How Can I Get Help and Attend Rehab If I Can’t Leave Work?

People make a lot of excuses when they don’t want to go to rehab and “I can’t miss work” is a very popular one. But, the reality is that there are many forms of rehab that wouldn’t call for you to miss work, you are provided leave from work to attend rehab by government mandate, and you aren’t improving your position in your job by continuing to do it with a present addiction.

The following discussion will dismantle this excuse and demonstrate how you can either attend rehab without missing work or take advantage of your federal right to go to rehab without losing your position. Hopefully, this will make it easier for you to get yourself together, let go of the excuses, and get the help that you need.

To find a rehab center that will work with your job, call 800-430-1407Who Answers?. We are experts in addiction treatment and rehab centers, so we can easily help you to locate the perfect facility.

Your Addiction Is Causing Workplace Issues

Addiction doesn’t stop when you walk into your job and wait until you are done to pick back up. If you have an addiction, it is already affecting the quality of your work. People with an addiction frequently:

People with addictions often fail to meet production quotas at work.

• Take unauthorized or unexplained leave
• Arrive late
• Use their sick leave excessively
• Have absence patterns (like the day after payday or Fridays or Mondays)
• Take unplanned absences due to “emergencies”
• Miss deadlines
• Turn in careless or sloppy or incomplete work
• Fail to meet production quotas
• Use excuses for late or incomplete work
• Produce poor analysis
• Have friction with coworkers
• Become belligerent or argumentative with coworkers, especially in the morning
• Remain isolated

The Office of Personnel Management estimates alcohol abuse alone costs American employers 33 to 68 billion dollars per year.

So, believing that you can’t miss work to receive addiction treatment isn’t reasonable. Most jobs would prefer to accommodate a short time-off to gain a better worker than continue limping along with an addicted one.

Further, addiction rates are much higher among the unemployed than they are among the employed. If you cling to your addiction, it may be a very short time before you find yourself without a job at all.

Your Leave from Work Is Protected

Even if you think that your job will balk at a short absence to get treatment, that doesn’t mean that you can’t take it. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) specifically provides workers with the right to take a leave of absence to receive substance abuse treatment.

Your substance abuse treatment will be considered treatment for a serious health condition is you meet certain criteria. You will only be given leave if you receive treatment form a healthcare provider or from a provider you have been referred to by a health care provider.

Will Inpatient Drug Rehabilitation Make Me Lose My Job?

You are entitled to 12 full work weeks of unpaid FMLA leave per 12-month period. You cannot be fired or demoted for taking this leave.

Leave that you need because of drug or alcohol use is not covered in any way.

To be eligible to take leave, you must:

• Be employed by a covered employer
• Have been employed by that employer for at least 12 months
• Have worked no fewer than 1,250 hours prior to the start of your leave
• Work somewhere with at least 50 employees at your location or within a 75-mile radius

You Don’t Have to Seek Inpatient Care

If you don’t meet the requirements for FMLA, you may still be able to maintain your employment and get addiction treatment. You have the option of seeking outpatient care.

Most people think of inpatient care when they think of rehab. This is the type of care that requires you to check-in and remain on the premises for the duration of your treatment. You live there. Outpatient care is different.

People in outpatient care only go to the rehab center when they have scheduled sessions for things like:

• One-on-one therapy
• Family therapy
• Group therapy
• Support group meetings
• Classes
• Meetings with health care providers

In intensive care, you may need to spend much of your day there, but there are programs that work with you to accommodate your schedule. You may be able to attend rehab on your off hours. This means you don’t have to miss any work.

Now that you have one less excuse, isn’t it time to start seriously searching for a rehab center? Let us help! Call 800-430-1407Who Answers? and get started.