Q.  What is fear of success?  Is this problem something a supervisor should help an employee overcome or would this be strictly an EAP issue?

A.  Fear of success has been discussed in psychology journals for decades.  You also will find many references to it in contemporary literature.  Fear of success is created by anxiety associated with the anticipation of reaching a goal.  The phenomenon usually is outside the awareness of the person experiencing it.  Like most achievements, positive and negative consequences and the need for change usually result.  If challenging enough, these factors may produce anxiety resulting in procrastination, the inability to complete assignments, failure to anticipate problems that undermine the goal, distractions, beliefs about the unattainable nature of the goal, or behaviors that undermine actions steps to the goal’s timely completion.  Would-be goal achievers are usually not aware of how they sabotage their own success and often are baffled by the inability to get what they desire.  You can’t be a psychologist of course, but you can help by insisting on timely achievements, results, accountability, and voluntarily accepting help from the EAP.  Each can play a helpful role.

Q.  I am sure many employees experience financial problems, but I don’t hear much talk about it.  Besides stress and worry, how can employees suffer from financial problems?

 A.  A recent MetLife Study of Employee Benefits Trends discovered that about 44% of employees live paycheck to paycheck, and nearly 60% are very concerned about having enough money to make ends meet.  Most people would agree that financial stress is difficult with its accompanying worry and distraction, but this is only part of the story.  Many people endure financial stress alone because of stigma, fear of being judged by others, or feeling guilty because of overspending.  These issues can keep employees from seeking help, even from a trusted EAP.  Financial stress can contribute to headaches, backaches, ulcers, increased blood pressure, depression, anxiety, and panic.  Many employees will cope with financial stress using denial, “magical” thinking, and/or coping strategies that relieve fear but don’t solve their problems.  As problems worsen, risk increases for falling prey to payday loans, Internet schemes, gambling, or other high-risk “remedies.”  Financial problems diminish one’s sense of autonomy, feeling of security, and self-control.  So with financial problems come increased workplace absenteeism, diminished workplace performance, and depression.  All these things can adversely affect productivity.

Q.  I am in favor of employees using the EAP to help them manage stress, and I am happy to encourage them to do so, especially during these stressful times.  What can I say to increase their motivation to consider the program?

 A.  When encouraging use of the employee assistance program, go beyond merely mentioning the program as a helpful resource.  Increase motivation to use the program by reinforcing important aspects of the EAP’s unique approach, particularly its confidential nature.  Also disavow and renounce the stigma of seeking professional help for a personal problem.  State that you will not allow harm to come to the employee’s job or career situation simply for using the EAP.  This position is consistent with any organization’s policy establishing the EAP.  It can be helpful to mention specific types of problems many employees experience and that are appropriate for taking to the EAP.  These include family problems, struggles with teenagers, or communication conflicts in couples’ relationships.  Repetition of a positive EAP message is one key to improve utilization, but nothing is more powerful than a supervisor who encourages use of the program.

Q.  I think awareness of the symptoms of burnout is important for employees so they can consider getting help early.  Are there measurable and documentable symptoms of burnout that supervisors should know so they can document this condition and refer employees to the EAP?

A.  There are job performance issues associated with burnout, but using them to determine if your employee faces burnout is not a good idea.  This is because these behavioral signs and symptoms are mostly secondary to the mental health issues of burnout underlying them.  Also, other problems may contribute to what appear to be burnout symptoms.  Avoid this diagnostic examination and pondering because you will make more efficient referrals to the EAP.  For example, one symptom of burnout may be dread at getting up in the morning to go to work.  You can’t document “dread,” but you can document tardiness.  Another symptom of burnout may be resentment toward other employees who love their jobs and are bright-eyed about their careers.  You can’t document resentment, but you can document conflict.  It is hard to document “lack of motivation, but it is easy to document incomplete assignments, lack of initiative, or work delays.

Q.  I have been a manager for about two years, but frankly, I don’t like the job.  I accepted this position because I was too embarrassed to say I didn’t want it.  I can’t quit, but I don’t think I’m cut out for the pressure and expectations.  How do I cope with this situation?

A.  If you can’t quit, you have only a couple of options:  Improve your ability to cope with a job you don’t like or acquire what it takes to be more accepting of the position and its responsibilities.  If you have not worked with a job coach or the employee assistance program concerning this issue, then choose the latter.  Dislike for your position may be a combination of many factors, such as your need to learn to cope with job pressures, fear of responsibility, depression, inadequate supervisory skills (there are dozens of them, and they are all teachable), lack of balance in your life (allowing you to do things outside of work that you enjoy), and lack of stress management techniques designed for the specific issues you face on the job.  See if working on these issues improves job satisfaction.

Q.  My employee went to the EAP but was unable to stick with the treatment program for alcoholism.  Unfortunately, the employee’s job was lost due to the relapse.  Why do some employees recover while others do not?  I can’t help but think the relapse was somehow partly my fault.

A.  As with the treatment of any chronic condition, the burden of following instructions and managing a program of recovery from alcoholism rests with the alcoholic (patient).  A frustrating part of alcoholism is relapse.  Your feeling upset and wondering if you could have prevented it is a natural response.  However, the relapse is not your fault.  A universal tenet in all effective treatment models is that patients are responsible for their own recovery.  There can be many reasons for a relapse, including inadequate treatment, inefficient or inadequate follow-up, concurrent mental health or physical problems, provocative and non-supportive living environments, failure to follow instructions, poor education about the illness, and relationships with codependent persons who undermine recovery.  A failure to change one’s lifestyle is often another cause of relapse.  The best way you can help your employees is by better understanding the disease with help from the EAP, referring employees to the EAP when performance issues appear, and holding them accountable for their own conduct or performance.

Q.  The U.S. Secret Service scandal last month shed light, in part, on the role of supervisors, improper conduct, inappropriate boundaries, and how managers can undermine the mission of a work unit by choosing to become “one of the boys”.  Why does this happen?

A.  Those in leadership roles who decide to behave as peers or become “one of the boys” with their supervisees risk rendering their authority irrelevant.  Management trainees and their employers can benefit from learning more about this dynamic and its powerful effect in undermining productivity and the organization’s mission.  What supervisors do always takes precedence over what they believe, say, and think – even if a history of positive leadership exists.  Behavior always trumps because its problem for many supervisors is that they lose track of the organization’s mission as their goal.  Instead, their relationship with supervisees becomes more important.  The mission then unwittingly becomes subordinate to it.  Ironically, these supervisors often believe their priorities are properly aligned or complementary.  Supervisors can benefit from the EAP’s ability to help them examine these misplaced loyalties, and top management should refer these troubled supervisors early – as soon as the problematic pattern comes to light.

Q.  I have an excellent worker with a serious absenteeism issue.  I hesitate to initiate a confrontation or take disciplinary action because these options could damage my relationship with this employee.  Pushing a formal EAP referral might also be problematic.  What should I do?

 A.  A supervisor with an outstanding worker who has an absenteeism problem is a classic example of why employee assistance programming melds so efficiently with management practices.  Most supervisors with the problem you describe hope for the pattern of absenteeism to spontaneously resolve itself, but unfortunately this rarely happens.  Talk to your supervisor and the EAP first.  Bring and share information you’ve documented about the absenteeism pattern.  This will help the EA professional determine how you can better monitor and properly confront your employee.  Eventually, you will need to face the crisis that will appear if this problem continues.  Will your job be jeopardized?  Will other employees’ health suffer from working overtime?  Will direct and indirect costs associated with the absenteeism climb?  Currently, your procrastination feels preferable over taking action, but working with the EAP may help you feel comfortable about moving closer to intervening in this situation (rather than losing control of it and experiencing undesirable consequences).

 Q.  How can I encourage my employees to use my expertise as a supervisor or manager?  I think some employees are unsure about how to use a supervisor as a resource.  I don’t want to be just a boss, but a teacher, mentor, and career adviser as well.

 A.  Many employees approach their jobs with the idea that the supervisor plays only a punitive role.  Younger employees may be more susceptible to this pattern of thinking.  This misconception can make employees quiet and “avoidant.”  To intervene, offer guidance on how you can benefit them, especially their careers.  Share how you can help employees develop their goals, identify and point out strengths and areas for growth, deliver knowledge and experience, delegate valuable assignments to encourage skill building, offer brainstorming collaboration, problem-solve workload and manageability issues, and invite suggestions for changes in the office or workflow.  Always explain that you seek loyalty from employees, but this does not mean agreeing with everything you say.  Don’t hesitate to put these and other issues into writing if it will help your employees make more constructive use of your role.