Alcohol is prominent in all regions of the United States. It doesn’t take much of a search to see alcohol or alcoholic advertisements in stores, at the market, on billboards, and on television. Alcohol is almost everywhere. Sometimes it almost seems like more people drink alcohol than don’t.
A common thing among our friends and family is to go for a drink at lunchtime or after work. For someone who may be addicted who is trying to curb their use or quit completely, this can be challenging. Sometimes it’s just a matter of a co-worker asking “Do you want to go out for a drink after work?” and before the addict knows it, it’s after one in the morning and the bar is closing.
Maybe your weekly schedule consists of a couple of drinks after work and then a few more at home for drinks. They wake up and repeat the whole cycle again, day after day. Then maybe the day comes when they drink before work, at lunch and after work or at home, or call in sick so they can sit home and drink all day.
To some, this may come as a surprise, but it is actually more common than you might think. In fact, many people live every day with a drink nearby, either in hand or waiting for them at the tavern on the corner or down the street.
There are many obvious reasons not to abuse alcohol, but especially at work. When drinking at work and depending on your occupation, many things can happen under the influence of alcohol. You can become a threat to the physical well-being of others, especially if you are drunk when operating machinery or drinking and driving to and from work.
Today, the smell of alcohol on the breath at work is grounds for dismissal. Many people who abuse alcohol on the job can end up losing job after job, especially if they have a drinking problem. As much as they try not to drink during work hours, the thought of a beer, whiskey sour, or the bottle they brought to work and hid in their desk drawer or glove compartment can be too hard to turn down. .
One of the definitive ways to separate the nonalcoholic from the alcoholic is to see if the person can have a drink at lunchtime and not drink again for the rest of the day, week, or month. For the alcoholic, a drink at lunchtime is often just the beginning of a binge that will end drunk before bed. Some alcoholics can control their craving for a day, maybe two or three, but it’s usually short-lived. They will most likely find themselves drinking during work hours again, threatening their own lives and the lives of those around them because of their drinking problem and intoxicated state of mind.
There are harsh consequences for alcohol abuse on the job. Many people have committed suicide or been killed by people under the influence of alcohol at work. The best scenario for someone who drinks on the job is termination. But this means that they are just biding their time if they continue to drink while at work. Something worse is bound to happen. Every time a person drinks on the job, they are taking one step closer to disaster, and no one can predict when that disastrous moment may strike.
If you or someone you know has a drinking problem and is abusing alcohol at work or at home, help them find the right help and call an alcohol treatment program today.