Despite your best prevention efforts, some employees still could encounter problems with gambling. This doesn't mean you've lost the battle. You can help these employees and once again make them valuable members of your company team.

Most managers wish to help simply because they are compassionate people who want to assist those suffering from devastating addictions.

Compassion is reason enough to help. There are, however, good economic reasons for aiding problem gamblers, too.

First, assisting employees builds goodwill—not just with the employees you help but with their co-workers as well. If you demonstrate loyalty to your employees, they are more likely to show loyalty to you. Workers enjoy staying at companies that show concern.

Second, you want to avoid firing people whenever possible. Left untreated, problem gamblers probably will become less and less productive. They might even steal or embezzle from you. Firing them, however, can be expensive, including severance, recruiting, and training costs.

There are a number of things you can do to assist employees with gambling problems:

• Educate problem gamblers about the issues they face and their recovery options. Point them to web sites such as this one. We offer a referral form for your convenience.
• Give the problem gambler a copy of our 21-step recovery system and workbooks. This program will guide your employee through the recovery process. If you don't already have a copy, you can order one online.
• The 21-Step System works best in tandom with other treatment programs. Find out if your government health system or health insurance benefits cover the cost of gambling addiction treatment.
• If your government or insurance doesn't provide addiction treatment, decide if your company is willing to pay all or part of an employee's treatment—either counselling or residential treatment.
• If an employee checks into a residential treatment centre, will your company treat this as sick leave?