Should I talk to my manager about his Monday drug hangover?

Dear Aunty B,

One of my young managers spends his weekend at dance parties where he openly boasts to other staff that he gets “off his face”.

He comes to work Monday in “recovering” mode. Sometimes I even believe he is still affected as he behaves quite erratically!

I avoid him on Mondays and have recently noticed that other staff do the same.

I am wondering if I should have a talk to him about his drug taking and if that contravenes any employment/privacy rules.

Louise S,
The Rocks, Sydney

Dear Louise,

How on earth can you expect him to concentrate on his job when his body is working so hard to expel all the toxins from the last 48 hours? Be reasonable!

Seriously, forget the drugs unless you want to hang out at the rave parties, collect evidence and then drug test him (which you don’t).

This is a performance issue. If he is spending a fifth of his work time grumpy and unapproachable, then his work is adversely affected.

Take him aside and tell him you notice that on Mondays he is a right royal pain in the neck. Tell him that in a small office, attitude and culture is important. He also has a position of responsibility as a manager and is expected to be role model to other staff.

Then just to make sure he takes it on board, reschedule a weekly meeting so it is now held at 8.30 every morning. Make sure he either has to run the meeting or is a key contributor.

That sends a clear message that the week starts early Monday morning – not half way through Tuesday.

That’ll fix him!

Cheers,

Your Aunty B