So my coworker, let’s call him Paul, has been dealing with substance abuse issues and is barely hanging on. He no call no shows at least once a week, if not more. He ends up showing up at random hours during the week, frequently leaving the office for up to an hour or two at a time. We work in construction estimating in a separate building with just few of us in a big building. While I have my own office, Paul “works” out in the open part of the office. Basically a desk set up in a big open area. Luckily for Paul, most of our small companies employees are in another building across the parking lot. We’re pretty much left alone to work without any supervision. Paul goes way back with the owners of the company when they all worked for a competitor. Paul’s mom died within the last few years and things went to hell from there. He can’t talk about his mother without crying and will often bring her up, causing an uncomfortable situation. He’ll randomly cry if a song or something else reminds him of her. He also throws terrible tantrums about everyday life and is currently on the verge of home foreclosure, losing the childhood home he grew up in and inherited from his mother.
Twice now, Paul has attempted to pull something out of his pocket and his glass meth pipe has fallen out in front of me. He’ll sometimes disappear in the bathroom for more than 30 minutes at a time, but you can hear him singing through the door. I have a feeling he’s smoking meth and blowing it into the fan, but no proof. He also charges his cannabis vapes in the office. They’re legal in my state, but don’t belong at work imo. Because we’re pretty much alone in a big building, the owners don’t know everything that’s going on. After a heart to heart about Paul, initiated by my boss, they’re aware of his problems, but can’t get him to receive the help he needs. They’ve tried to get him to take a month off and use his health insurance to “get better”, aka rehab. The words “drugs” and “rehab” were never used in the conversation, but that’s what was alluded to. Both owners know Paul well and appear to be giving him chances beyond what he deserves. In short, they feel bad for him, but haven’t fired him yet. It’s like Paul can’t try any harder to fuck up, yet he doesn’t get disciplined. I should also add that he’s 54 years old and is one of the nicest and most generous people I’ve met. He’d give the shirt off his back to a stranger if he had to. He owns the house that his mom left him when she died, but it’s become a party house from what he’s said. Friends of friends show up and crash there and there’s constant drama. One of his friend’s friends recently stole his truck and before that, he showed up at work beat up with a black eye and shoe print on his face. I mean every single day of Paul’s life recently, something bad happens. Now he says if he loses his house, he’s just gonna jump off an overpass and end it all. I mean, my poor coworker is literally teetering on the edge of life while I’m in my office trying to generate revenue. He makes great money even though he’s literally done nothing in months. When he is in the office, he either sleeps, plays on his iPad and phone or conducts personal business, usually attempting to fix problems, like unpaid bills and his mortgage. He’s twice refinanced his home and is now under and adjustable apr. Well, we all know how interest rates are right now. Even with his very generous salary, he can’t maintain his payments. He’s kiting right now, borrowing money to pay his creditors. It’s not sustainable.
So that’s what I deal with on a daily basis at work. I’ve mentioned to the only other coworker who Paul opens up with, that an intervention for Paul is long overdue. I don’t think it’s my place to initiate it though. Both owners know him well and I believe by them not confronting him, they’re somewhat enabling him. He’s a total liability at this point and I can guarantee no other employee would get away with this behavior. I have a soft spot for Paul, especially after I took a month away from work to go to rehab for drinking. This was almost 9 years ago with a different company, but I haven’t had a drink since. I wish I didn’t have to see a nice man destroy himself right in front of me at the office.
tl;dr: Drug addicted coworker destroying himself while I work.