By Ana Marie Cox

Original Source: thecut.com

Dear Ana:

So I’m absolutely an alcoholic — was going to AA and found it partially helpful, even got to 30 days in February 2020. I started my current job in March 2020, days before we were all sent home (the lucky ones, anyway). Before, I had been unemployed for over a year. I had almost had my car repossessed, everything in storage auctioned, etc. Which is to say, I am utterly terrified of losing my job.

However, I know that if I can’t stop drinking, I will ultimately lose it — and more. So I’ve finally made the long-overdue decision to go to rehab.

My question is this: How do I bring this up with my employer? I have the combined vacation and sick days to take at least one month paid and then I guess FMLA unpaid after that, if needed, but I am on a very small team (like seven people). Me being out that long really affects everyone’s workload and because they have to freelance out part of my work, we don’t get a profit-sharing bonus at the end of the year. And I know it’s ridiculous — if I were out for major surgery, I wouldn’t hesitate to ask. But I am so scared that when I say, “Hey, I need to take a month, possibly more, off,” I will get fired and then not have the insurance to cover rehab.

Anyway, any thoughts on the best way to bring this up? Do I talk to my boss first or just submit the time-off request and say it’s for medical reasons and not give any more details?

Sincerely,
Working It

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