What Should We Do When...

Employees’ personal lives often can affect their ability to do their jobs and interact with co-workers, supervisors and clients. In our industry, we sometimes we see this behavior in aggressiveness toward other employees - we see it in attendance or tardiness - we see it in a slowed efforts to be productive.

Be aware that even when employees have serious personal issues to deal with at home, they still must meet performance expectations and act professionally.

We see this problem at work with the return of each construction season - I will get a call from a manager, saying - "You will simply not believe what he is going through!"

As a manager, you should be sympathetic and understanding - but you must stay focused on helping the employee meet his/her performance goals.

Again, communication is KEY. When approaching an employee with personal problems give specific examples of unacceptable behavior and make clear your expectations for improvement and staying focused at the task at hand.

Bringing these matters of unacceptable work behaviors to the employee’s attention in a concerned manner will likely allow him or her to realize - more quickly - how the personal issues are negatively impacting working relationships.

I recommend arranging a one-on-one meeting.

One meeting may be enough to resolve the problem. Depending on the situation, you may want to consider other options:

• For severe situations, consider a mandatory referral to an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Delta Companies' EAP program is through REACH Workplace Solutions. For a directed supervisor referral, contact Human Resources.
• You can strongly suggest that the employee voluntarily take advantage of the program or just remind the employee of the service by providing contact information. This would allow the employee an opportunity to disclose personal issues to a professional and obtain a referral as needed for additional counseling.
• Employees whose personal issues consume them at work may be physically at work or in the office but spending all their time dealing with personal problems rather than performing their jobs. It may be appropriate to offer such an employee time off work—in the form of vacation or unpaid personal leave—to deal with the issues so that he or she can come back to work more focused.
• A performance improvement plan can outline areas for improvement and your expectations for performance expectations.
• The employee may need anger management classes to help cope with stress at work and home.
• Employees who are so overwhelmed with emotional issues at home may have trouble prioritizing and staying focused at work. They may just need extra supervisory assistance setting priorities, staying on task and dealing with roadblocks. You may have to communicate verbally and in writing. Allowing time for the employee to vent about issues constructively with you may be helpful.

You should be concerned with the stress levels of employees, as stress has a serious impact on worker productivity. Careful planning and empathy in dealing with employees whose personal problems affect their work performance are useful tools good managers should have in their tool box.

If you have any questions, please give me a call.

Debbi Robinson
Manager, Human Resources
Delta Companies Inc
- Adapted from Liz Peterson, HR Magazine