DEALING WITH ADDICTION, AND WHAT COMES AFTER

ADDICTION costs corporate America billions of dollars a year in lost
productivity, absenteeism and higher health care expenses. It also derails
many once-promising careers.

More companies are willing to offer assistance these days, especially as
they deal with higher levels of employee stress from heightened workloads
and job cuts. Yet many workers are still reluctant to take advantage of this
help, for fear of jeopardizing their positions.

"Telling something so personal would have lessened my authority as a
leader," said a 65-year-old executive of a computer company in Philadelphia
who recently returned from 28 days of treatment for alcoholism. "As a
manager, you have to create some distance between you and your employees."
The executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity, had arranged for the
treatment himself at the Caron Foundation, a rehabilitation center in
Wernersville, Pa.

He says his job has been business as usual since his return last spring, but
he acknowledged making up a story about his extended absence, which he even
gave to his boss. "I told them I was overstressed and my doctor asked me to
rest for a month," he said.

Professionals in similar situations have many delicate issues to navigate.
How, for example, can they avoid being stigmatized by colleagues? And how
can they explain gaps on a resume after a long treatment period?

Many employees who receive treatment whether for alcoholism or for drug,
gambling or food addictions will undoubtedly have some difficulties in the
beginning, experts say, but as they recover, so too will their careers.

Abuse of some drugs has been climbing in the workplace. According to Quest
Diagnostics, which provides workplace drug tests, the number of workers and
job applicants who tested positive for amphetamine use rose 17 percent in
2002 from the previous year. At the Waismann Institute, in Beverly Hills,
Calif., 60 percent of the patients, mostly high-powered business people, are
addicted to painkillers like OxyContin and Vicodin, up from about 10 percent
four years ago, according to Dr. Clifford A. Bernstein, the medical director
there.

Given the weakness in the economy and the job market, none of this surprises
Dr. Kenneth Siegel, a psychologist and president of the Impact Group, an
executive leadership consulting firm in Beverly Hills. In the economic
downturn of the late 1980's and early 1990's, he said, "Valium suddenly
become the most prescribed drug in America." Similarly, today's workers are
seeking ways to curb their anxieties and depression, he said.

"I don't think you're going to find a lot of C.E.O.'s smoking pot or
snorting cocaine in the company restroom," Dr. Siegel said, "but we are
seeing executives abusing alcohol and popping prescription drugs."

One of the biggest difficulties is seeking help in the first place. Managers
may be surrounded by underlings who are more than willing to help cover up
the problem. A recent survey by the Caron Foundation of its patients found
that 75 percent of executives in recovery said they had secretaries or
assistants who went to great lengths to cover for them. Ninety percent said
their peers had to work extra hours to compensate for their addiction.

Bruce Cotter, a recovering alcoholic, said that when he was a sales
executive for major television networks on the East Coast during the 1980's,
his assistants would routinely reschedule his appointments and even compile
his sales reports. "I had a whole army of people who would mop up my
messes," he said. Mr. Cotter now runs Bruce W. Cotter & Associates in
Butler, Md., which intervenes on behalf of companies to provide treatment
for addicted executives.

Another issue is confidentiality. Many workers, particularly executives,
hesitate to seek help through their company's employee assistance programs
or human resources departments, out of fear of looking weak or even harming
the company's reputation.

"They feel that their company doesn't need to have the burden of knowing
their top V.P., or C.E.O., is having a problem," said Dr. Scott C. Stacy,
clinical program director for the Professional Renewal Center in Lawrence,
Kan., which treats executives for substance and behavioral problems,
including gambling and sexual addiction.

To help make executives feel more comfortable about seeking help, some
companies are offering programs that promise heightened confidentiality,
according to Dr. Richard A. Chaifetz, chief executive of the ComPsych
Corporation in Chicago. Com- Psych provides employee assistance programs to
companies like General Electric, American Express and Sprint. Meanwhile,
Resources for Living in Austin, Tex., whose clients include Wal-Mart and
Bridgestone, has a substance-abuse counseling program that can be completed
entirely by phone.

William P. Schurgin, a partner at the Seyfarth Shaw law firm in Chicago,
says employers are generally under no obligation to keep workers with
untreated substance-abuse problems on the payroll. The Americans With
Disabilities Act, he noted, does not protect these employees. But he added
that employers were much more likely to support those who request help
rather than those whose problems were discovered through drug testing or
other means. "Most companies are going to give you a second chance," he
said.

After seeking help, patients should avoid trying to keep up workloads during
treatment.

"That's not the time to focus on work," said Dennis Henning, a consultant in
Camarillo, Calif. who helps addicted lawyers and executives in the
entertainment industry receive help through an intervention program. Mr.
Henning, who is himself recovering from an eating disorder, said he recently
worked with a lawyer who would have co-workers sneak in work for him to do.

MR. COTTER said that he, too, had confiscated executives' cellphones and
laptops after they entered a treatment center. "These people want to keep
their careers on track, and so they don't feel like they can take a moment
out for themselves," he said. "But I have to convince them that if they
don't get help, their career not to mention their lives might end up in the
toilet."

Career experts also warn against trying to do too much soon after returning
to work.

"A lot of executives who return to work are so fearful of losing their jobs,
especially in this economy, that they step up the pace of their work and
don't take vacations, or even lunch breaks," said Ruth Luban, a
psychotherapist based in Santa Monica, Calif. She suggests easing back into
the workload, perhaps even working part time for a few weeks if possible.
Once the person is back to a full-time schedule, he should set boundaries on
the job, by taking time out for lunch each day, for example, she said.

Reduced work schedules or even lunch breaks are not always possible for
those who are feeling the pressure of work. Ms. Luban said she was working
with a lawyer who recently was treated for a drug addiction and was about to
return to work at a company that was merging with another concern. "There's
only so much slack they can give him," she said.

She advised him to carve out tiny, regular portions in each day, so that he
could "at least take a few deep breaths" without his bosses noticing. IT'S
up to the employee to decide whether to explain an absence for treatment to
curious colleagues, said Liz Ryan, a human resources consultant in Boulder,
Colo. Like the computer company executive from Pennsylvania who was treated
for alcoholism, many of her clients chalk up the absence to an unspecified
illness. But in some instances, she said, a recovering addict may need the
support of a few trusted co-workers.

She said she recently worked with a salesman, a recovering alcoholic, whose
boss had kept pressuring him to have a few beers with clients at late-night
gatherings.

"He would really egg him on," she said. "Finally, the salesman had to clue
in his boss, who was very understanding. If a boss or co-workers aren't
supportive, by all means, look for a new opportunity."

In some cases, of course, colleagues may know about a worker's problem
before treatment is sought. Ms. Ryan once worked with a young woman who
returned from a work outing so intoxicated that she passed out in the office
in front of several employees. Shortly thereafter, she entered an alcohol
recovery program. When she returned, Ms. Ryan recommended that she simply
acknowledge to co-workers that she had dealt with the problem and was ready
to move on.

"People have short attention spans," she said. "Once they see you're back
and you're doing a good job, they'll lose interest."

Experts recommend that recovering addicts seek out support groups set up
exclusively for executives or certain professionals. The groups can help
deal with worries about attendance at cocktail parties, for example, or
other networking events.

Other career concerns can be addressed in the groups. The Pennsylvania
executive said he was involved in a therapy group made up of high-level
executives. For three one-hour sessions a week, the members talked about how
their careers had contributed to their addiction problems and gave one
another tips on eliminating some of the biggest stresses from their jobs.

"All of a sudden, I felt like I wasn't alone anymore," he said.

Career experts recommend that job seekers not disclose past addiction
problems to prospective employers in an interview. "Let's be realistic
there's still somewhat of a stigma to saying that you're an addict," Ms.
Ryan said.

She advises job seekers to carefully develop a speech that explains any
resume gaps, and to practice it repeatedly. "Be prepared to say something
like, `I was resolving some health issues,' or `I was doing some personal
development work,' " she said.

"Most hiring managers won't bat an eyelash at a three-or even six-month gap,
especially in this economy."