADDICTION
costs corporate America
billions of dollars a
year in lost
productivity,
absenteeism and higher
health care expenses. It
also derails many
once-promising careers.
More
companies are willing to
offer assistance these
days, especially as they
deal with higher levels
of employee stress from
heightened workloads and
job cuts. Yet many
workers are still
reluctant to take
advantage of this help,
for fear of jeopardizing
their positions.
"Telling
something so personal
would have lessened my
authority as a
leader," said a
65-year-old executive of
a computer company in
Philadelphia who
recently returned from
28 days of treatment for
alcoholism. "As a
manager, you have to
create some distance
between you and your
employees." The
executive, who spoke on
condition of anonymity,
had arranged for the
treatment himself at the
Caron Foundation, a
rehabilitation center in
Wernersville, Pa.
He
says his job has been
business as usual since
his return last spring,
but he acknowledged
making up a story about
his extended absence,
which he even gave to
his boss. "I told
them I was overstressed
and my doctor asked me
to rest for a
month," he said.
Professionals
in similar situations
have many delicate
issues to navigate. How,
for example, can they
avoid being stigmatized
by colleagues? And how
can they explain gaps on
a résumé after a long
treatment period?
Many
employees who receive
treatment — whether
for alcoholism or for
drug, gambling or food
addictions — will
undoubtedly have some
difficulties in the
beginning, experts say,
but as they recover, so
too will their careers.
Abuse
of some drugs has been
climbing in the
workplace. According to
Quest Diagnostics, which
provides workplace drug
tests, the number of
workers and job
applicants who tested
positive for amphetamine
use rose 17 percent in
2002 from the previous
year. At the Waismann
Institute, in Beverly
Hills, Calif., 60
percent of the patients,
mostly high-powered
business people, are
addicted to painkillers
like OxyContin and
Vicodin, up from about
10 percent four years
ago, according to Dr.
Clifford A. Bernstein,
the medical director
there.
Given
the weakness in the
economy and the job
market, none of this
surprises Dr. Kenneth
Siegel, a psychologist
and president of the
Impact Group, an
executive leadership
consulting firm in
Beverly Hills. In the
economic downturn of the
late 1980's and early
1990's, he said, "Valium
suddenly become the most
prescribed drug in
America."
Similarly, today's
workers are seeking ways
to curb their anxieties
and depression, he said.
"I
don't think you're going
to find a lot of
C.E.O.'s smoking pot or
snorting cocaine in the
company restroom,"
Dr. Siegel said,
"but we are seeing
executives abusing
alcohol and popping
prescription
drugs."
One of
the biggest difficulties
is seeking help in the
first place. Managers
may be surrounded by
underlings who are more
than willing to help
cover up the problem. A
recent survey by the
Caron Foundation of its
patients found that 75
percent of executives in
recovery said they had
secretaries or
assistants who went to
great lengths to cover
for them. Ninety percent
said their peers had to
work extra hours to
compensate for their
addiction.
Bruce
Cotter, a recovering
alcoholic, said that
when he was a sales
executive for major
television networks on
the East Coast during
the 1980's, his
assistants would
routinely reschedule his
appointments and even
compile his sales
reports. "I had a
whole army of people who
would mop up my
messes," he said.
Mr. Cotter now runs
Bruce W. Cotter &
Associates in Butler, Md.,
which intervenes on
behalf of companies to
provide treatment for
addicted executives.
Another
issue is
confidentiality. Many
workers, particularly
executives, hesitate to
seek help through their
company's employee
assistance programs or
human resources
departments, out of fear
of looking weak or even
harming the company's
reputation.
"They
feel that their company
doesn't need to have the
burden of knowing their
top V.P., or C.E.O., is
having a problem,"
said Dr. Scott C. Stacy,
clinical program
director for the
Professional Renewal
Center in Lawrence,
Kan., which treats
executives for substance
and behavioral problems,
including gambling and
sexual addiction.
To
help make executives
feel more comfortable
about seeking help, some
companies are offering
programs that promise
heightened
confidentiality,
according to Dr. Richard
A. Chaifetz, chief
executive of the
ComPsych Corporation in
Chicago. Com- Psych
provides employee
assistance programs to
companies like General
Electric, American
Express and Sprint.
Meanwhile, Resources for
Living in Austin, Tex.,
whose clients include Wal-Mart
and Bridgestone, has a
substance-abuse
counseling program that
can be completed
entirely by phone.
William
P. Schurgin, a partner
at the Seyfarth Shaw law
firm in Chicago, says
employers are generally
under no obligation to
keep workers with
untreated
substance-abuse problems
on the payroll. The
Americans With
Disabilities Act, he
noted, does not protect
these employees. But he
added that employers
were much more likely to
support those who
request help rather than
those whose problems
were discovered through
drug testing or other
means. "Most
companies are going to
give you a second
chance," he said.
After
seeking help, patients
should avoid trying to
keep up workloads during
treatment.
"That's
not the time to focus on
work," said Dennis
Henning, a consultant in
Camarillo, Calif. who
helps addicted lawyers
and executives in the
entertainment industry
receive help through an
intervention program.
Mr. Henning, who is
himself recovering from
an eating disorder, said
he recently worked with
a lawyer who would have
co-workers sneak in work
for him to do.
MR. COTTER said that he,
too, had confiscated
executives' cellphones
and laptops after they
entered a treatment
center. "These
people want to keep
their careers on track,
and so they don't feel
like they can take a
moment out for
themselves," he
said. "But I have
to convince them that if
they don't get help,
their career — not to
mention their lives —
might end up in the
toilet."
Career
experts also warn
against trying to do too
much soon after
returning to work.
"A
lot of executives who
return to work are so
fearful of losing their
jobs, especially in this
economy, that they step
up the pace of their
work and don't take
vacations, or even lunch
breaks," said Ruth
Luban, a psychotherapist
based in Santa Monica,
Calif. She suggests
easing back into the
workload, perhaps even
working part time for a
few weeks if possible.
Once the person is back
to a full-time schedule,
he should set boundaries
on the job, by taking
time out for lunch each
day, for example, she
said.
Reduced
work schedules — or
even lunch breaks —
are not always possible
for those who are
feeling the pressure of
work. Ms. Luban said she
was working with a
lawyer who recently was
treated for a drug
addiction and was about
to return to work at a
company that was merging
with another concern.
"There's only so
much slack they can give
him," she said.
She
advised him to carve out
tiny, regular portions
in each day, so that he
could "at least
take a few deep
breaths" without
his bosses noticing.
IT'S up to the employee
to decide whether to
explain an absence for
treatment to curious
colleagues, said Liz
Ryan, a human resources
consultant in Boulder,
Colo. Like the computer
company executive from
Pennsylvania who was
treated for alcoholism,
many of her clients
chalk up the absence to
an unspecified illness.
But in some instances,
she said, a recovering
addict may need the
support of a few trusted
co-workers.
She
said she recently worked
with a salesman, a
recovering alcoholic,
whose boss had kept
pressuring him to have a
few beers with clients
at late-night
gatherings.
"He
would really egg him
on," she said.
"Finally, the
salesman had to clue in
his boss, who was very
understanding. If a boss
or co-workers aren't
supportive, by all
means, look for a new
opportunity."
In
some cases, of course,
colleagues may know
about a worker's problem
before treatment is
sought. Ms. Ryan once
worked with a young
woman who returned from
a work outing so
intoxicated that she
passed out in the office
in front of several
employees. Shortly
thereafter, she entered
an alcohol recovery
program. When she
returned, Ms. Ryan
recommended that she
simply acknowledge to
co-workers that she had
dealt with the problem
and was ready to move
on.
"People
have short attention
spans," she said.
"Once they see
you're back and you're
doing a good job,
they'll lose
interest."
Experts
recommend that
recovering addicts seek
out support groups set
up exclusively for
executives or certain
professionals. The
groups can help deal
with worries about
attendance at cocktail
parties, for example, or
other networking events.
Other
career concerns can be
addressed in the groups.
The Pennsylvania
executive said he was
involved in a therapy
group made up of
high-level executives.
For three one-hour
sessions a week, the
members talked about how
their careers had
contributed to their
addiction problems and
gave one another tips on
eliminating some of the
biggest stresses from
their jobs.
"All
of a sudden, I felt like
I wasn't alone
anymore," he said.
Career
experts recommend that
job seekers not disclose
past addiction problems
to prospective employers
in an interview.
"Let's be realistic
— there's still
somewhat of a stigma to
saying that you're an
addict," Ms. Ryan
said.
She
advises job seekers to
carefully develop a
speech that explains any
résumé gaps, and to
practice it repeatedly.
"Be prepared to say
something like, `I was
resolving some health
issues,' or `I was doing
some personal
development work,'
" she said.
"Most
hiring managers won't
bat an eyelash at a
three- or even six-month
gap, especially in this
economy."