Q.  One of our employees finally got caught stealing money to support a gambling habit. He says he is sorry and fears losing his job, and that is probably going to happen. My question is this, “Is he sorry, or just sorry he got caught?”

A.  Your employee can easily be both sorry he got caught and remorseful for the behavior that perpetrated a crime causing harm to others. Compulsive behaviors are confusing to those who have never experienced one like drug addiction, alcoholism, gambling, eating disorders, etc. These addictions almost always include numerous, frustrating attempts by the addict to stop and control the behavior. These ultimately fail. Getting caught fulfills this goal of stopping in the short term, but it won’t last without treatment that promotes cessation of gambling, a recovery program to maintain it, and avoidance of triggers that incite relapse. The current crisis creates amenability to change afforded by threat of job loss, but if the company decides to accommodate the employee as an ill worker, it must include rigorous long-term follow-up using the support of the EAP and its recommendations.

Q.  Can I learn the details of an employee’s personal problems if a release is signed by the employee that allows me to have this information? 

A.   An EAP would not have a release with the provisions you mention. Although an employee could sign such a release, it would be discouraged and considered inconsistent with EAP policy and purpose. It could undermine support for the program in general, distract from your role in focusing only on performance, complicate your relationship with the employee, and even jeopardize the program’s being perceived as offering safe and ensured confidentiality, which is its most precious asset. Nothing prohibits an employee from sharing information voluntarily with others, including supervisors, of course.

Q.  Can supervisors use the EAP to role-play different situations in confronting and correcting employee performance, even if not making a supervisor referral? What’s the value in doing it, especially if the super-visor has decades of experience and has “seen it all”? 

A.  A key provision of the EAP core technology that defines the scope of EAP functions and practice is management consultation regarding productivity issues and troubled employees. In fact, this element is listed as #1 before employee assessment and referral functions. A strong relationship with managers being engaged with EAPs is essential to any program maximizing its value to the work organization. Role-play consultation is therefore an opportunity EAPs offer supervisors. It can help reduce manager stress when conducting corrective interviews, encourage supervisors’ assertiveness with their subordinates, increase the likelihood of earlier EAP referrals, help managers encounter difficult employees more successfully, and in a global sense, reduce risk to the organization.

Q.  Everyone’s heard the adage that employees don’t leave companies, they leave bad bosses. Isn’t this just a management training cry to impress supervisors?

A.   More than 57% of workers in a recent survey conducted by Developmental Dimensions International quit a job because of a “bad boss.” Of those who stayed, a third gave quitting serious consideration. Here’s the bottom line, according to analysis of data and experiences of managers: How managers handle their emotions and how they make other people feel are the strongest drivers of employee retention. More specifically, for many managers, their promotion or selection to lead others is often unexpected, and a third of managers don’t like being the boss. With a growing millennial work population who place a high value on work-life balance, making a difference, and positive workplaces, the belief that these young professionals will respond even more negatively to a bad boss is a trend that is expected to continue. So, what makes a bad boss? According to the research, it’s bosses who are overwhelmed, unfair, poor listeners, impersonal or disorganized, don’t solicit feedback, and withhold responsibility from line workers. The can help supervisors overcome most, if not all of these limitations.

                                                                                                                                                                                     ^{Source: www.hrdive.com “Employees Really Do Leave Bad Bosses, Research Shows”} 

Q.   A common complaint of management advisers is that supervisor documentation is not descriptive, factual, or measurable enough, or it is filled with emotional and subjective language. What other complaints or problems often interfere with effective supervisor documentation?

A.  Another issue interfering with documentation’s usefulness is its being created too late or too long after problems are first noticed. It’s rare for performance to be an even downward line of deterioration. Rather, deterioration may waver between problematic performance and surprising levels of high achievement despite the downward trend. This choppiness is often graded by supervisors on the high side, creating delays in administrative or corrective actions. This is coupled with employees bringing attention to their achievements or requesting recognition for satisfactory performance. Both tend to drive the curve up as supervisors delay and give troubled employees the benefit of the doubt. Another observation, particularly among alcoholic or drug-addicted employees, is high levels of performance in earlier years of addiction, when hard-driving work ethic and social skills produce a strong following of admirers, most of whom will enable the addict as time goes by. When substance use finally does affect performance negatively, denial or wait-and-see approaches ensue. Supervisors that engage the EAP early-on in their attempts to manage trouble workers risk fewer problems associated with delay and other forms of enabling.

^{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 Employee Assistance Professional. ©2020 DFA Publishing & Consulting, LLC.}

Q.  When documenting evidence of reasonable suspicion of substance abuse, what should I be cautious about not omitting so my documentation is useful and effective?

A.  Common omissions when creating documentation to support reasonable suspicion of substance abuse include failure to contrast behaviors witnessed with those normally observed. These other non-problematic behaviors show that what you have observed is not easily explained away by another cause. For example, if you witness an employee’s uncontrollable and inappropriate laughter—a possible indication of illicit drug use—be sure to describe how the employee’s mood and demeanor normally appear. Likewise, if an employee is behaving in a belligerent or aggressive manner, be sure to state that no provocation existed prior to the disturbing behavior, if indeed none was witnessed. These contrasts help make your documentation credible. In the latter example, the behavior documented is far less likely to be challenged and dismissed as a happy-go-lucky personality style.

Q.  When an employee is referred to the EAP by a supervisor, if the employee truly believes they have no personal problem whatsoever, isn’t this the same as forcing the employee to participate? Isn’t this a problem for the EAP as a matter of ethics? 

A.  As a matter of policy, EAPs are voluntary and established to help employees address personal problems that may affect job performance, and they serve as helpful and appropriate mechanisms to assist supervisors in managing troubled employees. Within this framework, a supervisor referral based on job performance, even if an employee says they have no personal problems, does not conflict with ethics or the EAP’s core technology (fundamental principles of operation). The classic example is the alcoholic in denial who attends the EAP after referral for performance problems, but later is motivated to enter treatment based upon an assessment, motivational counseling, and evidence of the disease. Some employers may modify their policies to make participation in EAPs mandatory for certain infractions. However, even in such cases, referral is more akin to an accommodation with a disciplinary action held in abeyance, pending cooperation and follow-through with EAP recommendations.

Q.  What is a common mistake supervisors make after informally referring an employee to the EAP for performance issues and urging them to attend?

A.  The most common mistake is not formalizing the referral later if lasting changes in performance are not forthcoming. Some supervisors prefer to be less formal about urging troubled employees to participate in the EAP. This approach can be effective, and it is less confrontational, but it typically will not generate the same degree of urgency and cooperation as a formal referral process does. This can be a problem if a health condition exists that requires a strong commitment from the employee to treat it. For example, an employee with an attendance problem due to an undiagnosed gambling addiction may be less motivated to participate in every EAP recommendation to treat this difficult condition. Motivation and urgency, which are more likely with a formal supervisor referral, would be lacking. Loss of a valuable worker is a risk if the supervisor does not go the next step to formalize the EAP referral with continuing performance problems.

Q.  My main problem as a supervisor is lack of assertiveness. I imagine conflict and hesitate to ask employees to do certain things, or I avoid raising issues I perceive will create conflict. I am very frustrated with myself and want to overcome this problem. What do you suggest?

A.   The battle is half won with your desire to change. It appears that you are linking assertiveness with aggression. Doing so inhibits your ability to become assertive. Assertiveness is not aggression, which takes rights from others. Shift your focus to your right and responsibility to supervise, direct, and lead others because it is your job to do so. The EAP can work with you to master this supervisory skill. Every day is an opportunity to practice assertiveness, so give the following a shot: When you experience an opportunity to be assertive, mentally identify the justification. For example, tell yourself, “My job requires asking Jim to have all the statistics to me by Friday.” Later, make a note of how well you performed at being assertive, and how you’ll improve at the next opportunity. These steps of thinking, writing, reading, practicing, and evaluating will lead you to your goal.

Q.  If performance problems return after an employee is referred to the EAP, should I assume the employee is still participating in the program if no phone call from the EA professional informs me otherwise? 

A.  Communication is key to successfully using the EAP and helping troubled workers. So make the call to find out whether your employee’s participation is still ongoing (assuming a consent form is still active), and discuss the performance issues. A number of possibilities exist: 1) Your employee could be fully participating, but still be having performance issues; 2) the employee may represent to the EAP that they are participating in its recommendations, but are not really doing so; 3) the employee may have withdrawn the release and abandoned EAP participation; and/or 4) the employee may be participating fully in recommendations, but withdrawn his or her contact with the EAP. Other possibilities also exist. The bottom line is that you get to decide how to respond to the performance issues because EAPs and EAP participation do not establish a roadblock that prevents supervisors from doing their jobs.

^{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 Employee Assistance Professional.   ©2019 DFA Publishing & Consulting, LLC.}