Social Acceptance of the Recovering Alcoholic in the Workplace: A Research Note

Abstract

Labeling theory suggests that those individuals identified and subsequently labeled as deviant drinkers will become stigmatized and subject to impaired social interactions. Within the workplace, the consequences of limited social interactions can affect both the individual and the organization. Data analysis supports the existence of the construct of social rejection of the alcoholic and supports the hypothesis that the labeled, stigmatized alcoholic is at least partially disqualified from social acceptance in the workplace.