Being supportive brings its own rewards

by David J Bilinsky

“Don’t forget this fact, you can’t get it back; cocaine”

Words and Music: J.J. Cale, recorded by E. Clapton

Perhaps you have noticed unexplained changes in the mood and behaviour of a long-standing employee. Or it could be that a partner has started to show signs of increased stress, their weight has undergone a change, they are acting out of character and the interest in their work has dropped off dramatically. Or it could be that you are becoming concerned about how you are using alcohol to forget problems and relax (Columbia University Medical Centre defines “heavy drinking” as five drinks/day, five times/week). Any of these could be signs that someone may be dropping into addiction. In any case, the cost of addictions is staggering – The United Way (2003) states that the health, social, and economic costs of substance abuse to Canadian society in a single year is estimated at $18 billion.

While we entrust the treatment of addictions to professionals, law firms must deal with the effects of the addictions – on their staff, on their partners, on their clients and of course, on themselves. Most importantly, once a person recognizes their addiction and turns for help in conquering this most difficult of problems is how a caring and supportive firm can assist a valued staff member or partner to overcome their addiction and be integrated back into the workplace with a minimum of turmoil and disruption, to the benefit of both the organization and the person involved.

There are many types of addictions: they are usually divided into: substances (Drugs, alcohol, tobacco, cocaine, opiates, stimulants, hallucinogens, inhalants, club drugs, prescriptions drugs, steroids, coffee) and behaviours (gambling, eating disorders, compulsive sexual behaviour, compulsive Internet use). Each one has its own effects on the individual, family and the workplace and place their own demands on those nearby in order to be overcome.

So what can a supportive legal employer do for its staff to assist them in overcoming their struggles with addiction? Here is a selection of suggestions put forth in this regard:

• Flexible Work Arrangements: There are many ways for an organization to allow staff members to keep their job while working thru their treatment for an addiction. Assuming that their treatment involves attending a nearby treatment facility on a fairly constant basis, the law firm could offer flexible work arrangements that include working at home, flex time (where longer hours are banked to allow for absences from the job), job sharing and time off or reduced work hours to attend treatment.
• Leaves of Absence: If the treatment is more intense and involves a period of time in treatment, the employer could offer job guaranteed leave to attend the treatment, dependent on the successful completion of the treatment program, without jeopardizing either the person’s career advancement or position in the firm.
• Employee Assistance Programs (EAP’s): Interlock services are available to lawyers, articled students and their immediate families (http://www.interlock-eap.com), while the Lawyer’s Assistance Program (LAP) is available to lawyers, their families, support staff and articled students (www.lapbc.com). Both of these services are funded by The Law Society of British Columbia. In addition, legal employers may also establish EAP’s for their staff to assist not only with addictions but also with a wider range of personal issues.
• Recommendation of Treatment: The Hazelden Foundation conducted a “Workplace Addiction Survey” in 2003 of HR professionals at 200 U.S. companies – from Fortune 500 giants to small businesses. This study revealed that:
  • Almost all (over 80 per cent) would recommend treatment for an addicted executive or a rank-and-file worker alike, rather than merely firing them.
  • Nearly three quarters (72.6 per cent) of respondents believe that employees who sought treatment later returned to work as productive members of the workforce.
  • Finally, 89 per cent of respondents believe that addiction treatment programs are effective in helping employees beat addiction.

However, it appears to be especially important for the recovering person to attempt to hold onto their current position while undergoing treatment. The same study found that “nearly one in four human resources (HR) professionals surveyed reveal that their companies are less likely to hire a job candidate if the person is in recovery from drug or alcohol addiction – even though 89 per cent believe treatment is effective in helping those employees fight addiction.”

• Supportiveness of Workplaces and Culture: There are many ways that a legal employer can offer a supportive workplace. An employer can take personal needs into consideration in making work allocations. Proactively, you can offer ongoing assistance to help persons achieve a positive work-life balance. You can make information on resources available to staff via seminars, postings on intranets and in other communications. Larger organizations can offer to subsidize career counselling or management leadership programs to those in supervisory positions. All organizations can educate those dealing in human resource issues on how to respond to the work-family needs of employees in general and in dealing with dependencies in particular. Furthermore, when you notice a problem, you can encourage those individuals facing addiction issues to deal with them while retaining their employment – which builds trust and hope, at a time when both may be rather scarce commodities – rather than having the individuals face dismissal, which only adds to their problems. Contrary to popular belief, those facing addictions need not hit “rock bottom” before realizing they have a problem and seek out help, particularly when they are committed to seeking a solution.
• Health Care Benefits/TTD Benefits: Many people may be fearful over the costs of seeking treatment to addiction. A legal employer can investigate whether they can offer insurance benefits or other health care programs to offset the costs (and worry) involved in successfully overcoming addiction.
• Other Resources: Organizations such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Narcotics Anonymous (NA) and others have been helping addicts and their families deal with addictions for a long time. Legal employers could allow staff to attend meetings at noon or during the day to assist in their recovery or to stay clean, without having to have the employee justify their extended absences to other staff members.
• Assisting in Self-Worth: The benefits for supporting someone thru a problem such as an addiction can pay benefits far beyond the immediate person involved. People like to help and they also like to see others being helped. Extending a hand to someone going thru a crises such as an addiction puts a few check marks in the “positive karma” side of the ledger that is seen by all other staff members. The kind of support and goodwill that this creates cannot be bought.

While those who have used or abused drugs or alcohol can’t get their lost time back, they can at least start to get their lives back with the help of professionals as well as the assistance of those near them…including understanding and supportive legal employers and partners.

David J. Bilinsky is the Practice Management Advisor at the Law Society of B.C. E-mail: daveb@lsbc.org. The views expressed herein are strictly those of the author and may not be shared by the author’s employer, the Law Society of B.C.

This article originally appeared in the December 2006 issue of BarTalk and is reproduced here with permission of both the author and the Canadian Bar Association, British Columbia Branch.