Rethinking Supervisor Response to Workplace Impairment
Workplace TrainingBy Logan Tannahill on September 8, 2025
Sending Them Home Is Not a Strategy
By Logan Tannahill CEO, Shift OHS
The Gut Reaction
If one of your workers showed up smelling like alcohol, what would your supervisor do? For some, the answer is still: ‘I’d probably just send them home.
That reaction might feel safe. But it skips the very thing safety leadership requires: process over panic.
“Volume reveals your cracks.” The moment a real-world situation hits, if your team is defaulting to guesswork instead of policy, it means your system’s failing silently and someone is going to pay for it.
The Hidden Risk Is the System
Impairment isn’t always intoxication. Slurred speech could be a medical event. Unsteadiness might be caused by meds. Alcohol smell might come from a cold remedy.
But none of that matters if supervisors act before they document. No notes. No facts. No HR looped in. Just “go home.”
That’s not just poor practice, it’s organizational risk dressed as decisiveness.
“What gets measured gets managed.” What gets ignored? Gets you sued.
Peter Drucker
Catching vs. Protecting
At Shift OHS, we don’t train supervisors to “catch” people. We train them to protect everyone: the worker, their peers, the company, and themselves. We get it, your team is busy, short-staffed, and under pressure to deliver. But that’s exactly when judgment calls can cost the most.
And this starts with “Learner Questions” instead of “Judger Questions.”
Instead of: What’s wrong with this person? Try: What facts am I observing? What might be affecting this person’s performance today? What process do I need to follow?
That shift alone transforms confrontation into clarity.
What’s Really Missing? Emotional Intelligence + Process Discipline
Emotional intelligence is not soft, it’s strategic. A calm supervisor who can observe without reacting is worth their weight in insurance premiums.
Discipline equals freedom. Documenting behavior. Noting specifics. Following a protocol. That’s not red tape, it’s operational freedom and legal insulation.
And Yet, Why Doesn’t It Happen?
Because most supervisors are promoted for being good at the job, not managing people.
“Most businesses are run by technicians who suffer from an entrepreneurial seizure.” Well, most frontline teams are led by workers who had a leadership seizure. They’re in charge, but no one gave them a playbook.
Michael Gerber
And that’s our fault, not theirs.
The Fix: Train for the Moment, Not the Role
“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
James Clear
So here’s a better system:
Supervisor Response Checklist (Simplified)
- Observe specific, objective behavior (e.g. slurred speech, unsteady walk)
- Document immediately with time, date, and detail
- Consult HR or Safety. Don't act solo unless there's immediate danger
- Initiate reasonable cause protocol if warranted
- Treat every incident as a teachable system audit, not a moral failing
Make This Your Flywheel
If you’re a CEO or Director or Manager or a Supervisor reading this, you may be thinking: “Okay… but how do I embed this into our ops?”
Start small. Train one team. Run one scenario. Refresh one document in your policy (start using your policy as a tool). Get the flywheel moving. Momentum comes from clarity and commitment.
Final Thought: Culture Is Built in the Pause
The next time this happens, your supervisor won’t get a rehearsal. No pause button. No time to guess.
You’ll either have a system or a story you can’t take back. Let’s build the system now.
Ready to Shift?
Want a Quick Win - Download our free Supervisor's "Oh Sh*t" Checklist here, Or
Book your spot for The Reasonable Cause Supervisor Training today - Reasonable Cause Training. If this hit a little too close to home, that’s okay. We’re here to help you fix it, before it hits the fan.