Poor Mental Health at Work!
Companies have to adapt to meet business or market demands and they may also need to adapt with employees when facing a difficult time in their life. According to research by Bensinger, DuPont & Associates, 47% of employees say that problems, worry, distress or frustration in their personal lives sometimes affect their work performance.
Naturally you will wish to retain employees and provide enough support needed, but helping a staff member who is struggling is probably one of the biggest challenges you’ll ever face as a Manager. The majority of large companies have Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) in place but for smaller firms you, as a Manager, will face a ‘hand-hold’ approach through the duration.
Here are some ways that might help you:
- Have weekly catch-ups to show your support and record everything on paper.
- Listen – but don’t become part of the problem.
- Share who could potentially help: guide them to expertise.
- Be compassionate, but fair.
- Monitor performance and ensure this isn’t becoming increasingly affected. You do have a company or operation to run too.
Sometimes people just want to off load, just need an ear to listen and are not looking for a solution. But for some, with more serious struggles….show empathy and help them on the pathway to find an expert who is trained in the area of need.
