Q.  The EAP presented a seminar on substance abuse to field supervisors.  There was a lively discussion and argument among participants concerning alcoholism, its definition, and signs and symptoms.  Are the defensive people at the meeting the ones with alcohol problems?

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.

Q.  I am a new supervisor who is replacing another leadership staff member who retired.  Employees had a great deal of respect for my predecessor.  How do I efficiently and quickly gain their trust?  I know that this also is the first step toward gaining a great deal of respect in the future.

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.