A.  Hundreds of studies have demonstrated marijuana’s adverse effect on behavior and performance.  As a result, marijuana is a prohibited substance in virtually all drug-free workplace policies.  What gets less discussion is the effect of marijuana withdrawal for heavy users.  These withdrawal effects—observed by medical doctors, counselors, and researchers—include trouble sleeping, sweating, fatigue, mood swings, cravings, anger, insomnia, depression, and restlessness.  Could these withdrawal effects contribute to an increased risk of accidents or lower productivity on the job?  Indeed they can.  For this reason, when conducting assessments with employees who are self-referred or referred by managers for performance issues, employee assistance professionals remain aware of signs and symptoms of substance abuse withdrawal.  This is why an employee referral for a performance issue can lead to treatment for a drug or alcohol problem, even though the supervisor never witnessed any obvious symptoms of a substance abuse problem.

Q.  Do supervisors have any responsibility for helping employees manage anger in the workplace?  Or is this a problem to address primarily by referring to the EAP?  I see angry employees, and sometimes I step in because I worry about where anger might lead—for example, to a fight.

A.  Witnessing displays of anger in the workplace is a common experience for supervisors.  Although your employee assistance program is a key avenue of help for employees, your ability to properly intervene or positively influence angry employees is crucial.  There is a financial and safety rationale for your role because it can prevent workplace altercations and conflicts that can lead to undesirable occurrences such as injuries, lawsuits, downtime, decline in morale, high turnover, and violence.  Although you have no counseling role, you can practice effective communication with employees, understand and address their frustrations, empathize with their angry feelings, keep promises you make to them, and, of course, know when to make a referral to the EAP.  As a person with authority, what you say can have a powerful effect.  Don’t minimize it.  For example, say, “I understand your frustration” rather than “I am tired of hearing your gripes.”  Your EAP can help you acquire or improve upon these empathic and relational skills.

Q.  It seems like bullies in the workplace have some type of power, even if only imagined.  Is this correct?  What’s the supervisor’s role in prevention?  Would training for employees help reduce risk?

A.  You’re correct.  Employees who bully often possess some degree of power—supervisory, tenure, delegated, indirect, or team leadership.  Some bullies may perceive that or mistakenly believe they have power or authority, and this alone is enough to prompt their aggressive behavior.  Obviously bullies can exist anywhere in the organization, so conducting general education and awareness is helpful.  This should include self assessment for the potential perpetrator or victim.  Throw in a zero-tolerance policy toward bullying and a significant reduction of the risk can be accomplished.  Supervisors should be aware that a bully is often a trusted employee who is relied upon by the immediate supervisor for knowledge, expertise, and skills.  He or she can be passionate and loyal to the organization.  Nevertheless, if a supervisor becomes overly dependent on this “right-hand man/gal” relationship, bullying behaviors may emerge, aided by the protection or special relationship the bully feels exists with the supervisor.

Q.  I once read that one of the most important jobs of a supervisor is helping every employee find his or her gift.  What does this mean?

 A.  Much leadership literature is not about technical skills leaders must possess—documenting properly, resolving conflicts, praising, inspiring others, etc.  Instead, it is about passion, values, self-awareness, having or developing a personal vision, integrity, wanting to teach others, and the desire to make a difference.  With the personal awareness and energy that flow from these values and attributes, great supervisors demonstrate enthusiasm in helping subordinates discover their potential.  This approach to supervision is positive and optimistic, and it is full of curiosity about what great things might lay hidden and undiscovered in the employees they supervise.  This desire to invest in people and to champion their uniqueness is what separates great leaders from other managers, and it is easily spotted by those who hire and promote in great companies.

 Q.  How can I hold employees accountable without making them feel that I am beating up on them or provoking them to get overly defensive?

 A.  Willingness to be personally accountable for one’s life is learned, and it supports accountability in the workplace.  However, you can have better success with holding employees to account if you have an effective relationship with them.  Your view of accountability is important, so help your employees anticipate being held accountable.  Always be sure there is no ambivalence about the results you expect.  Some supervisors see accountability as a measure of “blameworthiness” when things go wrong.  Do you approach your employees with this orientation?  If so, you may also communicate less effectively and less frequently.  Remember, you can make willingness to be accountable a performance measure.  Then if issues remain, make a supervisor referral to the EAP.

A.  The phrase is oversimplified, but an employee’s relationship with the supervisor is the most important one.  Unless this relationship is constructive and positive, the risk of losing a worker to another employer or, worse, to a competitor will remain unacceptably high.  Kevin Sheridan, a business consultant specializing in talent management, reports in his new book, Building a Magnetic Culture (2012), that engaged employees are ten times more likely to feel their work is recognized, that their supervisors and top management care about them, and that they are getting useful regular feedback.  Such employees are four times less likely to leave.  Obviously the supervisor is a key influencer in helping employees get these needs met.  EAPS have a role to play because their skills and abilities can help supervisors enhance their relationships with employees.  The purview of EAP work is often the business of improving relationships; therefore the use of the EAP is an excellent strategy for increasing employee engagement and thus the improvement of business outcomes.

Q.  I believe everyone should contribute to and maintain a positive work culture.  How can I help my employees play this positive role?

A.  The first steps to building a positive work culture begin with the employer and flow down from the top where all levels of management practice behaviors that line staff below them model.  There are many components of a thriving positive work culture, but supervisory staff do have influence in helping their employees buy into positivity.  It’s been shown that positive work cultures tend to be easier to come by in flatter organizations where the up and down movement of information and ideas is not as slow or encumbered by bureaucracy.  This highlights a key strategy you can employ to influence your employees:  promote easier communication, faster communication, and the personal modeling of behaviors that support a positive work culture.

Q.  An employee died from a drug overdose.  Everyone was saddened and surprised.  The employee was one of our most loved.  I heard something about a drug problem years ago, but never since, and performance was excellent.  I am feeling guilty.  Did I miss symptoms?

A.  Your employee could have relapsed without any warning signs you could have spotted.  Drug addiction can be treated and abstinence achieved, and with a programmatic approach to maintaining abstinence, the illness is arrested.  Abstinent employees refer to themselves as “recovering” or in recovery.  Years of abstinence can pass, and achievements and performance may be outstanding, but the disease does not vanish.  Addiction is a chronic illness.  Experts in the addiction treatment field generally regard drug addiction as a progressive disease with no cure.  Every area of an addict’s life is affected and must be treated:  physical, emotional, and spiritual.  A recovering addict without an active and effective approach to recovery has a higher risk of relapse over those who have such an approach.  Consequences of any relapse are unpredictable, but death from a narcotic overdose for relapsed addicts is possible.  When addicts in recovery overdose and die, there may be great difficulty in comprehending why.  Treatment experts and members of the largest group of recovering people, Narcotics Anonymous, have observed that relapse usually occur in the absence of an adequate recovery program combined with a sudden or acute stressful life event or circumstance.

Q.  What am I supposed to do with an employee who is obviously smart but always showing off how much he “thinks” he knows about what’s legal for me to do as a supervisor, what the organization can’t do, etc.?  It is a bit intimidating.

A.  The employee you describe may have difficulty feeling responsible or subordinate to you, so controlling you by discussing or referencing legal matters to intimidate you is an effective way of feeling more in control.  A wide range of issues can contribute to this negative and problematic behavior, including anger, mental health issues, and more.  The behavior is inappropriate and disruptive to communication and building a working relationship, so it should be addressed.  Consult with the EAP for guidance on your approach.  Often, employee assistance professionals can spot tangential issues or consider underlying contributing factors to a problem like this one.  Let your supervisor or leadership staff be aware of the difficulty you are experiencing with this employee.  Doing so is prudent because issues of this nature are too important to ignore or manage in isolation.

Q.  How do EAPs save the organization money with regard to the use of employee mental health benefits?  Employees have to go to approved counselors associated with the benefit plans.  Where is the EAP role if the employee does not need referral?

A.  EAPs are usually aware of approved panel therapists in the community who have the expertise needed to treat a specific problem.  This knowledge can assist the employee in making an informed choice from a list of approved providers.  If a managed care referral is made to a therapist to treat a problem outside the therapist’s area of competence, the EAP may discover a problem in the client-therapist match during follow-up, and the EAP can consider how or whether to intervene to facilitate the employee’s finding a new treatment provider.  An EAP may also speak to the treating therapist with the employee’s permission to lend support or suggestions to the treatment plan.

A.  Not necessarily.  Although some employees affected by alcoholism may react defensively, employees with alcoholic family members or family histories of alcoholism may be just as adamant in their views about the illness.  Strong views about alcoholism may be held especially by those with personal traumas associated with alcohol.  Beliefs about alcoholism result from centuries-old cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews.  Medicine, religion, psychology, and philosophy have all contributed heavily.  Rigid viewpoints, even if faulty, are not easily relinquished by people because they may be relied upon to reconcile or explain one’s past experience or present life circumstance.  Despite rigorous research, alcoholism is still frequently mistreated, mismanaged, and misunderstood.  Presenting to any group of employees on the topic of substance abuse generates a lot of disagreement and emotion.  Ultimately this is helpful in allowing people to gain an appreciation for the disease and a willingness to understand it.

Q.  Over the years, I have seen articles that reinforce the generally accepted principle that money is not a good long-term motivator for employees.  What works instead is praise, recognition, and commendation.  It sounds pretty simple.  Why don’t all supervisors understand this?

A.  A 2009 survey by McKinsey Quarterly asked which incentives were the most effective in motivating employees.  The top two responses were:  “Praise and commendation from my immediate manager” (67 percent) and “Attention from leaders” (62 percent).  This is strong evidence that development of praise and commendation skills can have an impact on the bottom line.  Of course, there is more to it than simply telling supervisors to praise employees more.  Giving praise comes easily for some supervisors but not others.  In most instances, it is not that supervisors don’t want to give effective praise; instead, the issue is that they don’t know how or don’t feel comfortable doing so.  Common statements heard from supervisors who struggle with giving praise are that it takes too much time, it feels insincere, or even that it doesn’t match their brusque personality.  These statements of resistance have solutions, and the EAP is an excellent resource for supervisors to discover those solutions.  Source:  tiny.cc/morale-boost.

Q.  I don’t want to diagnose employees, but I would like to know what behaviors strongly indicate that employees are too stressed.  I figure if I know the behavioral issues and spot them, I can then suggest use of the EAP based upon what I am seeing.  Make sense?

A.  You do have a role in maintaining a safe and healthful work environment, so keeping an eye open for behavior or conduct that interferes with productivity is a good idea.  These can be stress symptoms.  You’re right.  You should not diagnose employees, but you can be attuned to the obvious.  Visible behaviors or conduct issues may include anxiety, indecisiveness, irritability, complaints, forgetfulness, loss of self-confidence, customer conflicts, complaints of insomnia, sleeping on the job or coming back late from lunch because of oversleeping on breaks, argumentativeness, moodiness, crying and mood swings, and leaving early with complains of physical exhaustion.

 Q.  I think my employee is a passive-aggressive personality.  What are the signs and symptoms of this condition?  I see a lot of resistance to assignments and complaining about workload, coworkers, and management decisions.  Everything seems to be “wrong” all the time.

 A.  It is better to identify problematic behaviors that you are trying to change rather than the entire constellation of symptoms that constitute a personality disorder.  You don’t need a checklist for passive-aggressive personality to manage your employee and make a referral to the EAP.  Even a single, problematic behavior should be addressed if it interferes with productivity or your workplace.  Be specific about the behaviors your employee exhibits.  Do not use the term “passive-aggressive” in your documentation.  You may see passive-aggressive behavior but do not label it as such or try to diagnose this psychiatric condition.  Instead, document obstructionist behaviors, missing of deadlines, the impact of behavior on morale, forgetting, procrastination, or other behaviors that chronically interfere with productivity.

 Q.  Not all of our supervisors are “approachable” or easy to talk to.  It concerns me.  There is risk when employees don’t feel comfortable coming forward with problems or concerns that could potentially have serious consequences.  How can this problem be addressed? 

A.  Both supervisor and employee have roles to play in making communication work, but frequently a disproportionate burden of this responsibility is put on subordinates.  Outstanding work units require that employees bring issues to management unencumbered by second thoughts and anxiety.  It’s helpful to recognize that employees naturally respond differently to those in authority.  While some are intimidated, others are bold and direct.  Regardless, every supervisor should learn the skill of projecting approachability.  Approachability is not just being friendly or telling everyone in the room that there is an “open door policy.”  Instead, a supervisor uses his or her power of authority to help an individual fell important to that supervisor.  The natural response is an employee who feels safe.  This  causes the manager to appear approachable.  A manager can demonstrate approachability with listening, asking questions, sharing time, valuing the opinion of a subordinate, and being receptive to what he or she can learn from employees.  Many of these things are quickly communicated within minutes or seconds as a manager interacts with others during his or her day.

A.  Understanding the meaning of trust can help you practice behaviors and set standards for yourself that will win the hearts and minds of your employees.  Trust means reliance on and confidence in the truth, worth, and reliability of a person.  Consider how these values translate into supervisory practice, and you’ll gain trust.  Every new supervisor has the battle half won when it comes to gaining trust.  This is because employees want to be led by someone they trust.  To get on the fast track, establish relationships with your employees that demonstrate you can be counted on for support when the going gets tough.  When times are tough, your employees will have faith in your ability to support them.  This will deepen their trust in you.  Be a consistent communicator, along with making yourself accessible.  This will remove the mystery between you and your employees, a frequently overlooked obstacle to building trust.  Be truthful with employees.  Doing so will build their confidence in you.  Keep commitments and appointments and only promise what you are certain you can deliver.  This will show employees that you are reliable.

Q.  Is there a method or approach to inspiring employees?  When I think of employees being inspired, I think of them as motivated.  Are feeling inspired and feeling motivated the same thing?

A.  All inspired employees are motivated, but not all motivated employees necessarily feel inspired.  Often, the two terms are used interchangeably, but a closer look reveals important differences.  An employee can be motivated to accomplish work as a result of being provoked, aggravated, goaded, or annoyed into productivity.  On the other hand, employees who feel inspired are moved internally, feel enthused about work accomplishments and are infectious in their excitement.  Here’s the formula:  To inspire employees, summarize a tantalizing goal, discuss its implications for everyone, remind workers of their past triumphs, and ask them to reflect on what drove them to achieve successful outcomes in the past.  Help set their sights on a faraway goal that’s so exciting and potentially rewarding that they can’t help but covet it.  Finally, help them visualize what it will feel like to reach the mountaintop.

Q.  What’s the difference between stress and pressure?  Sometimes I think employees feel pressure at work, but not unmanageable stress.  Employees should seek support from the EAP, but not for the “normal” sense of urgency that everyone feels to get things done, correct?

A.  Stress, pressure, force, strain, and distress are terms frequently used in mental health and workforce-management literature to define different work-generated tensions and the degrees of severity faced by employees.  These definitions are rather fluid among authors.  Every employee experiences these work tensions differently and managing them is a learned skill.  Encourage your employees to use the EAP for any perceived personal need, even if you judge the degree of work stress they face to be much less than what they perceive it to be.  As employees adapt to stress, they tend to naturally elevate their tolerance level for more of the same.  Your EAP can do the sorting out after they arrive for a confidential assessment and the help that they may or may not require.

Q.  Do economic downturns affect employee safety and wellness?     Can the EAP play a role in helping employees reduce injuries?

 A.  During periods of economic downturn, employers naturally place constraints on resources.  Employees may be reassigned, layoffs occur, new hires are delayed, longer hours are worked, and taking over a coworker’s assignments may happen more often.  This added stress increases the risk of employee injuries from worry and anxiety about the future of their positions, job security, or roles in the company.  Increasing communication between your and your employees can help.  Keep the information flowing.  According toGallup, 30% of workers worry about their job security and even more about benefits.  This is double the number of employees who worried about such issues in 2008.  Encourage employees to use EAP resources and consider opportunities for the EAP to help your employees manage stress and anxiety.

Source:  http://tiny.cc/job-worry

 Q.  Certainly all supervisors eventually face the task of managing difficult employees.  Beyond a magazine article or short seminar, though, I haven’t seen much in-depth training.  Is the EAP a good resource for this kind of help?  What about experienced peers?

 A.  Both sources of experience – the EAP and your peers – can lend guidance to managing difficult employees.  Obviously, the EAP has advantages your professional friends do not possess.  One is confidentiality.  Your peers may not keep conversations confidential.  The EAP can also help you discover how your personality style supports or interferes with the process of managing difficult employees.  It can challenge and help you to use new or different approaches.  Role plays are very effective tools, and the EAP  may suggest them.  Admittedly, learning to respond properly to distressed, upset, or difficult employees is a “learning by doing” experience, but there are also principles worth knowing.  Remaining calm, thinking deliberately before you speak, avoiding emotional involvement, practicing detachment, reducing provocative responses, and knowing how to problem-solve are only a few principles you can learn from the EAP.

A.  Make a referral for performance issues.  If problems are strictly skills related, your employee will have the benefit of meeting with the employee assistance professional and establishing a working relationship.  This could be a source of support later if an adverse action is pursued.  The EAP can assess the employee’s career fitness, interests, personal finances, and motivation for the current position.  A discussion could lead to a job or career change, a stronger feeling of control in the face of job loss, or a reduced likelihood of a legal challenge to dismissal – or even a disturbing personal reaction to dismissal.  Many supervisors are surprised to learn in similar situations that personal problems played a role in performance struggles.  Think of the EAP as a “productivity improvement program.”  You will refer and help more employees and also achieve higher levels of productivity and a better return on your organization’s investment in the EAP.

Q.  Is there an “attitude” about supervision that you recommend supervisors adopt?  By attitude, I mean a framework or model that reduces distress in supervision relationships and makes them more collaborative.

A.  Many supervisors visualize the role of supervisor as “unidirectional,” or one way.  The supervisor is “directing” and the employee is acting on that direction.  This is too simplistic.  Employees need you as much as you need them.  You have a need for job satisfaction as much as your employee does, and you have a need to achieve career goals too.  This orientation to supervision will make your relationships with employees more cooperative and productive.  Most supervisors want to guide employees, maximize their productivity, and help them develop and feel rewarded for the good work they do.  But it is important to see yourself as teaming up with your employee.  “How can we cooperate with each other?” or “What do we need to work on to achieve results together?” is a proactive orientation to supervision.  Supervisors with this orientation experience more cooperation from employee, less stress, and more joy in their work.

 Q.  A lack of communication is a bit of a problem within my work division.  I harp on people to share information more efficiently and frequently, but invariably everyone reverts back to their old habits.  These are “people issues,” so can the EAP help?

 A.  When communication is problematic and the flow of information is poor, search for barriers and intervene around them.  Frequently, barriers are physical or rooted in inefficient communication channels.  But that is only scratching the surface.  Barriers to communication in organizations can arise from attitude problems, poor supervision, personality conflicts, language differences, culture clashes, personal problems, and more.  This is where the EAP can provide an added dimension of help.  Consult with your EAP to see if you can discover potential behavioral or human-factor-related dimensions to this problem.  Man EA professionals are educated in communication dynamics and have plenty of experience in understanding the role of sender and receiver, tangible and intangible barriers, and interventions to improve communication.  This may sound unconventional, but EAPs often can address problems of this type due to the perspective they offer and the unique set of operational parameters that set them apart as effective problem solvers when looking at human behavior in the workplace.

 Q.  How can I help employees experience less stress regarding change in our organization?  “Managing change” seems to be a buzzword phrase these days.  Can you discuss a practical strategy to help us feel more in control over what feels uncontrollable?

 A.  Whether it’s an organization or an individual employee facing change, stress can be reduced by remaining proactive in the face of certain or unknown change rather than reacting after the fact.  Experiment with the following proactive model:  Meet with employees if significant change is pending.  Have a frank discussion about resistance to change – how resistance is normal (but undesirable) and how it could undermine the work group.  Discuss both what is feared about the change and what new opportunities or rewards are presented.  Next, discuss strategy.  How does your group “get ahead” of the impact and prepare to exploit the positive aspects of the change?  Finally, in the face of stress, how will your group support individual members who may experience more stress from the change than others do?  Consider how the EAP can serve as a facilitator for such a discussion.

 Q.  In addition to reading about what it takes to be a good leader (or learning from my mistakes), what other strategy is particularly effective in acquiring leadership skills?

 A.  One commonly overlooked strategy of leadership development is modeling.  Consider observing effective leaders within or outside of your organization.  Attempt to model what they do.  Nearly every manager can spot an effective leader, but being able to identify and describe what you are looking at can be a little trickier.  When modeling others, seek to identify what attitudes they bring to workers and how they support the organization’s goals.  What beliefs and values appear to support their effective leadership style?  What do they place priorities?  What do they do that attracts others, and what causes those around them to respond positively?  Perhaps most important, how do they reciprocate with others in the organization so they appear to both lead and value everyone around them?

A.  One important thing is to avoid accidentally reinforcing common myths and misconceptions about EAPs.  No matter how well an employee assistance program is promoted or its confidentiality ensured, misunderstandings about EAPs will occur.  For example, avoid any indication that you are basing the referral on your belief in the existence of a psychological problem.  (Myth:  Going to the EAP means I have a psychological problem.)  Be hopeful and positive.  (Myth:  A supervisor referral is a preliminary step to disciplinary action.)  Keep the focus on performance and how employee assistance professionals help employees improve performance.  (Myth:  The EA professional will force me to answer personal and intrusive questions.)  Let the employee know that records of EAP attendance are not in personnel files.  (Myth:  Going to the EAP will be a promotion-killing black mark on my record.)

Q.  I know praising employees for their good work reinforces repeat performances.  I want to be positive with my employees.  Can you give me tips on how to use praise more effectively – perhaps in ways that aren’t commonly understood?

A.  A less considered yet powerful way to use praise is to shower your employees with it in front of others both before and after you delegate a task.  For example, suppose your work unit is giving a presentation to top management about last year’s activities.  You want Mary to deliver the presentation.  In front of her peers, consider praising her while you delegate the assignment.  For Example, “I would like Mary to take the lead on this executive presentation.  I know that with her organizational skills and gift of public speaking, she will do a fabulous job and make a great impression for our work unit.” Notice that you not only praise Mary for her ability to do a great job, but you reference specifics associated with her public speaking proficiency and organizational skills.  This leverages your praise to make it effective.  Employees who are praised in this manner often feel more energetic in advance of the assignments, and they sharpen their focus to go the extra mile with better products or outcomes.  You may consider meeting with the EAP for a consultation on other effective ways to praise employees.

Q.  I am trying to do a better job at delegating work.  Are there any important points about delegating assignments to employees that help ensure work will be done with superior results?

A.  When supervisors delegate, they often neglect a few key points needed to make delegation a process of growth, not just an assigned task.  Your goal in delegating is to get work accomplished and also to expand your employee’s capabilities.  Unless key steps are taken, many problems can ensue with delegation, the most significant of which is the inability to let go of control.  Instead of monitoring progress, you are compelled to meddle and thereby frustrate your worker.  To help ensure better delegation:  1) Explain the assignment and what you anticipate as a successful or satisfactory outcome. 2) Explain the importance of the assignment to the organization, its bottom line, and how your employee will grow from the experience.  3) Monitor to show an interest in the outcome, but monitor less on the details of the project.  4) Make sure your employee has everything needed to produce the expected outcome – resources, accountability, authority, etc.

Q.  How do I manage employees who are not poor performers yet take up an inordinate amount of my time?  Examples are needing a lot of attention to understand assignments, being too emotional when faced with small irritations, etc.  It’s hard to quantify these issues.

A.  Many undesirable employee behaviors or performance issues are not easily found on a performance issues checklist.  The easiest way to overcome this problem is to meet with the EAP for a management consult.  Decide together upon the right description of your employee’s behavior and – more important – how to quantify or measure it so it can be documented.  Even if these behaviors are not what you would ultimately call terminable offenses, the EAP can offer constructive confrontation and corrective interviewing techniques that will likely work.  Always assume that there are strategies to correct almost any undesirable employee behavior with the help of a referral.

Q.  Can the EAP serve as a witness in my meeting with an employee so that later, if problems return and serious disciplinary action is contemplated, the EAP’s credibility and neutrality can attest to the fair treatment given to the troubled employee?

A.  Although there are no standards of practice that would directly prohibit the EAP from participating in a meeting of this type, it would be ill-advised.  Using the EAP to support management’s interests in this way would conflict with the EAP’s true purpose.  An EAP is a “program of attraction” that uses confidentiality and neutrality to draw troubled employees to it.  Such a meeting could damage the EAP’s position of neutrality.  Employees could easily perceive the EAP as an advocate for management, decreasing its utilization.  An employee who rejected the EAP’s findings would not be a positive voice for the program.  It is more useful to have another manager or management advisor in such a meeting and to document the meeting well.

A.  Within the recovering community of alcoholics and among treatment professionals, there are many stories of alcoholics who seemed unable to achieve abstinence.  In the “Big Book” of Alcoholics Anonymous, authors discuss the success of the 12 steps yet observe how some alcoholics seem almost “constitutionally” incapable of recovery.  Most treatment professionals would never use the word “hopeless” because so many examples of late-stage recoveries exist.  Supervisors should not assume any employee is hopeless, but this does not mean ignoring problems.  Supervisors, like family members, should learn about enabling and avoid doing it.  Enabling plays a key role in the progression of addictive disease and, in turn, resistance to treatment.  Like alcoholism, enabling can manifest a chronic and progressive pattern.  In the early years of the disease, a supervisor may overlook performance shortcomings.  Twenty years later, the same supervisor may be driving his or her employee to work because of a confiscated driver’s license.  Loaning money and covering for behavioral problems are also not uncommon.

Q.  Many performance problems can be signs and symptoms of a troubled employee, but what about symptoms of personality disorders?  Understanding these behaviors better would help supervisors not be manipulated by these employees, correct?

A.  Learning about behaviors associated with personality disorders would not have practical value in the work setting and could undermine your ability to identify problematic behaviors or job performance issues.  It could also enable you to avoid using resources available to you, such as the EAP, to correct problems.  Personality disorders are constructs that lump fields of rigid, maladaptive, or deeply engrained behaviors within certain personality types.  This process helps clinicians understand human behavior, design treatment plans, and better understand how to help affected persons better adapt to their environment, stress, etc.  You may have an employee who is overly concerned about perfection, control or the order of things, but whether he or she has an obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is not important.  The effect of these behaviors on the work situation is what’s important.  Avoid the academics and theory of employee problems.  You will be more efficient and effective.

Q.  I am a new supervisor overseeing many blue-collar employees.  Supervising this class of workers is new for me.  Is there anything I need to know about working with blue-collar workers as opposed to white-collar workers?

A.  Often blue-collar jobs tend to be dirty, dangerous, and/or demanding (heavy physical work).  Some white-collar jobs may share these characteristics but these factors overwhelmingly tilt toward blue-collar occupations.  Your first task is to evaluate and overcome any stereotypes, myths, or unhelpful biases toward blue-collar workers that are based upon your life experience.  The type of job a person has is often falsely associated with judgments about intelligence, abilities, sophistication, motivations, ambition, education, desire to climb the occupational ladder, social habits, cultural differences, and other factors.  These myths can be reinforced by popular culture.  They can undermine the ability to build positive relationships with employees that are needed to maximize their productivity.  Talk to the EAP and learn more about your supervision style and the work culture if you remain concerned.  EAPs often have keen insights on work culture and organizational history that can be helpful to supervisors.  Don’t ignore difficulty in bonding with your employees.  Problems in this area need fast and early attention.  Examine a new resource, Working Class: Challenging Myths About Blue-Collar Labor by Jeff Torlina (August 2011, Lynne Rienner Publishers).

Q.  I am a new supervisor and there are a million things to learn.  Can you discuss one critical thing I should keep in mind that most supervisors overlook or don’t consider as they take on their new role?

A.  As a new supervisor, a powerful yet often overlooked bit of advice or awareness is to remember that employees are, first and foremost, “supervisor watchers”.  They pay attention to everything you say and do.  They’ll track your every move through the work unit, come to understand your moods, remember what you said at the water cooler two years earlier, and more.  They will model or behave in ways that are consistent with the way you behave.  If you speak badly of the organization, they will too.  If you take pride in the work unit and praise the work organization, ditto.  This principle applies to interpersonal matters, such as treating others with respect, as well.  Never stop learning and you will watch them do the same.  Set a good example for your employees to emulate.  The most powerful tools supervisors possess are their reputations and conscious use of themselves to influence those they lead.

Q.  I am nervous about a disciplinary meeting with my employee.   I fear appearing anxious and inexperienced.  Can the EAP help?

A.  Being nervous in anticipation of a disciplinary meeting is normal.  There is a way to reduce the degree of nervousness, and the EAP can help.  Try rehearsing difficult conversations using role-play with the EA professional.  (Inquire as to whether HR can assist you, as well, and be sure to follow any steps or procedures they prefer.)  Anticipate the kind of questions the employee will ask and practice your answers.  A few tips:  Keep your responses to the point.  Do not wander off topic or place a priority on helping the employee walk away feeling OK and accepting about the disciplinary action.   Some nervous supervisors who worry about “bad feelings” are drawn into talking too much or repeating themselves, not giving the employee ample time to respond.  Knowing how you are going to structure your meeting will also reduce your nervousness.

A.  Seeking work-life balance is important, but for most employees, it is an on going process, not something that is “discovered” or achieved with finality.  This means conflicts with the employer are bound to occur as employees make decisions to set limits on their availability.  Improving work-life balance can be very difficult for some employees.  Coaching help may be needed to make any meaningful progress.  Employees may face large obstacles requiring tough decisions after discussion and examination of their values, negotiating skills, and ability to be assertive or resolve conflicts at home.  The EAP can help employees navigate these obstacles while reducing risk of jeopardizing the job or working relationships.  Ask the EAP about work-life balance education for your employees.  When you witness visible frustration, be sure to inquire about how you can help.  Often employees stay silent, falsely concluding the employer has no flexibility, when in fact the opposite is true.

Q.  I think my employee is sleeping on duty in our company truck, in between deliveries during the work day.  I am suspicious because of the inability to make contact for long periods and a disheveled appearance in the afternoon.

A.  If you have evidence that your employee may be sleeping on the job, meet to discuss it.  Consult your organization’s policy for guidance, if one exists, and consider a supervisor referral to the EAP for an assessment.  Many studies over the years have examined why employees sleep on the job.  The National Sleep Foundation has conducted a few.  One of its studies showed 30% of workers have dozed off on the job.  Ninety percent of employees admit to having underperformed at work because of lack of sleep.  So, although this problem isn’t always visible, it is common.  Some employees sleep regularly on the job and simply hope to not get caught.  In some instances, coworkers may cover for each other or even sleep in groups, hidden from management.  Still, there are dozens of medical and health related explanations for sleep loss and the risk of sleeping on the job.  Your EAP will make a proper assessment.

Q.  How can I be the kind of supervisor who inspires employees?  I am not the charismatic type.  What communication skills or abilities are necessary?

A.  It is not necessary to be charismatic in order to inspire your employees.  You can learn how to help them be energetic, vibrant, moved to produce, willing to engage, and anxious to demonstrate that they are reliable, trustworthy, and loyal.  Does that sound like a tall order?  Start first by modeling and being an inspired leader.  Let your employees see your excitement.  If you are full of energy, it will be much easier to have it rub off on them.  Tell your employees about your vision, your hopes for the work unit, and what excites you about the future.  Let your employees know what a great job they’re doing.  Tell them how important their contributions are to the mission.  Point out their strengths when you see them.  Remain attentive to your employees’ needs and meet often enough to know what they are.  Go to bat for your employees and never have them thinking, “He (she) doesn’t know how tough we’ve got it.”  Instead, actually spend some time performing your employees’ jobs so you understand their challenges.  Set high standards and serve your employees.  In return, they’ll then serve the organization.

Q.  Many new employees get into trouble because they don’t understand the work culture, the unwritten rules of communication, and the politics.  Perhaps it’s not fair, but should I coach employees on these qualitative matters or let them sink or swim and figure it out?

A.  Whether or not they are fair and productive, politics, power, and communication nuances in organizations are a reality.  Any lasting work organization will acquire unwritten rules of the road for how employees must behave in order to fit in.  Naturally, being out of touch or discovering these things the hard way can break an employee’s spirit.  This makes it proper to orient your employees and coach or mentor them appropriately in the finer points of successfully navigating the work culture.  Don’t wait for your employees to have confusion, communication or performance problems, or conflicts first.  Instead, give some thought to what these political factors are and make them part of your coaching discussions.  This is helpful for employees and the work organization because it helps synchronize employee behavior with the organizations’ culture.  Don’t shy completely away from politics; instead, adapt with awareness and help your employees do the same.

Q.  My employee always argues with me when we discuss performance problems.  This pattern is nearly 20 years old.  Can the EAP meet with me and my employee with the goal of observing our interaction?  I think feedback later might help this person see his difficult communication style.

A.  You should meet with the employee assistance professional alone to discuss this conduct problem and the difficulty you have experienced in correcting it.  Your employee demonstrates poor cooperation and inability to accept feedback.  Long-term enabling has established an altered relationship where you have abdicated your authority and role as a manager.  Expect correcting this problem to be more difficult than it first appears.  Part of your discussion with the EAP will be how to establish new ground rules for your relationship.  The problem you are experiencing is a common one, but with focus and support from the EAP you will develop a strategy for turning it around.  You may eventually refer the employee to the EAP, but initially the burden of change will lie with you.

A.  Getting an anonymous note is a frustrating experience because you are usually stuck with information you can’t act on.  The subjects of anonymous notes often deal with coworkers, management practices, and safety issues.  These secretly passed messages often are attempts to manipulate the supervisor.  Although taking formal action with anonymous notes is ill advised, they are not necessarily useless.  If you’re concerned about the contents of an anonymous note, then processing it with your advisors is a smart move.  You can also discuss its contents with the EAP.  There are no absolute answers on what to do with anonymous notes.  They are simply a reality of managing employees in the workplace.  They should be handled on a case-by-case basis and scrutinized as to their underlying purpose.

Q.  Preserving “top talent” in our organization is very important.  Management expects supervisors to take the lead in keeping our best and brightest happy and productive.  What are the fundamentals of doing this, and how can the EAP help?

A.  Meeting the needs of talented employees is a popular management topic of study.  Talented employees have a need to be in a work environment that supports their continued growth.  Beyond pay, much of this support boils down to frequent feedback, good communication, clear expectations, and opportunities for training and skill development.  There is nothing new about these desires, but talented employees today have higher expectations for getting this support faster than in decades past.  With no guarantee of long-term employment or a hefty retirement, talented employees (and most employees in general) feel more pressure to ascend rapidly in their career.  Sometimes talented employees are unhappy because of other issues and problems that do not come to management’s attention.  This is where EAPs can help.  Well used EAPs spot workforce trends and learn about concerns not brought to management’s attention.  This makes employee assistance professionals particularly valuable as internal consultants in advising management on the broader needs (not personal issues) of workforce, as well as catalysts for encouraging employee clients to bring their important concerns to management so they can be addressed more quickly.

Q.  Can I refer my employee to the EAP for being argumentative?  No matter what my suggestion, some nuance, problem, issue, objection, reason to hesitate, or correction is raised by this employee.  What causes this behavior?  Is it simply a bad habit?

A.  An argument is not necessarily a bad thing, but the frequency of these interactions interferes with productivity and the quality relationship you need with your employee.  A larger problem exists, therefore, and an EAP referral is appropriate, particularly if you have requested that this behavior stop.  Even if your employee is accurately spotting problems and shortcomings in your every request, this does not preclude the need for some intervention.  There is a way to communicate more effectively that will enhance your relationship and productivity and not position every request as a battleground.  Many explanations could exist for this behavior.  It could be a symptom of other conflicts or something more psychological that compels your employee to demonstrate obsessive control and responsibility for your requests or decisions.  Keep notes on the next few interchanges and share them with the EAP at the time you make the referral. 

Q.  I left my employees alone to participate in an educational project.  Later, I heard about improper behaviors and goofing off that occurred.  Supervisors can’t be room monitors or babysitters.  Why do grown employees act this way?  Can the EAP help?

A.  There’s an old saying, “Are you growing up or just growing old?”  The lack of professional conduct that you describe appears to be immaturity, but an even better work is “dependent”.  Employees with immature behaviors are more dependent on authority or their peers to help them conform to the expectations of the larger group or situation.  Even bright and talented employees can be immature.  With these substitute “parents,” they are able to engage in social controls.  Immature employees may be easily influenced by peers to participate in inappropriate behaviors.  Hence, when you leave the room, the immaturity shows itself.  Immaturity is frustrating for responsible adults to witness, especially those adults who have spent their professional lives pursuing maturity rather than avoiding it.  You can’t know if employees you hire won’t be prone to behave immaturely.  The EAP can help, but don’t shy away from other administrative or disciplinary measures provided or approved by your organization.

Q.  Most employees are stressed, but some are stressed much more – distressed employees.  I would like to know what they might sound like or look like so I could recommend the EAP.  Can a seriously distressed employee still perform satisfactorily?

A.  Distressd employees experience great pain, anxiety, or sorrow, and they may be faced with acute physical or mental suffering.  It is possible that distressed employees could mask their symptoms and perform satisfactorily, yet still be at risk for greater mental or physical problems.  Distressed employees spend about $1,700 more on healthcare per year than other employees spend, have more ER visits, and use more home health care services.[1]  It is not possible or advisable to give supervisors a list of signs and symptoms to help them diagnose distress, but as a general rule, encourage your employees to take advantage of the EAP when you witness talk of hopelessness and worthlessness, the inability to be cheerful or carry a smile, or always appearing tired and worn out.  In short, you can usually see evidence of an employee’s pain.  Encourage these employees to get help.

  ]]> http://www.eannc.com/frontline-supervisor/623/feed/ 0 http://www.eannc.com/frontline-supervisor/may-2011/ http://www.eannc.com/frontline-supervisor/may-2011/#comments Mon, 02 May 2011 12:21:38 +0000 Shirley.Christopher http://www.eannc.com/?p=567 Q.  I tend to be wary of conflicts at work and avoid them. Of course, I know issues underlying conflicts don’t simply go away and larger problems can result. Still, I tend to avoid conflict when I can. What might cause supervisors not to face conflicts? How can we change?

A.  Sometimes avoiding conflict is a good thing, but many people mistake managing conflict for ignoring it or shying away from it. This is called conflict mismanagement. Fear of anger or fear of feeling “connection” is often the culprit in mismanaging conflicts. Connection in this context means closeness or demands on you to be open, honest, and authentic as a partner in resolving conflicts. Supervisors may not be equally proficient in these relationship skills. For some people, genuineness feels risky, particularly if their personal histories include negative experiences with vulnerability. If you learned that conflict leads to violence or “bad things” happening, you may avoid it, deny it, or delay in resolving it. Altering your behavior to accommodate conflict can lead to even greater problems. EAPs are experts at helping people manage conflicts. Learn more from these professionals if mismanaging conflict is an ongoing issue for you.

Q.  Many of my employees have financial problems. Do employee financial problems put companies at risk in any way? I think it would be extremely unlikely that any of my employees would steal, for example. So why should a company be especially concerned?

 A.  It is estimated that 30 million employees face severe financial stress — about 25% of the workforce. This figure is up nearly 300% from 30 years ago. The ways this stress affects employers are not readily visible, but they are substantial. The average employee with financial problems loses 20 work hours per month dealing with financial issues. Financial stress is also linked to an increased risk of accidents. Accidents increase workers’ compensation costs, and other ripple effects exist. Personal health can be grossly affected by financial stress. Sleep disturbances, hypertension, and anxiety are just a few examples. Many financially stressed employees seek part-time work; others quit for better pay. These are obvious turnover costs. Added burdens on workforce management professionals include dealing with garnishments, bill collectors, spouses seeking child support payments, and more.

Q.  What is the most powerful way that I can help employees feel valued? 

A.  Not feeling appreciated is a key reason employees quit jobs. This makes employee recognition programs popular. What often gets overlooked, however, is how appreciation can be expressed directly by supervisors. Don’t rely solely upon your organization to do all the “thanking.” Engage in this practice and develop it as a skill. Learn how to make it effective. What works better, having appreciation come from you or from peers? Also learn how to personalize praise by making it detailed. This has more positive impact. Thanking employees isn’t just good for them; it also reinforces behaviors you want repeated. Never hesitate to ask your employees how they like to be thanked, and do not minimize your role in praising an employee for a solid effort. Overdoing it is harder than you think. Often employees complain, “I never get a thank-you from my boss.” Don’t let that be you.

Q.  How can I help employees be more effective in workplace communication, specifically choosing its proper form? Sending an email to a customer, for example, rather than making a phone call can ruin a sale. There are other kinds of communication gaffes that are even worse.

A.  Start with any guidance available in your organization, but seek agreement with your employees on proper communication protocols. These can vary depending on your work culture, service, or industry. Brainstorm the most important communication scenarios. Discuss the implications of proper and improper communication choices. Research what other companies are doing to solve their communication issues. Some companies establish elaborate policies to gain better control over this problem. You can find examples by searching for the phrase “routine workplace communication techniques and protocols.” The increasing options and tools for communication have compounded the problem. The adage “information is not communication” describes the difficulty faced by employers. A telephone call, email, post, tweet, text, or face-to-face meeting can all say the same thing, but the wrong choice of any of them can lead to disaster. Add generational bias or differences in status, position, or culture and you can see how this problem can affect the bottom line.

Q.  Helping employees feel satisfied with their jobs so turnover is low and helping them remain happy so they perform well are every employer’s goals. Is there research that points to how that is most predictably accomplished?

A.  Helping your employees feel “empowered” boosts morale and increases the desire to be productive. That’s the conclusion of a study by Scott Seibert, professor of management and organization at the University of Iowa’s Tipple College of Business, which examined more than 140 other management research studies related to the effect of empowerment.¹ In every industry, occupation, or geographic region, empowering employees produces higher morale and motivation for higher productivity. It holds true regardless of gender, job, or culture. Empowerment is a closely studied dynamic with significant psychological effects on workers and a clear impact on the bottom line. Recognizing or improving your employees’ work status, giving them authority to acquire resources and effect change, authorizing them to make decisions, giving them delegation authority, etc. — these controls relieve stress and free up creativity. Find these opportunities in your employees’ positions and you’ll discover the magic effect of empowerment on your bottom line.

Source: http://tiny.cc/empower-workers

URLs case sensitive. Information contained in the FrontLine Supervisor is for general information purposes only and is not intended to be specific guidance for any particular supervisor or human resource management concern. For specific guidance on handling individual employee problems, consult with your EA Professional. © 2011 DFA Publishing & Consulting, LLC