Chapter 1: Mental Health in the Workplace

Here is excerpt from Chapter 1: Mental Health in the Workplace, of my new book "Struggle Well at Work" to be released September 26th.

Chris a 28-year-old who have spent the past 5 years working at a manufacturing company in a suburban area outside of Houston. He likes his job due to the good pay, proximity to small his hometown in Texas where he grew up, and the friendships he had formed with his c-workers. Chris also lives with girlfriend Ashley who currently seven months pregnant. In the last couple months Chris’s department has experienced high turnover and leaving him to taking on more of the workload. He finds himself working longer hours and taking on more responsibilities. His stress level is increasing on job, along with a new baby arriving weighs heavy on Chris.

Despite the stress and pressure he faces Chris enjoys socializing and having a drink with friends after work. Chris is known for his drinking escapes during happy hour and his fun spirit and always entertaining his friends. However, things have started to take turn recently, Chris has been extending his drinking sessions into the late night knowing that he has to be at work early the next morning. In addition, his girlfriend Ashley has expressed to him she feels neglected and unsupported during the late- stage pregnancy.

?The company before long, every one of his colleagues had become well aware of his struggles with alcohol abuse. When Chris was at work, he was very good at his job. The problem was, he was chronically either late to work or didn’t show up at all because he was too hungover. But no one had ever even approached him about his drinking problem. His supervisor constantly gave him a pass and, at most, a slap on the wrist for his tardiness and absences because he was such a good worker otherwise. Although his coworkers and supervisor worried about him, they believed it wasn’t their place to confront him about his destructive relationship with alcohol.

The reality? Like many other workplaces, talking about mental health matters wasn’t a part of this manufacturing company’s culture except for the occasional water cooler gossip. Instead, they swept these issues under the rug. This dynamic was, and still is, a common one.