NationStates Jolt Archive

Last Thursday two fairly new employees where I work (less than 6 months each) showed up for a shift obviously under the influance of alcohol - in direct violation of their contracts - and more or less revaling in the fact that they were drunk. I was informed today that they were let off with a simple warning. That offended me.

For those who have "real" jobs, how would (or has) your employeer dealt with these kinds of situations?

Depends on what kind of work. Simple work like cutting cucumbers off the plant - No big deal, but they should be warned. Neuro-surgeon- big deal

I'm sorry, but you're talking to a pretty narrow parameter of people when you specify NS users who have real jobs.

Depends on what kind of work. Simple work like cutting cucumbers off the plant - No big deal, but they should be warned. Neuro-surgeon- big deal
Yes, I agree. Some slightly higher standards required for airline pilots, for instance.

As a business owner, I hired mostly college students to work in my store. As such, they were directly in contact with the public and acting as my representatives in the name of that store. Show up hung over and unable to work properly, and they got sent home without pay. Show up obviously drunk - fired. End of story.

The job is ESL teaching to adults. It involves interaction with the public. The subjects in question were actually drinking on the job. A number of customers complained.

Last Thursday two fairly new employees where I work (less than 6 months each) showed up for a shift obviously under the influance of alcohol - in direct violation of their contracts - and more or less revaling in the fact that they were drunk. I was informed today that they were let off with a simple warning. That offended me.

For those who have "real" jobs, how would (or has) your employeer dealt with these kinds of situations?
If I found out someone I worked with was let off with a warning like that I would be pissed. I would be very tempted to complain to a higher-up; particularly if there were safety issues.
The other option would be to pour JD around that supervisors and those employees work areas when nobody is looking so they all reek of booze.

they should be fired

Oh, and I specified "real" jobs to differentiate the aparantly large number of posters who have never held a full time, career track job.

Never showed up drunk before. I showed up once after lighting up and I did some of my best most efficient work...

they should be fired

you're gonna get kicked out of the region with that attitude

beers all around

Fire their asses. End of story. Look, when I worked one summer as a janitor and showed up hungover, people didn't mind too much, since noone saw me but the other employees. Drunk, though, is a different story, especially when interacting with public, and when there are complaints. Getting drunk is a choice. If you choose to screw with your ability to work, you don't get to keep your job.

Never showed up drunk before. I showed up once after lighting up and I did some of my best most efficient work...

best way to play foosball too, you'll win every time

If I found out someone I worked with was let off with a warning like that I would be pissed. I would be very tempted to complain to a higher-up; particularly if there were safety issues.
The other option would be to pour JD around that supervisors and those employees work areas when nobody is looking so they all reek of booze.

I am seriously pissed. Especially as it not only reflected badly on me and the company I work for, but on foriegners in general in a country where sterotypes rule. No safety issues, but definate business issues. I do kind of wish I had access to the asst. head of foreign personel's desk... ;)

Alas, that's a most unlikely scheme. :(

they should be fired
you're gonna get kicked out of the region with that attitude

beers all aroundyou're gonna get kicked out of the region with that attitude

beers all around

That was pretty funny coming from someone going by that particular name. :D

The job is ESL teaching to adults. It involves interaction with the public. The subjects in question were actually drinking on the job. A number of customers complained.
At the very least, I'd have sent them home and warned them that the next offense would get them canned.

The job is ESL teaching to adults. It involves interaction with the public. The subjects in question were actually drinking on the job. A number of customers complained.
They needed to be gone. Period.

I work at a Fortinos, so you show up drunk or high, your fired.

I work at a Fortinos, so you show up drunk or high, your fired.


The grocery stores in Hamilton, ON?? I lived in hamilton when I was like 10 and I remember Fortinos and allllll the italian people that worked there :) Wonderful grocery store. Lol. Watch it not be the same thing at all, watch it be like an investment firm called that.

Well, I'm a bartender at Applebees and it's pretty strict. Show up messed up and you're gone. ESL teacher? Definately gone. That's a VERY important job and you're messing with people's ability to learn and that they paid to do so. that, to me, is not excusable.

I am a prison guard. They would fire those two on the spot where I work at. For having booze in a prison, they would get charged with a class A felony and face up to ten years!

I am a prison guard. They would fire those two on the spot where I work at. For having booze in a prison, they would get charged with a class A felony and face up to ten years!

and then what, you send them to "extra jail?"

Last Thursday two fairly new employees where I work (less than 6 months each) showed up for a shift obviously under the influance of alcohol - in direct violation of their contracts - and more or less revaling in the fact that they were drunk. I was informed today that they were let off with a simple warning. That offended me.

For those who have "real" jobs, how would (or has) your employeer dealt with these kinds of situations?
Does your employer support substance abuse counselling?

My employer pays full costs towards an employee assistance program, which is strictly confidential.

Are these contractors considered full time employees, and if not, would their contracts be subject to termination under the above circumstances?

Also, was the warning in fact a "simple" warning or is that all that is being communicated? Perhaps it was a severe warning behind closed doors?

Is it the "simple" warning that offended you, their actions or both?

I am a prison guard. They would fire those two on the spot where I work at. For having booze in a prison, they would get charged with a class A felony and face up to ten years!
That is a pretty severe penalty?

At the very least, I'd have sent them home and warned them that the next offense would get them canned.
Let me add that a lot depends on the type of work. I used to work in a grocery warehouse and currently work in a brewery, and with the kind of equipment we deal with, don't want anyone hammered driving a forklift around me. When I was teaching college English, I could possibly get away with it once in a blue moon (although I never tried--others managed it with varying degrees of success).

Funny thing--the brewery I work at currently allows us to drink beer at work once we've been on the clock four hours. I go to work at 7:00 a.m., so I can start drinking at 11:00 if I wish and get paid for it, but if I get hammered, I'm in deep shit, so I sometimes have a beer with lunch, but that's all until I get off work. I also get a free case of beer per week. It would be great to work there even if I wasn't making the good hourly wage I make.

Every job I had, being drunk at work would have meant not a warning but an instant termination!
What's up with this 'warning' stuff?

Let me add that a lot depends on the type of work. I used to work in a grocery warehouse and currently work in a brewery, and with the kind of equipment we deal with, don't want anyone hammered driving a forklift around me. When I was teaching college English, I could possibly get away with it once in a blue moon (although I never tried--others managed it with varying degrees of success).

Funny thing--the brewery I work at currently allows us to drink beer at work once we've been on the clock four hours. I go to work at 7:00 a.m., so I can start drinking at 11:00 if I wish and get paid for it, but if I get hammered, I'm in deep shit, so I sometimes have a beer with lunch, but that's all until I get off work. I also get a free case of beer per week. It would be great to work there even if I wasn't making the good hourly wage I make.
Dude, they hiring?

I had a friend that was trying to get me in the band he was in that played at a clinic where the band was paid in sacks....you know what I'm talkin' 'bout.

Most of the jobs I've had I could show up as stoned as I want to be. Never been much of a drinker. What I'm working towards allows me to be stoned a lot, then not at all depending on what stage I'm at.

True story, I win the prize,
One night I called in sick, well just that I was not coming in, I was drinking
with my buddies so I called in, kept drinking with my buddies, left their house
drunk, yes I drove drunk, showed up drunk at work that night just to say hi to my co-workers, my supervisor just happend to answer the door, said
hi to him, talked to him, he said your drunk as a skunk go home carlos go
home, he later told a good lady friend of mine at work, I could have fired
him but he is a good worker and I like him, so I gave him a chance. I willl
never do that again, I lerned my lesson. Please comment on this true story
good and bad I will take my medicine. I have always said I am a nice guy,
my strenth and weekness on this one my weekness and my strenth.
I used to drink when I was younger and you have to go home so you drive
but I used to pull over in a parking lot or at Mcdonalds or Burger king or Dennys
and eat something and drink lots of water until I felt good enough to drive. My second post in this thread
will be on drugs read it and comment i will take my medicine.
I welcome all nations to comment here and telegram me, what do I have
to do to get attention on Nation States get drunk. True storys.

I welcome all nations to comment here and telegram me, what do I have
to do to get attention on Nation States get drunk. True storys.Dude, friends don't let friends post drunk.

Get help. Or at least get help making paragraphs.

True Story, when I was younger teenager in Chicago
I hung out with my buddies
we used to drink, and they also took some drugs, they would offer me
but I always refused and told them if you guy want to do drugs ok but
dont offer me any let me drink my beer and once In a while they would
offer I said no and they left me alone with my beer. My best friend moved
to Kansas City Kansas and invited me for the 4 of July weekend, I went
we drank he used some drug, he offerd I finally gave in to peer presure
I must have been really drunk, he gave me something that looked like gum
some kind of plastic looking something I swallowed it or let it melt or
something, I began tripping out, I would open one door step inside and open
another door and step inside and open another door and step inside then
my watch would fall off and I put it back on and it would fall off and I put
it back on and it would fall off, my friend finally got tired of that shit and
took my watch away, I would see everything wider but as the effect was
wearing off I would tell my friend this shit is not for me I dont like it
we remained friends and I never again did drugs. Bad Joke no good at jokes
I am a republican I have my reasons, democrats have thier reasons,
I am probably the only one that believes Bill Clinton when he said he
tried drugs but never inhaled, sometimes my friends would try to blow
smoke in my face, so I tried drugs but never inhaled, I told you that was
a bad joke oh well.

For those who have "real" jobs, how would (or has) your employeer dealt with these kinds of situations?

I don't think you should really be all that concerned about what your fellow employees do. Just do your job and do it as well as you'd like to do it.

If your employer makes a decision that you don't understand, ask them about it. Maybe there was a good reason. Maybe the two who showed up drunk are alcoholics and, thus, cannot be fired based on the Americans with disabilities act. Perhaps they agreed to alcohol councilling.

There is more to the situation than you are probably aware. However, if it is that big of a concern, ask your head of HR or your supervisor or whomever is in charge of such things.

I have a driving job, so I'd be in real trouble if I turned up drunk.

Showing up drunk at work is disgraceful really. May as well not turn up!
You should be getting drunk after work not during or before.

Most of the jobs I've had I could show up as stoned as I want to be. Never been much of a drinker. What I'm working towards allows me to be stoned a lot, then not at all depending on what stage I'm at.That's because if you're a regular smoker it's a lot easier to hide being stoned then it is being drunk.

My boss shows up drunk.
I have no problem with that.
Actually, I drink with my boss at mid-day.
We're drunk most of the time in the afternoon.

I'm french though.

That really depends on the job and the situation. Alcohol and business often have alot of cross roads. I've worked in several setting where at around 4pm a bunch of people from the office would walk down to the corner bar, have some drinks for a couple hours, then come back and work a little bit more. Bosses were included in that though. Some business lunches alcohol can also be acceptable. Also, in certain industries such as bars/clubs and some restraunts, employees drinking some is usually exceptable.

Last Thursday two fairly new employees where I work (less than 6 months each) showed up for a shift obviously under the influance of alcohol - in direct violation of their contracts - and more or less revaling in the fact that they were drunk. I was informed today that they were let off with a simple warning. That offended me.

For those who have "real" jobs, how would (or has) your employeer dealt with these kinds of situations?

I work in the computer labs at my university, and they would fire my ass immediately for showing up to work drunk.

The job is ESL teaching to adults. It involves interaction with the public. The subjects in question were actually drinking on the job. A number of customers complained.
As an ESl teacher myself, I would have no pity for them being fired, for several reasons:
1. You need to be professional in a vocation such as teaching. By turning up drunk/drinking on the job you are showing no professionalism and no respect for your position or the students;
2. The students expect and deserve far better than this. They are coming to your place in their own time and paying for the privilege of learning. They deserve to be taught in a professional manner. And those two are abusing that;
3. They're bringing the business they work for into disrepute. In an industry like ESL, most customers will be referrals from other customers - for obvious reasons - they'll ask ppl within their own community which is the best ESL school to go to as they'll lack the language skills to find out themselves. Do you think your school's going to get good comments now? I find it hard to believe the manager just gave them a warning. He (or She) is really screwing the business up by not firing them (or at least a written warning) and apologising to the clients.
As an example of how ESL referral works, on my days off I just started private tutoring for the children of a friend of a friend sort of thing. In the space of a couple of weeks it's gotten so that I'm now tutoring 6 ppl, each paying me $20 US p/hour for the two hour lesson. All thru referrals from the happy (Chinese) parent of the first kids.

This also reminds me a few years ago, my flatmate with a raging hangover rang up work (Telecom) and foolishly admitted he was sick due to a hangover. He received a written warning the following day. Initially I thought it was a bit harsh, as he was just being honest. But later I realised that it was a self-inflicted illness, and he got drunk in the full-knowledge he had work the next day. So I eventually sided with Telecom, despite his constant complaining about 'those bastards'. Led to a few frosty words between us until he moved out, I can tell you.

Does your employer support substance abuse counselling?

My employer pays full costs towards an employee assistance program, which is strictly confidential.

Are these contractors considered full time employees, and if not, would their contracts be subject to termination under the above circumstances?

Also, was the warning in fact a "simple" warning or is that all that is being communicated? Perhaps it was a severe warning behind closed doors?

Is it the "simple" warning that offended you, their actions or both?

I was offended by both. These guys are full time employees. The work code specifically bans being on premises under the influance.

I don't think you should really be all that concerned about what your fellow employees do. Just do your job and do it as well as you'd like to do it.

If your employer makes a decision that you don't understand, ask them about it. Maybe there was a good reason. Maybe the two who showed up drunk are alcoholics and, thus, cannot be fired based on the Americans with disabilities act. Perhaps they agreed to alcohol councilling.

There is more to the situation than you are probably aware. However, if it is that big of a concern, ask your head of HR or your supervisor or whomever is in charge of such things.

I was, and am, concerned about their behaviour because, as Demented Hamsters pointed out, the ESL industry here is very image driven. Those two reflect poorly on my employer, which reflects poorly on me. Further more, this is Japan, and discrimination is de facto acceptable, and many people are very judgemental. These guys behaviour damages how I am seen in the eyes of the public.

And as for both counselling, this is Japan. I would be hard pressed to name any company with such a lavish benifit plan. There is certainly nothing like the ADA. My previous employer (another ESL company) would have booted them no questions asked. I know because it happened. My current company has a more upscale image, and that was part of my dissapointment.

This is Japan.

Ah! Well that's the problem then ... come work in the US and drink on the job. :D

Like has been mentioned before, depends on the job and the employers. While in college I worked at a nearby Hooters for a few months. I showed up drunk a few times but my managers didn't care, as long as I could still function (I was a cook). Some of my managers would show up a little tipsy as well and even stoned (we sometimes would smoke up during break, hehe). It wasn't really frowned upon there because so many customers would be drunk or stoned most of the time that they wouldn't even notice. Only the regulars would know and they would just laugh about it ;)

to h*ll with this thread...........................let's all go get drunk!!!

Let me add that a lot depends on the type of work. I used to work in a grocery warehouse and currently work in a brewery, and with the kind of equipment we deal with, don't want anyone hammered driving a forklift around me. When I was teaching college English, I could possibly get away with it once in a blue moon (although I never tried--others managed it with varying degrees of success).

Funny thing--the brewery I work at currently allows us to drink beer at work once we've been on the clock four hours. I go to work at 7:00 a.m., so I can start drinking at 11:00 if I wish and get paid for it, but if I get hammered, I'm in deep shit, so I sometimes have a beer with lunch, but that's all until I get off work. I also get a free case of beer per week. It would be great to work there even if I wasn't making the good hourly wage I make.
If you have a flat spot on the top of your head you are very near to being the perfect woman!! :)

(jk)

Not flat--just bald. :D

I would fire their ass so bad and recommend them alcohol abust treatment

I am a prison guard. They would fire those two on the spot where I work at. For having booze in a prison, they would get charged with a class A felony and face up to ten years!

When you say "having booze", do you mean if they have hipflasks, or do you mean the alcohol in their system?

P.S. I hope you don't tell anyone at the prison that your nickname is DJ Boy George! :p (j/k, no offence intended) :)

At my office everybody gets shitfaced on Fridays. Hell, the President of the company is usually the first one to get drunk.

If you go to one of the several fridges in the building all you'll see is beer. And people drink everyday.

I like my job sometimes....

Nope. If I can hold it together for 8 hours a day, I expect everyone else to. I don't show up drunk or high or hung over. No matter what job you've got, if you don't need the job that bad, you shouldn't be there. Go to college or something, where they won't care if you show up drunk or not, and for 6 years, they'll feed and house you. Then you can rejoin the rest of us and start paying off that college loan. It'll drive you to drink, but by then you won't have the disposible income.

Last Thursday two fairly new employees where I work (less than 6 months each) showed up for a shift obviously under the influance of alcohol - in direct violation of their contracts - and more or less revaling in the fact that they were drunk. I was informed today that they were let off with a simple warning. That offended me.

For those who have "real" jobs, how would (or has) your employeer dealt with these kinds of situations?

Hi, I don't yet have a real-world job, but I do have some awareness of labor relations and human resource practices that may be useful.

One thing you have to look at is what kind of labor contract they're under. I'm assuming these people have a union? If so, then there is very likely a concept of "progressive discipline" that usually prevents employees from being fired outright on a first offense. The reason for progressive discipline is that it can be used by management as evidence should the issue come up in wrongful discharge arbitration. The reason is to prove that the decision was not made arbitrarily by management, but based on evidence, and that attempts were made to correct the employees' behavior. There are still some immediately dischargeable offenses, but you should look at your labor contract to see exactly what procedures are outlined for showing up intoxicated.

You may also want to see, if their intoxication directly impacts you in your work, if you (or others you work with) have any options for filing a grievance. I don't know at all if you do, but if it really becomes a big problem, you may need to do this. Of course, my suggestion is don't file a grievance until you've already voiced your concerns to your (their?) boss, because even though technically people aren't supposed to retaliate for grievance-filing, some still do it anyway, so you don't want to look like TOO much of whiner. ;-)

If you are NOT under a union contract, your employer may have a much wider range of options to consider, and my personal thought would be they SHOULD be showing zero tolerance.

i got told off a bit and sent home for the weekend ( i nearly got given a verbal warning which goes on your record but i didn't) when i turned into work half drunk, half hungover

Today at work I mentioned the replies I got here, and my surprise at how many people seemed to say "COUNSELING! They need alcohol abuse counseling!" (Yes exagerated, but that's somewhat how it came accross...)
The response:

1) Looking at my OP, I thought I made it clear, but it appears I did not - it was a one off stupid thing, not something regular.

2)Almost everyone at work was peeved they got off with a slap on the wrist. However, they were apparantly told they would not recieve a new contract next April.

It appears they managed to escape serious punishment by denying everthing, and the fact that all evidence was eyewitness. Schools aren't equiped for breathalizers, thank goodness - I think I'd have problems working somewhere that required a breathalizer.

Well, when you're an employee, you represent the company (if there is a corporation, and if not you represent the owner) and if you're drunk you're a liability waiting to happen. That is, if you actually interact with people outside the company and/or do actual work that needs sobriety to do.