THE PROBLEM DRINKER-
MORE than 2,000,000 U.S. workers are either alcoholics or problem drinkers. Last year they cost U.S. industry more than $1 billion and 13 million man-hours lost through absenteeism (average: 22 days), slowdowns, inefficiency, accidents and loss of trained personnel. Time was when industry ferreted out such workers and fired them. Today the boss still keeps a close eye out for the problem drinker, but it is more often to help than to fire him. Faced with new understanding of alcoholism as a mental illness—and with a nationwide shortage of trained workers—more and more companies are trying to reclaim the...