I will concede that I may be a bit biased on this one, but I happen to be of the mindset that people in recovery from a substance use disorder actually make for some of the best employees a workplace could ever hope for. We tend to be a supervisor's dream come true and a new colleague's favorite coworker they never knew was missing from their life - below are my top four reasons why:
1.People in recovery continuously seek out opportunities to grow and improve like our lives depend on it. Well, because they kind of do.
Regardless of which pathway a person takes in their personal recovery journey, self-improvement and personal growth are pretty common staples in the process. Many of us were taught that if we aren't moving forward, we are moving backwards, and moving backwards for us is by far never an option. To that end, we are tirelessly seeking out new ways to become more of the human beings we have the potential to be. This approach to living carries over into all areas of life, including the workplace, and if there is something people in recovery can be counted on to do, it is that we persistently seek out ways to become better employees. We're usually pretty successful in our quest too.
2.Personal accountability - we own our stuff.
Another staple of many people's recovery journeys is an unremitting level of self-awareness and earnest willingness to accept responsibility for our actions. We learn to own our mistakes and lessons learned, to say "I'm sorry" when an apology is due and to take a good hard look at our part in any situation. In the workplace, this approach makes for the consummate team player and the kind of colleague one could only hope for. If we messed up, we fess up, and then we promptly launch into the self-improvement mode mentioned above.
3.People in recovery are exceptionally open-minded to feedback and suggestions.
Because our recovery often has been initiated and sustained by those around us who could see something that we weren't quite seeing for ourselves, we have a deep appreciation for points of view other than our own. We recognize that feedback and suggestions are paramount to personal accountability and self-improvement, and even if our ego tenses up initially like any good human being, we are extraordinarily receptive to recommendations and guidance. People in recovery can be counted on to receive feedback and suggestions as welcomed gifts to be carefully considered and paid attention to. Receiving pointers in this manner enhances our ability to perform exceptionally well on the job.
4.There are no Monday morning hangover or Friday payday callouts - we show up.
Dependable, reliable and responsible are words that are often used to describe us. We take commitments seriously and show up when called upon to do so. We hit Monday morning running and often have to be kicked out of the office on Fridays at 5pm. You'll get no suspicious Monday or Friday morning callouts from us, folks - people in recovery transform into some of the most determined, persistent, dedicated employees your workplace will ever be graced with. We have a funny way of transforming the systems around us as well. We truly are all a workplace's dream come true.