Raise the Bottom: How to Keep Secret Alcoholics from Damaging Your Business

Alcoholism is rampant, but due to its stigma, it is rarely discussed directly as a business issue. Raise the Bottom explains the real danger of alcoholism in the workplace -- the significant impact of alcoholic thinking and behavior, whether a person is under the influence or not. Raise the Bottom is a business book, not a recovery book. It covers Step Zero, the real beginning of any program of recovery. Raise the Bottom examines how alcoholics are secretly responsible for many different business problems in a variety of situations. The book takes readers from the preconceptions and cynicism about alcoholism typical of the general public, to the point of connecting the dots between the disease, the behavior, and the bottom line - and to propose effective steps to a solution. Part One discusses the problems created by alcoholism in the work environment, covering biological factors, definitions of alcoholism, and stages in the progress of the disease. Part Two shows how to identify alcoholics often long before the alcoholic himself is aware he has a problem. Part Three closes with concrete responses to the problem, including disenabling the alcoholic, and the other steps necessary to protect yourself and your business from the damage an alcoholic can cause and reduce the harm they do to themselves.