Alcohol & Health
Treatment
Helping Alcoholics
Medically Reviewed by Annamarie Coy, BA, ICPR, MATS
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Most people don’t consider it normal to drink before work. Drinking alcohol in the morning, especially if you work the first shift, can be a sign of alcohol abuse.
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Drinking alcohol before work has various effects and poses dangers, such as:
People who consume an alcoholic drink before work often drink alone. Doing this indicates that they drink to alter their physical condition and not for social reasons.
Alcohol often doesn’t make people work better. It does not enhance work productivity.
It makes you less productive and causes struggles with fulfilling responsibilities. Drinking or being drunk on the job can also harm your reputation.
Some might argue that a drink helps them feel more relaxed and at ease if their job requires a lot of social interaction.
If your job requires socializing in settings where you usually drink, it’s essential to be clear with your employer whether or not this is acceptable.
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Yes, you can get fired for drinking on the job. However, there are laws governing drinking habits and termination. These laws affect how an employer can respond to an employee with a drinking problem.
Employers have the legal right to discipline workers for performance issues related or unrelated to drinking.
For example, if someone is habitually late for work, they can be terminated. Lateness is the reason for termination. The cause of their lateness is not the issue—be it because their alarm clock doesn’t work or because they were drinking.
Employers can terminate someone if their actions stem from drinking. However, it is illegal to fire someone for being an alcoholic.
Alcohol use disorder (AUD), or alcoholism, is a disease. Employers cannot fire someone for having the condition of AUD any more than they can fire someone for having cancer, depression, or any other illness or disability.
These laws are getting slightly confusing with the increase of working from home.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects those with disabilities, including AUD. But it applies differently to alcohol addiction and illegal drug use.
Doctors generally consider alcoholism a disability because it is an impairment that affects the brain and neurological functions.
Under the ADA, employers can require employees with addictions to meet the same performance and behavioral standards as other employees. However, they must also grant requests to take leave to enter a rehab program.
Despite this, employers can still fire employees for drinking on the job if it follows company policies. Employment laws protecting those with AUD do not protect you when you drink at work.
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In most cases, it can be a sign of alcoholism. Someone who regularly drinks in the morning, especially before their workday, has a problem with alcohol.
This is not the same as someone who chooses to have a bloody Mary or mimosa with brunch. Third-shift workers who end their workday early in the morning with a drink might not be alcoholics either.
If you are drinking in the morning to deal with stress, anxiety, or self-medicating, it’s a sign of alcoholism.
Many alcoholics wake up and begin drinking as soon as possible. People with alcoholism never stop thinking about where, when, and how they can drink.
In these cases, when someone is drinking or thinking about drinking first thing in the morning, it is likely a sign of alcoholism.
“Normal” drinking varies from person to person.
The CDC states the following:
Any consumption of alcohol is abnormal for people who are:
Remember that what might be normal for one person isn’t the same for another. One drink is safe for some people, while others cannot consume that much.
Here are the different treatment options for alcohol abuse and addiction and what they provide:
Drinking alcohol in the morning before work isn't considered normal. This can be a sign of alcohol use disorder and should be treated accordingly.
There are employment laws protecting people with disabilities, including alcoholism. However, these laws cannot prevent employers from disciplining employees if they drink on the job. A form of disciplinary action can include job termination.
If you suspect you or a loved one has a drinking problem, seek professional help. Several treatment options for alcohol abuse are available to help people overcome this condition.
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