July 1949

The Company’s medical department had been recording these half- Nowith rigid rules can be sct up to deal alcoholism among emtruths for years, just as many other ployees. Its manifestations are as business and industrial organizations varied as human nature itself. Standstill are doing today. Now that we ards of diagnosis must be broad have shaken off that habituated sub- enough to cover all types of emterfuge, our procedures are greatly ployees, because alcoholism, as most simplified. other diseases of such a widespread We no longer belong to that cate- nature, is capable of striking at any Hy John I . IVitlrrccr, hl. D., gory of employers which more or less l~~rman or economic level. With these Assislant Vice l’rcsidcnt, Indus~~ial Relalions, ‘ insists that it “has no alcoholic things in mind, the Company has Consolidulcd Ldison Company of New York, Inc. pro1)lem.” When that sweeping claim evolved a simple pattern of procedis made, a free translation would usu- ore, believed flexible enough to fit ally be, “When a man’s drinking be- most conceivable cases. gins to interfere with his work, we An individual employee is consid-

L^'” in 1947, the Consolidated Edison Company of New York, olliciaIIy began to recognize nally acknowledging the reality lNo:alcoholism as a disease, we also resolved to cope with it to the best of chronic alcollolism as a legitimate our ability, as we do with other disfire him-no matter how long he has been with us.” That is a simple and direct approach to the situation, but, in our considered opinion, it is not a ered to be a chronic alcoholic when repeated or long-continued overindulgence interferes with eficient performance of his work assignment. I~asisfor disalbility retirement, wi~h orclcrs. We would meet it openly sound modern, economic or realistic I’ersons employed for two years he l~sual modiliecl pay, amotlg its with cvery weapon of science and hu- attitude. or less may be discharged for the 30,000 employccs. man understancling, instead of per- first violation. Offending employees Ollicers of tllc Company are ]low petuating the outworn pretense that frequently asked to explain this it did not exist. Too much valid medical testimony exists to prove that an uncontrolwith two to 15 years of service are placed on probation, while repolicy. Many people, apparently sur- Our pension rosters have long con- lable appetite for liquor stems amaz- habilitation procedures are instituted. prised by such a step, want to know tained names of employees disabled ingly often from a pathological con- In instances involving employees what led us to admit alcoholism into by cirrhosis, high blood pressure, dition, rather than moral weakness or of service longer than 15 years, the company of other disabling dis- peripheral nephritis, edema of the I~uman perversity. Research has the cases are subjected to careful eases which long have been accepted brain and a host of other ailments. demonstrated that a confirmed alco- study and, if found to be cases of as justifiable grounds for separation All of these diagnoses were real en- holic “is a sick man rather than a chronic or psychopathic alcoholism, allowances or retirement annuities. ough, to be sure, but in scores of sinn,er.” Consolidated Edison accepts are recommended for the disability The answer is not difficult to give: instances they were little more than, I these facts. A growing number of other large companies, we are happy payroll. Work performance and other variant factors also play a part in The Company simply made up its corwenient symptoms written down corporate mind to look the facts in to ignore the fundamental trouble: to know, are doing the same. each decision. the face; to be honest with itself. chronic alcoholism. There was a time when tubercu- As a general rule, when any delosis, cancer and venereal diseases partment of the Company is conwere tabu as subjects of discussion. fronted with a behavior problem aris- Real progresJ in their treatment and ing from alcoholic excess, the emprevention came only after people ployee is first interviewed by his imbegan to consider them openly, hon- mediate supervisor. The specific estly and forthrightly. transgression is called forcibly, but

–patiently and sympathetically, to his attention. He is reminded of the conmestic troubles, we tactfully do a h we can to assist him in rechanneling s(h1.1~ — . –

nf 11sn~~iclen –

s,,pbaring in thc press, ill fact, n~ighthave led – . –

I n short, t h , we hove recog~~i~rcl nlcol~olisr~rwith a patliological or sequences which may result from a his thought and attitude. In die assumption that all employees psychopathic basis as a genuine illrepetition of the olTe~ease. fouud untler the influence of liquor ness. Therefore, like otl~cremployees The department head notifies the many cases, of course, arc automatically granted separation who are disabled by illness, certain Company . personnel director and we rect allowances or retirement annuities. cases of chronic alcoholism also are lNommeml alliliation with Alcol~oliu furnishes him with a written report I’his, of course, is incorrect to the considered eligible lor separation al- Anonymous. lowance or retirement annuity. It is of all the circumstances. The per- point of absurdity. If the ofTense recurs, after these The existing procedure is not a re- as simple as that. sonnel director then requests an ex- steps have been taken, the employ& amination of the employee Ly the ward for misbehavior, as some critics is suspended. have suggested. On the contrary, medical department, to which is for- OREOVER, an employee whose warded all the information at hand and on file. At the time of suspension, a panel for adjudication of the case is conmeans ore provided to discipline the occosioual oflender, the person who M tenure with the Con~panyhas been terminated because of alcol~olvened at the earliest possible moment. 1 has no underlying or organic reason The medical examination is carried This panel includes a representative ism may in the future apply and be out by a qualified internist. It at- for overindulgence. The employee considered for reinstatemer~t,provideach of management, of the person- who drinks to excess in the playboy tempts to determine organic and/or nel and medical departments, and of ing he can prove his recovery and repsychological reasons for the employ- spirit, and permits it to interfere with habilitation. By the same token, the the department which employs the his work, soon discovers the penalty ee’s overindulgence. If it seems ad- individual. The employing depart- Company can insist that he return visable in any particular case, serv- for his folly can be quite severe. Con- to work when his condition has imment brings in any and all levels of sequences may be probation, susices of a psychiatrist are cdisted to supervision which may have knowl- proved sulliciently. amplify the examination. The medi- pension or discharge, as the occasion edge of the situation, in order that the seems to warrant. Since the latter months of 1947, cal director then renders a report story may be presented first-hand and when this company’s alcol~olicpolicy to management through the person- Decidedly, it has never been the into insure the fullest possible con- tent or practice of the Company to was first instituted, 41 cases of alnel director. tribution of related circumstancee. coholism have been examined and reretire with pay every reported case of As soon as all these data are col- After all testimony has been pre- alcoholism. Each specific case is solved. Of these, four were granted lated, steps are taken immediately to sented and evaluated, the casc is given careful consideration and indi- annuities, 21 received separation alrehabilitate the employee, using all then disposed of in accordance with vidual study. Many employees give lowances, eight were released or disfacilities at our command. established procedures, just as are all years of faithful, efficient service be- charged, and eight were enabled to To begin with, all indicated medi- other cases of disability retirement. fore their drinking habits reach a return to work. cal procedures are promptly set to The alcoholic, compared with other critical stage. Some of these cases The Company’s number of total work. cases, gets no disproportionate share might have come to management’s disability separations-including al- . of time or attention. attention years sooner, except for coholics-dropped from 192 in 1947 supervision’s reluctance to toke ac- to 186 in 1!W, ar~dthe proportion A LL eflorts are made to make psy- When public attention was called chological adjustments. If, for to this policy, it touched off a bar- tion which tlic~icould have resulted only in the en~ployee’s discharge. for the first nio~~ths of 1M9 indicates a still further decrease. It example, t h e emyloyee’s unsettled rage of mixed opinion from the press condition appears to be tied up with and the public. Quite naturally, in With the present policy, however, would appear from cold statistics, financial problems, the Company this gag-making age, we found our- supervision is no longer timid about then, that the Company’s decision goes to substantial lengths to help selves the butt of many good-natured bringing such cases forward, with brought no new species of disability him solve them. If his compelline: jibes, from within the Company and manifest benefits to the Company and into being. It merely altered the ..——-. urge to drink seems traceable to do- withnnt. the employee.- diagnosis in certain cases.

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JIE Company has not h e n dis- stances i n wllirll opinion did have n T t by h e a o t i n s i i a ~ ~ t derogatory tillp, i t was ,101 amount of criticism which has arisen bolstered by anything remotely resince this policy was annomced. In sembling the volume of factual and the first place, comment has been adverse in a ratio of about one word scientific evidence upon which the in ten thousand. And in such in- Company based its course of action.