Did anyone disclose to their employer their history? I know some employers offer resources for people who struggle with addiction and it is illegal to fire someone with substance abuse issues but I have been too nervous to disclose anything. I hide a lot from my employer and the people I work with.

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I told my manager only after it had become apparent that there was a problem that was impacting my work, and fortunately, it also coincided with me being ready to take action. I did not take the decision to have this conversation lightly, and I settled on the fact that my manager had always shown genuine concern for me as a person, and I respected her enough to feel compelled to tell her my truth. Your situation may be different.

What happened in my case was that in that conversation my manager shared with me that her grandmother attended AA meetings until she passed, so my manager was well aware that recovery was possible, and she was supportive af me gettong help. This this cemented my decision that I would give AA a try, and 11 years later I'm still sober, and have had a handful of promotions and new managers at different companies since.

My sobriety has required that I have a certain level of honesty with those who are close to me, and that manager happened to fall in that circle. Were I to be in the same position today, I would still probably still have a high level conversation to address that I know that I haven't been performing to expectation, and that I am taking steps to adress the issue.

It wouldn't hurt to have a sponsor who knows the specifics of the situation gove some suggestions.

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my employer knows I used to drink alot and now I don't drink at all. They can draw their own conclusions.

I'm a very private person as well. My philosophy is my past is mine and mine alone. Unless it comes back to affect my present, it needs to stay in the past. My manager does not need to know what I was like five years ago. He only needs to know what I am now. He does not need to know that I have to fight the steering wheel to keep from turning into my previous favorite watering hole every afternoon when I leave work. If I slip up and my work suffers, then I will confess my addiction and seek help from the company. Unless that occurs, I don't need the company's help and they do not need to be introduced to my ex-demons.

If you have started a new job, or even gotten sober at a current job (and assuming your alcohol/drug use did not significantly affect said job), it's really up to you. Addiction and alcoholism is a disease, and like any health condition, it is up to the individual to decide if there is any benefit or advantage to disclosing it. But it is nothing we "owe" telling employers. If I was a diabetic and it had no impact on my job and work, I'm under no obligation to share it with my employer. Alcoholism and addiction is exactly the same in that regard. Now, if it had a very visible impact on your work, that might be different, but again, in the same way an illness might. Using the diabetic example again, if I was having blood sugar episodes at work that made me act erratically or fall asleep, then it's in my interest to explain what's going on, and the steps I'm undertaking to get it under control. But even then, only a few, very discretional individuals need to know: my manager, the group/team HR rep, etc.

Nope never. 0 upside and a ton of potential downside

I have never had to disclose it to an employer thankfully and most people I know who have struggled with addiciton didn't tell their job unless their addiction was hindering them from doing their job in some way or affecting their performance at work

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