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I spoke to the
EAP and made a supervisor referral. The employee was cooperative, and I
was relieved. Then something flopped. The employee came back saying
the EAP had no suitable recommendations. Should I refer the employee
somewhere else? What should I assume happened? |
Do not make a
referral to another source of assistance that your organization has not
established for assessment and referral purposes. The employee may
independently do this, of course. First, call the EAP to see whether a
release exists and verify participation. You won’t learn details from
the EAP as to what transpired, but a signed release means there was
follow-through. You may never be able to determine what happened in the
EAP interview. This is why you must focus on performance. Did you send
a detailed written account of the performance issues to the EAP and
provide your employee with a list of those issues, after discussing
them? If this did not happen, almost any outcome from a supervisor
referral could follow. Whether the meeting led to arguing over
performance issues or unsuccessful probing of the employee’s personal
problems, without documentation from the supervisor, a sense of urgency
or desire to cooperate can be undermined in the EAP interview. |
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I have many
employees whose performance I must document, but my write-ups are
frequently delayed by days and I frequently lose important details. Are
there things I can do to improve my recall? |
If you can’t
write
documentation right away or must delay it for hours or days, your memory
will fade. There are two solutions. One option is to memorize this
suggested five-question outline. With each incident, go through the
questions mentally. This may help to jog your recall more effectively
later. The other option is to write down the answers to the questions
quickly and retain them to assist you later. Suggested outline: 1)
What happened? 2) How did you respond? 3) How did the employee
respond/react? 4) What was the effect of #1 on productivity? 5) What
was concluded at the time of the incident? This procedure should not
take more than 30-40 seconds, but even a simple mental rehearsal will
improve your recall and make documentation better when you finally get
to it. |
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Things are pretty
“loose” in our work unit. We do a lot of partying and know each other
well. Our work culture includes a lot of swearing at each other, but
it’s never serious. In fact, I would say we have affection for each
other. Is the swearing a problem? Should I try to get it to stop? |
Talk to the EAP
and discuss a way of turning this around and curtailing this type of
communication. If you swear at each other when things are going well,
what happens when things are not going well or when you have an employee
you wish to correct or discipline? It is likely that you are swearing
at these times as well. The foul language is a risk issue for your
employer because as a manager you have condoned a disrespectful
communication style as a normal part of your work culture. If a formal
complaint was made by one of your employees, you would not be able to
explain it away as an affectionate form of communication. Intentions
would count for little. Any of your employees who wish to argue that
the work environment was offensive and hostile would have an easy time
of it. You have a responsibility to protect employees from a hostile
and offensive work environment, and it is virtually impossible to show
that this sort of interaction supports that goal.
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Can the EAP help
our work unit learn more about treating each other with respect?
Respect means a lot more than tolerance for one’s ethnic or racial
differences, right? I think we need it, but what does that include?
Where do we start? |
Yes, speak with
your EAP
about respect and how to manage the work environment to promote a
respectful workplace. There are several ways to approach your training
needs, and it might be helpful to start with a confidential survey that
the EAP might examine. Another alternative might be the EAP
interviewing employees confidentially to get a keener understanding of
the issues your workgroup faces. Other approaches also might exist for
understanding your needs. Respect means many things. Some workgroups
may have great problems with diversity and respect but have no problems
with things like rumors and gossip that damage morale. So getting a
snapshot of the needs is a good way to start. Employees will always
look forward more to a training event of this sort when they can play a
role in setting its agenda. |
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I know bullying
is not limited to line employees and that some managers can be guilty of
this behavior. Is there any research that discusses why bosses bully?
Can bullies “self-diagnose,” see their symptoms, and self-correct? How
many employees experience bullying? |
A study conducted
in 2009 by the University of California, Berkeley examined the idea that
bullying among managers might result from feelings of inadequacy about
the job. Several other studies that focused on bosses as bullies
demonstrated this link – that aggression goes up when one feels
threatened. One study estimated that 37% of workers claim their bosses
had sabotaged their work, belittled them, or yelled at them. No study
can say that every boss who bullies feels inadequate, but this is a
recurring finding in boss-as-bully studies. A coping mechanism
frequently seen by employees in these studies is overly praising or
flattering the boss. A supervisor who is on the receiving end of this
behavior may wish to consider whether his or her supervision style
includes a strong bullying component. Of course, there is no better
place to discuss a change in this type of communication than at the
EAP. Source: UC Berkeley News Release (October
13, 2009) on “When the Boss Feels Inadequate: Power, Incompetence, and
Aggression.” |
