Doing the Right Thing
In the small town where I grew up, my mom was a kindergarten teacher—in fact she was the only kindergarten teacher. This posed an interesting situation for me. Not that there was a double standard because I was her son, but suffice to say, I couldn’t get away with nearly as much as the other kids. She had my number, and when it came time for a parent-teacher conference, I had no higher court of appeal. Mom and the teacher always agreed. Whatever happened at school had a direct line to what happened at home—and vise versa.
As adults, it’s also true that what happens at work affects our home life. In a similar but much more serious way, we can bring unwanted stuff to work: things such as stress, sleep deprivation, and the side effects of drug and alcohol abuse.
I’ve had the opportunity to conduct lots of training programs for solid waste workers across the country. In these classes we talk about operations, productivity and safety. Overall this is a very positive—even fun experience for everyone. We tell lots of stories, and the participants are usually kind enough to laugh at my corny jokes.
But at other times the class becomes deathly still when we talk about what to do when a co-worker comes to work drunk, high, or so preoccupied with outside stresses that his or her work is impaired. Because of the negative stigma associated with being a tattle-tales or a snitch, it’s very difficult to tell on someone else. On the other hand, it’s the right thing to do. They all know what it’s like to be in this kind of double bind.
It’s difficult to do what’s right in that type of situation. Hey, it’s even difficult to talk about those situations—and, when we do, people avoid eye contact…they thumb through their notes, look at the floor, and begin to fidget.
When an employee shows up for work impaired, he or she puts an unspoken pressure on everyone else to play along…or be a snitch. Certainly, if someone is hurt or killed as a result of a worker showing up drunk, that worker is in big trouble. So, too, is anyone else who knew about it and did nothing.
Do you wonder if this is happening at your landfill? There’s a high probability that it is. One study found that nearly one in 10 workers admitted to coming to work drunk or seriously hung-over within the last 12 months. The study also found that one in 15 workers admitted to drinking at work. These figures address only alcohol and would certainly increase if we included drug abuse and other types of impairment.
So how do managers deal with this problem?
- By letting employees know that even though it can be difficult to admit a problem, the cure is better than the problem. A reprimand, suspension, or even termination is better than allowing somebody to be injured or killed. But it doesn’t have to go that far: If dealt with openly and proactively, there are programs available to help someone who is dealing with this type of problem.
- By creating a formal policy and then training your crew on how to respond. Let them know what to do if they see another worker drunk or otherwise impaired.
- By clarifying that protecting one person can put everyone else at risk, while covertly forcing those who know about the problem to become accomplices.
Ignoring this type of problem won’t make it go away. In fact, by doing so, you risk getting sued or going to jail. Not knowing about a risk is one thing—but knowing about it and then doing nothing to correct it is very serious indeed.
One day, when I was in kindergarten, we listened to the story of the three little pigs. Then we cut out a series of pictures and pasted them on a large piece of construction paper in correct order, like a storyboard. Mark, the kid sitting next to me, finished first, took his paper up to the teacher and immediately returned with a gold star. “Cool,” I thought, but when I looked at Mark’s paper, his storyboard was not in the correct order. Thinking I had this gold star business figured out, I peeled my pictures off and repasted them…to match Mark’s paper. But when I took my paper up to the teacher, mom gave me a big red X. Thinking I’d appeal, I pointed out that I’d changed mine to match Mark’s, and he’d gotten a gold star. “Doesn’t matter,” she said, “You can’t worry about what Mark does, the point is, you knew the right wayand didn’t do it.”
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Following along with someone else’s mistake won’t relieve you of the responsibility to do what you know is right. Being afraid to play the role of “snitch,” is just an excuse to avoid doing what you’re supposed to do. And in the end, the gold stars go to those who do the right thing.
If she hadn’t been busy teaching kindergarten, I think mom would have been a great landfill manager.
Author's Bio: Neal Bolton is a consultant specializing in
landfill operations and management.
January-February 2010
Doing the Right Thing
Photo: ©iStock.com/Neil Stanners
In the small town where I grew up, my mom was a kindergarten teacher—in fact she was the only kindergarten teacher. This posed an interesting situation for me. Not that there was a double standard because I was her son, but suffice to say, I couldn’t get away with nearly as much as the other kids. She had my number, and when it came time for a parent-teacher conference, I had no higher court of appeal. Mom and the teacher always agreed. Whatever happened at school had a direct line to what happened at home—and vise versa.
As adults, it’s also true that what happens at work affects our home life. In a similar but much more serious way, we can bring unwanted stuff to work: things such as stress, sleep deprivation, and the side effects of drug and alcohol abuse.
I’ve had the opportunity to conduct lots of training programs for solid waste workers across the country. In these classes we talk about operations, productivity and safety. Overall this is a very positive—even fun experience for everyone. We tell lots of stories, and the participants are usually kind enough to laugh at my corny jokes.
But at other times the class becomes deathly still when we talk about what to do when a co-worker comes to work drunk, high, or so preoccupied with outside stresses that his or her work is impaired. Because of the negative stigma associated with being a tattle-tales or a snitch, it’s very difficult to tell on someone else. On the other hand, it’s the right thing to do. They all know what it’s like to be in this kind of double bind.
It’s difficult to do what’s right in that type of situation. Hey, it’s even difficult to talk about those situations—and, when we do, people avoid eye contact…they thumb through their notes, look at the floor, and begin to fidget.
When an employee shows up for work impaired, he or she puts an unspoken pressure on everyone else to play along…or be a snitch. Certainly, if someone is hurt or killed as a result of a worker showing up drunk, that worker is in big trouble. So, too, is anyone else who knew about it and did nothing.
Do you wonder if this is happening at your landfill? There’s a high probability that it is. One study found that nearly one in 10 workers admitted to coming to work drunk or seriously hung-over within the last 12 months. The study also found that one in 15 workers admitted to drinking at work. These figures address only alcohol and would certainly increase if we included drug abuse and other types of impairment.
So how do managers deal with this problem?
- By letting employees know that even though it can be difficult to admit a problem, the cure is better than the problem. A reprimand, suspension, or even termination is better than allowing somebody to be injured or killed. But it doesn’t have to go that far: If dealt with openly and proactively, there are programs available to help someone who is dealing with this type of problem.
- By creating a formal policy and then training your crew on how to respond. Let them know what to do if they see another worker drunk or otherwise impaired.
- By clarifying that protecting one person can put everyone else at risk, while covertly forcing those who know about the problem to become accomplices.
Ignoring this type of problem won’t make it go away. In fact, by doing so, you risk getting sued or going to jail. Not knowing about a risk is one thing—but knowing about it and then doing nothing to correct it is very serious indeed.
One day, when I was in kindergarten, we listened to the story of the three little pigs. Then we cut out a series of pictures and pasted them on a large piece of construction paper in correct order, like a storyboard. Mark, the kid sitting next to me, finished first, took his paper up to the teacher and immediately returned with a gold star. “Cool,” I thought, but when I looked at Mark’s paper, his storyboard was not in the correct order. Thinking I had this gold star business figured out, I peeled my pictures off and repasted them…to match Mark’s paper. But when I took my paper up to the teacher, mom gave me a big red X. Thinking I’d appeal, I pointed out that I’d changed mine to match Mark’s, and he’d gotten a gold star. “Doesn’t matter,” she said, “You can’t worry about what Mark does, the point is, you knew the right wayand didn’t do it.”
Following along with someone else’s mistake won’t relieve you of the responsibility to do what you know is right. Being afraid to play the role of “snitch,” is just an excuse to avoid doing what you’re supposed to do. And in the end, the gold stars go to those who do the right thing.
If she hadn’t been busy teaching kindergarten, I think mom would have been a great landfill manager.