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Recovery in the News
CEO Airs Substance abuse battle
Michael Abramowitz
The Daily Reflector
October 27, 2010
Alcoholism and substance abuse affects businesses and institutions as much as it does families, and occurs in executive boardrooms as often as on the assembly line, a former CEO and state official said Tuesday at a lecture at the Eastern Area Health Education Center in Greenville.
Bob Goodale, former CEO of Harris Teeter and the former N.C. Deputy Secretary of Commerce, told of his journey from “moral and spiritual bankruptcy” through the decades-long process of recovery that he works to help others in business and elsewhere achieve. His audience for the executive lecture was comprised of human services professionals and MBA students.
The event was hosted by the Pitt County Substance Abuse Coalition and ReStart Human Services to enlighten busy business leaders about the power of recovery, said Alberto Blanco, business development manager for ReStart.
By sharing his personal story of how institutional and corporate denial allowed him to maintain his addiction for years, Goodale finds the connection necessary to hold the attention of other addicts long enough to point out that recovery is possible.
“Alcoholism is a family sickness,” he said. “My addiction contributed to the alcoholism of two of my daughters. I stopped drinking in 1972, but I never say that's when I got sober. It was to be a long time, too long, before I was able to say I celebrate sobriety.”
Goodale spent years doing needlework as a distraction from the stress of his recovery from addiction, he said. Then he decided to use the time to pursue his advanced degree before going to Harris Teeter headquarters in Charlotte. He traveled haphazardly through the 12-step recovery program and, after 25 years of abstinence, proclaimed himself sober.
Goodale allowed that one option companies have to deal with alcoholic or addicted employees is simply to let them go as the consequence of bringing the disease to work.
“It costs employers a lot of money to replace people,” Goodale said. “I know it would have cost my employer a lot to replace me. I did my penance to my company for the seven years when I stole productivity from them. Responsible employers know they have to protect their labor investments by helping them recover.”
Many corporate executives and managers do not address their employees' addiction problems because they either have a problem themselves or know someone close who does, Goodale said.
“We've got to get to the root of the problem and fix it,” he said.
The problem is big, according to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Seventy-three percent of individuals with substance abuse disorders are employed. The cost of alcohol-related lost productivity was estimated at $134.2 billion, according to SAMHSA's 1998 data.
Goodale has been traveling throughout the United States for more than 20 years to help corporate and institutional leaders address the issues associated with substance abuse recovery.
“This is a national problem that has existed for many years, if not centuries,” Goodale said. “There's been progress, but we're nowhere near where we need to be in terms of workplace reforms. Success depends on the culture of the company and its willingness to invest in its employees and walk the walk with them.”