carouser gets canned?

August 21, 2007 10:46 PM

I have reason to believe that my boss may have caught word that I smelled of alcohol today at work. What should I do?

I do not drink at work. However, I am a pretty heavy drinker after business hours, and sometimes my hygiene suffers because of this. What should I do? Obviously not smell like sauce at work again, but would it be wise to preempt somehow? I saw my boss give me a long hard stare before he left work yesterday, and it's just put the fear of the bread line in me. It was difficult to tell if he was trying to let me know he knew, or make some kind of judgment of what action to take. Any ideas?

posted by breakfast_yeti to work & money (27 answers total)

Stop smelling like booze at work and don't give them any cause to suspect.

I wouldn't bring it up at all, anything you're likely to do or say is likely going to make things worse.

Lay low, lay off the booze and make sure you're presentable, what you do after work is your business.
posted by iamabot at 10:51 PM on August 21, 2007 [4 favorites]

Pretend nothing happened and be on your best behaviour from now on. I say better to let the boss wonder than open your mouth and shatter all doubt.
posted by Krrrlson at 10:52 PM on August 21, 2007 [3 favorites]

Say nothing. Cranberry juice and vodka leaves very little detectable odor.
posted by Baby_Balrog at 10:53 PM on August 21, 2007 [2 favorites]

I don't think it would be wise to be preemptive. Leave it alone. In the meantime, don't give your boss reason to suspect anything. Don't be late in the mornings, don't take naps under your desk during the day, don't carry around a 48 oz. soda cup from 7-11 a la Meredith on The Office.

I'm confused about your "suffering hygiene," though. Are you coming to work after a night heavy drinking without showering and changing your clothes or something? Cause that's almost as big a problem as actually drinking on the job.
posted by cosmic osmo at 10:57 PM on August 21, 2007

If it comes up, be accountable. Say you had too much to drink.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 10:57 PM on August 21, 2007

If I was drinking so hard on Tuesday night that I wound up at work smelling like booze on Wednesday morning I'd worry about losing my job too. I agree that bringing it up would be a mistake. If he is going to address it with you, either he is going to give you the chance to defend yourself or he's not. If he's not you're done and there's nothing you can do about it. If he does pose the situation to you, your response depends on to what degree he is acquainted with your habits. If you can get away with it, some sort of lie about a special, unusual, would hardly ever happen occasion (old friend in town etc.) getting out of hand, overslept, won't happen again... Obviously the most important thing to sell is that you are not drinking before or during work and that you are not intoxicated at work. You might also want to take a hard look at whether your drinking has been impacting your work performance in other ways.
posted by nanojath at 11:14 PM on August 21, 2007

You might also want to take a hard look at whether your drinking has been impacting your work performance in other ways.

And the rest of your life, while you're at it.

Does your office building have a shower? It might be worth taking a towel and change of clothes (at least, of underwear) to work and storing them in a gym bag in your locker, or under your desk, or in your car. Then if you do suddenly discover your hygiene is less than pristine, you can do something about it.
posted by aeschenkarnos at 12:05 AM on August 22, 2007

Does your boss drink? Even days later, non drinker can easily smell the alcohol coming out of a drinker's pores.
Just remember if you are submitted to a drug test, after 24hrs there will be little evidence.
posted by thomcatspike at 12:48 AM on August 22, 2007

It also sounds like your experiencing paranoia from coming down off the alcohol in your system. Know that alcohol causes worrying.
posted by thomcatspike at 12:53 AM on August 22, 2007 [2 favorites]

However, I am a pretty heavy drinker after business hours, and sometimes my hygiene suffers because of this.

Your 'hygiene suffers'? As in, you're unwashed or wearing unwashed clothes? Your boss is right to look down his (pinched) nose at you.

What should I do?

Clean up. Literally. Unless you're working in the sewers, no one should have to work with a stinky guy. I fired a guy solely because he stank. Don't go to work dirty.

But you say you 'smelled of alcohol' (not of sweat and dirt, or at least not solely of sweat and dirt) the next day. And by 'sometimes', I guess this is not the first time it's happened, but just the first time you think the boss noticed. If you repeatedly drink so much at night that you exude the smell of alcohol the next day at work, it may indeed be time to fire you (depending on what it's doing to your work and the company image), but it sounds like you have a bigger problem than work.

Assuming you might have a face-to-face talk with the boss sometime soon, and assuming he's going to be sniffing the air for alcohol, and assuming other people at work might similarly be sniffing the air about you, how about not drinking at all -- not even one sip -- for one month? Starting now. Are you capable of that?
posted by pracowity at 1:06 AM on August 22, 2007

the problem is not your boss, it's your drinking.

you have a drinking problem; there's plenty of help out there if you want it. good luck.
posted by matteo at 2:18 AM on August 22, 2007 [2 favorites]

I agree with procowity. If, starting right now, you can't take 30 days off of booze without somehow talking yourself into drinking then it may be time to accept that you have some degree of alcohol problem and get treatment. 60 days is even better. Being so into partying that it comes before anything, especially hygene, is a big red flag.

Why did you come here and ask this question? Are you looking for someone to tell you tips on how to cover up your problem drinking? Are you looking for someone to tell you what you're doing is OK? Or, are you finally ready to accept that you have a problem and take the needed actions to correct it?

Look, I'm not trying to be a dick and I'm not trying to judge you, but there's a point in your life where you have to decide whether you're going to be a responsible drinker or an alcoholic. Which one are you?
posted by knowles at 2:22 AM on August 22, 2007 [3 favorites]

Don't preempt it and if your boss asks about it just tell the truth.

To others in this thread: being a heavy drinker doesn't neccessarily mean you have a drink problem and being able to go teetotal for a month doesn't neccessarily mean you don't have a problem.
posted by ninebelow at 3:07 AM on August 22, 2007

Don't say anything to the boss but do start showing up to work half-an hour early from now on. And show up freshly shaved and showered and in clean and pressed clothes. This is a wake-up call.
posted by LarryC at 3:57 AM on August 22, 2007

don't say anything. but if your hygeine is suffering because of your drinking, i'd say that's a good sign of a problem. get some help. good luck!
posted by thinkingwoman at 4:31 AM on August 22, 2007

I've been the boss in this situation, and agree with pretty much everyone here: don't bring it up to your boss, be meticulous about your hygiene from now on, and consider whether or not you have a drinking problem.
posted by runtina at 5:32 AM on August 22, 2007

Don't bring it up! You'll only make it worse, that's for sure. The shower suggestion is a good one, and keep mouthwash and hair gel and so forth in your file cabinet for when you need them - and when you do need them get in early, don't roll out to the bathroom razor in hand at 10am.

And good grief, maybe I've been working with expats and immigrants too long, but plenty of people (young guys especially) drink heavy on schoolnights without being alcoholics.
posted by jamesonandwater at 6:01 AM on August 22, 2007 [1 favorite]

Not ask on MeFi, since the tech guys are now monitoring your computer history and plan to bring it up in conjunction with the drinking.
posted by QuarterlyProphet at 6:12 AM on August 22, 2007 [1 favorite]

Yeah, as someone who can sometimes have a bit too much to drink on a Thursday night, I'll say that you shouldn't bring it up with your boss. However, you've got to be in a clean shirt, showered and shaved on Friday morning at 9am sharp. If your job performance or appearance suffers from your drinking, it may be time to take a hard look at the choices you're making.
posted by Phoenix42 at 6:19 AM on August 22, 2007 [1 favorite]

Not ask on MeFi, since the tech guys are now monitoring your computer history and plan to bring it up in conjunction with the drinking.

Asking for help and advice for a problem he's having at work is incriminating? I'd think rather the opposite.
posted by cowbellemoo at 6:25 AM on August 22, 2007

What should you do? Absolutely nothing. This happens, you weren't drunk at work, you're work is not suffering because of your drinking, no one said anything to you and all you have to go on is the feeling that your boss looked at you disapprovingly. If you're confronted, sheepishly admit the truth that you had a bit too much to drink the night before. Unless this is a regular occurence, there is no need for either your boss or you to worry.

The people suggesting you should seek professional help for your drinking problem are seriously over-reacting. Just tone it down on weekdays and leave the real partying for the weekends.
posted by slimepuppy at 6:36 AM on August 22, 2007

Consider also how heavily you're drinking at night, on your off hours. If you're pounding back shots all night, there's a reasonably good chance that you are, in fact, drunk at work the next morning. You may have slept in the interim, but it's not the sleeping but the metabolizing that makes you not drunk, and you might not have got it all out of your system by then.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:16 AM on August 22, 2007

Nothing wrong with drinking after work, but if you are regularly drinking to the point where the following day you either a) appear to your coworkers to be suffering the effects of a nasty hangover or b) your performance is in fact impacted by a hangover, your career will suffer accordingly. If it's only appearance and not performance, you may think this is unfair, but it is unfortunately the reality.

The occasional weekday session is nothing to worry about, but if heavy drinking is a daily or almost daily occurrence, then I agree with knowles above -- are you going to be a responsible drinker or an alcoholic? Gut-check time, my friend. Good luck.
posted by modernnomad at 7:32 AM on August 22, 2007

If you still smell of alcohol, not just the acetone of metabolizing alcohol, you may not be sober. You have to go to work sober.

Every recovered alcoholic I know is really happy to not be drinking. Your employer may have an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and they may be able to help you if you decide you need help. Most bosses will be more willing to keep a problem employee who is getting appropriate help. Good luck.
posted by theora55 at 8:27 AM on August 22, 2007

Ok I may be an idiot but I have never heard of nor smelled a person after they have been drinking (other than obviously on their breath or if they spilled alcohol all over themselves). People actually smell like alcohol after say having a bunch of drinks, going home, taking a shower, brushing their teeth, changing their clothes and waking up the next morning?
posted by whoaali at 9:06 AM on August 22, 2007

ninebelow.
WORD. I know some alcoholics who drink once every few years.
posted by sauris at 9:15 AM on August 22, 2007

You need to take a hard look at things. You're facing, as you say, the fear of the bread line. How much is drinking really worth to you? Is it worth losing your job and having that kind of a black mark on your employment history? I know that sounds cliche, but it is true. These are the choices you face, and you're responsible for your choices. If you find it impossible to stop drinking, then your choices are to get help or get worse. Maybe the boss won't talk to you about it this time - but that's only a temporary reprieve. If you're drinking that much on a regular basis, it'll eventually come back to get you.

ninebelow -
If you are drinking to the point where it affects your job, then yes, you do have a drinking problem.
posted by azpenguin at 1:13 AM on August 23, 2007