Q.  More of my employees are seeking better work-life balance.  This is good, but it has caused some conflicts on the job.  How can supervisors play a supportive role and encourage employees to live with balance, while still insisting on high standards of productivity?

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.

  Q.  I received an anonymous note stating that my employee was once again drinking after a referral to a treatment program.  The employee is performing satisfactorily.  Should I throw the note away as “unread”?  Should anonymous notes be discarded?

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.

[1]  Source tiny.cc/work-distress

 

  

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