Motivational Speaker Carole Spiers asks: A Gambling Addict In The Office - corporate or personal responsibility?

Calls to the gambling helpline Gamcare have rocketed by a third to a record 30,000, a major London hospital has announced plans to open a special new clinic for gambling addicts, and even more ominous - a new kind of business insurance against the risks of office internet gambling has been launched.

A long way from the good-clean-fun image that the government is trying to promote.

Of course, it’s the temptation to gamble on the office computer, using the firm’s credit card, that sets up the real disaster scenario. And employers have been reluctant to make accusations about this hard-to-spot addiction, for fear of libel.

But untreated addictions can only worsen, and managers now face a major challenge in being able to understand, detect and handle cases of the gambling bug.

Desperate to win? Or masochistically wanting to lose?

First, you need to see what lies at the root of the problem. It’s partly escapism - into the world of James Bond or the Mississippi gamblers, where people are too good for humdrum employment.

But there is also a strong theory that gamblers are basically inadequate characters with a masochistic streak - as when the fellow playing the pub fruit-machine says “Hang on, just wait till I’ve…”, meaning “wait till I’ve lost this lot.”

With this in mind, you must try to spot the symptoms. These include a secretive or preoccupied air, a tendency to borrow money and not pay it back, and suggestions of trouble at home.

Do more than follow regulations. Establish a bond of trust.

Your calibre as a manager is now under challenge. This is when to demonstrate leadership and problem-solving skill. Using the existing routine of performance reviews, make it clear that you’re aware of the problem, get it into the open, invite confidences, and then establish that the two of you are going to cure it as a team.

And if you find that the team needs to be strengthened by specialist counsellors consultants or staff trainers, then you simply take that step - as enlightened blue-chip companies have done for years. Click here - http://www.carolespiersgroup.co.uk/counselling.html

Carole Spiers is Motivational Speaker and founder of Carole Spiers Group, one of the UKs leading stress management consultancies, whose psychological insights have improved productivity for clients such as Sainsbury’s, Unilever, the Bank of England and many others. www.carolespiersgroup.com gives authoritative advice on both the human and the legal aspects of workplace stress, including workplace bullying, violence, post-trauma, redundancy, absenteeism and stalled negotiations.

Their publications and sales CDs have been sold globally. To sign up for their FREE stress management updates and stress tips – click http://tinyurl.com/zxbgo or for more information email info@carolespiersgroup.com
or telephone +44 (0) 29 8954 1593