Recognizing an Executive Who is Addicted to Drugs

Most executives live high pressure existences with challenges coming at them from all sides. Financial, personnel, schedules, appointments, quarterly and monthly reports, travel — it’s not easy for them to catch their breath. And then there are demands from family. Children and spouses need attention, there could be illnesses or discipline issues to be dealt with. And there are bills and concerns about family safety or aging parents… it’s a very long list. It’s not hard to understand why some executives take refuge in the numbness of drug or alcohol abuse.

A couple of drinks after work turns into a nightly activity. And now that marijuana is legal in some states and it’s so easy to get a medical card in many others, a joint or two hardly even seem like a transgression. Or maybe it’s painkillers the doctor prescribed after a mishap or the Valium his doctor keeps giving him. When these or other substances make stress and problems fade away, occasional indulgence can become dependence. It might not be very long until he or she begins to structure his life around making sure he has the drug he needs to get by.

Along the way, however, his work is going to start suffering. His family will start being neglected or maybe even abused. He could disappear at times, missing meetings and deadlines. His temperament is going to change and other employees are going to talk about it. Maybe his immediate staff begin to cover for him and cross their fingers that he’ll find his way back to his old self somehow. It’s a dead end road for the individual and the company that’s trying to rely on him for his usual productivity.

Signs of Damaging Drug or Alcohol Use or Addiction

More and more, companies who have invested in valuable employees are retaining that value by helping them find suitable rehabilitation centers and getting their lives back. The sooner this recovery can happen, the better. Getting a person to rehab before his or her life is destroyed means that the drug or alcohol abuse must be spotted as early as possible. Here’s some of the ways you can identify an executive who is addicted to drugs or alcohol.

• Deadlines are missed, reports are absent or shoddy, quotas are missed.
• The individual doesn’t seem to care as much about his own performance or the actions and performance of his staff.
• His grooming or appearance has deteriorated. He may have gained or lost a lot of weight and may be pale or haggard compared to his earlier appearance.
• He could have accidents or be ill more often than usual.
• He’s less personable. His personality and communication are less pleasant and he may seem to intentionally offend others. He could be argumentative.
• He’s missing more than usual, especially on Mondays and Friday and he may take long lunch breaks, arrive late and leave early. Or he may just go missing at times, particularly on a business trip where he could be out of sight of other company employees. He is secretive about these absences.
• He seems to have financial or legal problems.
• He could show up at the office smelling of alcohol or marijuana or showing other signs of drug use, such as being drowsy, having pinpoint or dilated pupils or being more energetic and exuberant than warranted.

Rather than dismiss an employee who has helped build the company, Narconon Ojai offers an effective alternative. At our beautiful Southern California recovery facility overlooking the hills to the Pacific Ocean, your valuable employee can recover his sobriety and control of his business and personal lives.

Here, there’s no set time limit on how long an individual’s rehabilitation will take. They will graduate from our program when they are ready to take on the challenges of a sober life again. They’ll have learned some solid life skills—the specific skills needed to make the right choices. They will have found relief from past trauma and guilt and have achieved a fresh new point of view.

At Narconon Ojai, an executive’s privacy and professional accomplishments will be respected. Contact us to learn more about this unique path tens of thousands of people have taken back to sobriety and productivity. Call us today at 1-866-292-4503 for a confidential interview.