Citations & Excerpts

The Fitness Equation

September 2003

There’s a new equation on the business blackboard today. The long version goes something like this. Smart management encourages (E) its employees to follow healthy lifestyles and provides access to fitness-wellness (FW) programs which yield hearty employees (H) who are happier and more (P) productive. (E + FW = H – P)

…According to a July New York Times article, substance abuse has been climbing in the workplace among blue and white collar workers.

…Bruce Cotter knows well the affect a substance abuser can have on a business. A recovering alcoholic and former executive, he quickly puts the problem in business terms. “When you have an impaired employee, they’re running at about 70 percent capacity at best. So if you’re paying them $100,000 a year, you’re getting about $70,000 worth (of productivity).”

Such a loss in productivity can quickly impact companies small and large. Nor is it the only problem arising from abuse. Impaired executives are both security risks and poor decision makers. “Things get loose,” Cotter says. “Even plain confidences that you would rather not be outside the company. With impaired judgment, they can enter into contracts on behalf of the company that are not profitable. There have been executives that have entered into large five year agreements which have just about done their companies in.”

The health complications that ensue from abuse can be very expensive as well. Bruce Cotter encourages firms with substance-impaired employees to do something about it quickly. Cotter is the author of the book, When They Won’t Quit, a guide to helping individuals defeat alcoholism and drug addiction. He is the founder of Bruce Cotter & Associates, a national intervention and recovery management firm.

Cotter acknowledges that business colleagues are reluctant to intervene when a peer has an alcohol problem. “It’s just that it’s more tolerated than when you have someone running a mental lathe or who is working in a dangerous situation. There’s a social side to it.” He adds that the hesitation to intervene also stems from privacy concerns and the stigma associated with abuse. “If a person had a heart attack in the office, everyone would do everything in their power to be helpful. But, let the person kill themselves with alcoholism and they’ll all stand around watching them do it.”

Standing aside, Cotter repeats, not only harms the individual but the business in general. “If you’re close enough to know someone has a problem, you’re close enough to help. Do it in your own interest. It’s money out of everyone’s pocket. It creates morale problems, resentments, jealousies, and other people will end up doing the impaired individual’s work.”

Once a decision to help has been made, management can sometimes handle the problem internally but many businesses turn to interventionists like Cotter. Before acting, the problem should be documented he cautions, “It can’t just be a witch hunt.” At that point, he is often brought in by senior management, an owner, sometimes by board members. Cotter recommends that as few people know as possible in order to enhance the chances for success. “This is best done with caring, dignity and respect. The person isn’t evil, they’re sick. It’s a rescue mission, not a burial.”

He explains that his interventions are usually initiated at the office. The company CEO will invite the individual to a closed door meeting at which Cotter is the only other person present. Introductions are made, the individual is offered help, and the reasons for the intervention are cited, often in a letter of agreement. The individual is offered the chance to leave for treatment there and then with Cotter. Typically, an employee’s benefits will continue but he will have no responsibilities until rehabilitated. When that happens, the individual will resume business in the same position as before.

If the person rejects the intervention, it’s up to the firm whether to terminate them or take other action. If the person agrees, he and Cotter proceed immediately to a treatment center in either Pennsylvania or Florida. “I stay with them and hold their hand while they’re admitted to treatment. I’ll speak with their family if they like. Usually, their family is rejoicing because they’ve had this problem in their living room for years.”

Cotter then acts in support of the individual for a year, monitoring their initial treatment and designing a continuing care program which takes them forward in six week steps. Cotter is in routine personal and phone contact with the individual, decreasing in frequency as progress is made. Ultimately, he helps the newly sober executive prepare to reenter the workplace.

Rehabilitating an employee is not only morally admirable, it’s a logical step, Cotter points out. “That person comes back far more effective than they’ve ever been and with a tremendous company loyalty.” Perhaps because of the rising incidence of substance abuse among white collar workers, businesses are more willing to intervene than ever, he concludes. “I’m always really heartened and impressed with the way, what we might think of as cold-hearted, corporate America, steps forward to help a fallen executive. I have never had a corporation shoot (a rescue) down.”

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