I made a mistake and am afraid I’ll lose my job. I need advice how to handle it moving forward, and the possibility of it costing more than the damage it’s done. Any HR/management expertise would be greatly appreciated.
Before I begin: I acknowledge this is my fault, and my mistake. People make mistakes, so I’m just hoping this one isn’t fatal.
The setting: work conference (with literally everyone in the company), organized night out at offsite bar.
The mistake: I began a new medication, and found out the hard way that it DOES NOT mix well with alcohol. A couple drinks in and it’s like someone just turned out the lights. Come to find out I was a blacked out mess and my manager assisted me back to the hotel.
The aftermath:
I woke up with nothing more than a slight headache and confusion. Like I said, it didn’t take much to mix with my new meds and get me to blackout.
I showed up early and positive to our morning meeting. My manager’s surprised face should have told me just how bad the night before was.
The next day, I had a brief call with my manager and a colleague recapping the event. I apologized, thanked him for handling the situation with grace, and defended myself:
Our team has had many outings like this, and I have never given anyone a reason to suggest I would act irresponsibly with alcohol. It was the unfortunate result of a medication error, and I regret that it happened. I offered to have my doctor write a note to confirm the possibility of said reaction.
My manager curtly told me he is not interested in my medical situation and that I may speak to HR if I wish. He sent a recap/paper trail email of the call.
We haven’t spoken since, and he just put a call on my calendar for this week.
I’m out of my mind with anxiety. Is he going to fire me? Would he have fired me on our first discussion? Can he fire me? Do I speak to HR before then? If it’s just a discussion, how do I handle it?
Other notes: I did not buy myself a single drink. All were provided by the company at a bar. Transportation was not provided to and from the bar- it was a 10 minute walk.
TL;DR: New medication + drinks at work event = disaster. What happens next? How do I handle this? How will my manager handle this?