The Department of Labor Raided My Office

Why I put up with a dysfunctional work environment for years

Pablo Andreu
Corporate Underbelly

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Shredding evidence during office raid
Licensed via Adobe Stock Photo

When I walked in on a couple of my coworkers blowing lines on the conference room table, I wondered if I was the only one in the office not doing coke.

Another coworker was congested so frequently that a client felt compelled to address it.

“Are you OK?” the client asked. “You’ve had a cold for a while now.”

You could hear the phlegm bubble up as she giggled.

But it wasn’t just the sniffles. Drug and alcohol use led to indiscretions that bled into the office.

A different time, that same coworker, breathless and raspy, called me on my direct line at the start of the workday.

“Pablo, I’m in trouble.”

“What happened?”

“I messed up. Maggie and I went to this older guy’s house. He had coke. We’ve been here all night. It was weird. I’m leaving now, but I don’t know what to do. I’m still high. Should I just come to work?”

“Absolutely not,” I warned. “You can’t come here like this. You’re not in your right mind.”

“I don’t know. I just called in sick last week, and I just think if I call in sick, they’re gonna hear it in my voice.”

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