Executives live a very stressful and demanding life. There are work deadlines to meet, staff to handle, frequent meetings now and then, client communication, job evaluation,  quotas, and so on. All these can become pressing, coupled with any possible stress from home or with family.

This stress and highly demanding life can cause an executive to rely on drugs or alcohol to get through a day.

With alcohol, it is much easier for executives to get addicted to, because meetings often involves drinking with partners or potential clients. So, drinking can become an everyday habit, one which suddenly develops into dependency of alcohol to get through the day.

An executive could also get addicted to medications prescribed for stress-relief or headaches, and the constant use of these would lead to addiction. Spotting addiction on executives isn’t so easy as it can be hidden under the suits and high-class. But here are some signs that says an executive is addicted.

• Missed Deadlines

An addicted executive may begin to miss important deadlines, forget meetings, and miss quotas. When all these begin to happen suddenly and unexplainably, it could be a sign of addiction. The executive’s performance begins to drop and he/ she doesn’t seem to care about the output of his/ her staff anymore.

• Deplete Physical State

He/she stops coming to work looking sharp neat. Their hair becomes unkempt, rumpled clothes and so on. They start to ignore their physical appearance.

• Outburst

There could be regular outburst of angry by the executive either on staff or clients. This uncharacteristic action could be a sign of addiction in an executive.

• Physical Signs of Alcohol or Drugs

The executive can also come to work with visible signs of alcohol or drug addiction. That is, alcohol in his/her breath, dilated pupils and so on. These physical will confirm that an executive is an addict.

• Regular Absence

The addicted executive begins to be absent from work, miss meetings, have long lunch breaks, come in late and leave early. These movements are often frequent and his/her whereabouts is often unknown, as they become secretive about their location.

In summary, executives are not immune from addiction, but are more prone to drug or alcohol addiction due to the stressful nature of their job. But there are specific treatment centres which tailor to the needs of addicted executives. So, these signs are vital in identifying addiction in executives.