How To Tell Someone Has an Alcohol Use Disorder
Concerned employers or colleagues can look out for signs associated with alcoholism and substance abuse to determine the best method of helping someone overcome their AUD. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management identified the apparent signs of an alcoholic employee in the workplace. Such symptoms include:- Walking Unsteadily: A standard drunken behavior involves an unsteady gait.
- Smelling Like Alcohol: A person may distinctly exude a pungent alcoholic odor when entering the workplace.
- Body Tremors: Alcoholics may experience uncontrollable body shakes throughout the day.
- Red Eyes: A person with bloodshot eyes may have recently consumed alcohol.
- Sleeping on the Job: A person may fall asleep in the workplace due to alcohol addiction and consumption.
- Irritability: An alcoholic in the workplace may exhibit mood and behavior changes.
- Missing Deadlines: Workplace alcohol abuse can lead to workers frequently missing deadlines.
- Constant Mistakes: An employee’s output containing numerous careless mistakes may indicate underlying problems.
- Unfinished Work: Workers leaving assignments unfinished or submitting incomplete work may count as alcoholic behavior.
General Alcohol Use Disorder Symptoms
Alternatively, concerned individuals can look for general symptoms associated with employee alcohol abuse or AUD. Someone with an AUD would exhibit at least two diagnostic criteria within 12 months. Such AUD criteria include the following:- Excess Drinking: A person consumes more alcohol than they initially intended. A person may also fail their attempts at cutting back or stopping their drinking altogether.
- Finding Ways to Drink: A person may go to extreme lengths to find alcoholic drinks. Perhaps a coworker may invite others out for drinks more often than usual. They will also exhaust their time and resources to use alcohol.
- Neglect: A person’s performance may drop due to alcohol use and neglecting office work and housework responsibilities.
- Interpersonal Issues: Alcohol abuse or substance abuse of any kind can cause people to have more conflict in social situations.
- Drinking in High-Risk Situations: A person may consume alcohol while driving or handling machines and equipment.
- Trading Alcohol for Usual Hobbies: A person may favor alcohol instead of the activities they usually enjoy.
- Drinking Despite Doctor’s Orders: A person may use alcohol despite receiving doctor’s orders to avoid it due to a medical condition they may have. Usually, people with liver disease or mental health conditions ignore doctors’ orders to quit drinking.
- High Alcohol Tolerance: A person may drink more alcohol or start binge drinking to achieve the drunken state they desire since they have developed a high tolerance after constantly drinking.
- Alcohol Withdrawal: A person who suddenly stops excessive alcohol consumption may experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms, including breaking out into cold sweats, feeling nauseated, vomiting, having a racing pulse, getting intensely anxious, and having shaky hands.