This is an ongoing content series on the current EAN website. We have set it up again here so you can continue to use it (if you like.)
Q. We have an employee on the job who has been sober for many years. He has no performance issues but was an employee assistance program (EAP) client in the past. Reportedly, his doctor is recommending smoking marijuana to help treat insomnia and depression. I am worried about relapse. Should I contact the EAP?
A. Contact your EA professional to discuss your concerns about the employee. Afterwards, keep track of your employee’s performance as you would any other worker, and stay attuned to performance issues. Since performance isn’t currently problematic, your options are limited to confidentially processing these worries through the EAP. You’re rightfully concerned. Using psychoactive substances is typically considered a relapse for those recovering from alcohol use disorder (alcoholism) even if job performance remains acceptable. Relapses tend toward a chronic path and eventual use of the primary drug of choice. The EAP may decide to reach out to inquire how the employee’s recovery program is going and, depending on the outcome of that discussion, attempt to assess whether treatment is again warranted, make other recommendations to the employee, or perhaps, with the employee’s permission, consult with the patient’s doctor.
Q. If I phone the EAP to speak with the professional about an employee’s issues, will this conversation be kept confidential even though I am not an “EAP client”?
A. Yes, your consult with the EA professional is confidential. This can be helpful before referring an employee, allowing discussion of unique performance issues affecting the worker. (Note that this does not breach employee privacy because the consult is prior to referral.) Contacting the EAP anytime is encouraged. Pre-referral consults help ensure that referrals from you are handled effectively and all the expected and anticipated communication points are understood. The last thing you want is to be confused or wonder when the EAP will phone you following a referral or what to do if that call is not forthcoming. Tailored coaching on approaching an employee and suggestions on addressing specific behaviors can make the difference in successful referral. In some cases, consulting with the EAP may help you intervene with an employee’s performance issues so successfully that referral is never needed.
Q. I feel guilty considering disciplinary action for an employee with ongoing performance issues when they’re also working with the EAP on personal problems. The advice to “just focus on performance” doesn’t make that any easier.
A. It’s not uncommon for supervisors to feel conflicted in this situation. Many don’t fully understand that EAPs serve two purposes: They provide compassionate help to employees while also supporting the organization’s performance and productivity goals. In this regard, it’s the employee’s responsibility to meet performance expectations. You’re an empathetic supervisor, but empathy need not override performance standards. You may also see discipline as punitive rather than supportive. This common misalignment can impede your core supervisory responsibility to hold employees accountable. Your role is to make sure employees have clear goals, well-crafted expectations, and access to the appropriate resources so they can do their job. You might find it helpful to review, with the EAP and human resources, whether you’ve done everything possible to support the employee. (Clear communication, performance improvement plan, etc.) Doing so will help you feel assured that you’ve fulfilled your duty to support the employee if you need to proceed with disciplinary measures.
Q. I tend to be too lenient with rulebreakers, tardy workers, and underperformers. It’s to avoid tension and conflict. Can the EAP help me be more assertive, less insecure? How? EAP is so short term.
A. The EAP can definitely help, but since employees have grown accustomed to your current style, some resistance is normal when you begin setting firmer standards; they may test whether you’re serious about the new expectations. It won’t take long for the EAP to assist you with behavioral tasks to help you establish a new approach to managing employees. This is called solution-focused brief counseling, and it’s an EAP specialty. For example, after sharing information with the EAP (as a client), you may be assigned a homework task or two to build skills like assertiveness. The EAP may suggest that for the next two weeks, you address every instance of tardiness calmly within 24 hours. And you’ll meet with the EAP to discuss your experience. Later, you may move on to brief corrective conversations with employees, role play them with the EAP, and examine what you said, what you felt during the corrective meeting, and how things turned out versus what you feared. You should anticipate a supervisory style in about four to five EAP sessions.
Q. An employee’s negative attitude is obviously an important performance issue. But an attitude often seems hard to describe because it has a strong mental component that is hard to quantify. Give me some direction on how to do it.
A. Most employees and supervisors agree that a negative attitude can disrupt the workplace and harm productivity. It often affects morale, collaboration, and performance. Documenting it can be tricky because if documentation is vague, employees can deny it and say you were “reading me all wrong.” When supervisors document attitude concerns, they often stop at general statements and don’t include specific, observable examples. This undermines documentation. The right approach ensures clear, measurable detail that supports the concern and is less refutable. Use two steps: 1) clearly label the attitude—pessimism, rudeness, blame-shifting, disengagement, apathy, cynicism, resistance, entitlement, sarcasm, victim mindset, etc. 2) then describe behavior and tone. Example #1: “Judy demonstrates a pattern of pessimism. She frequently makes statements such as ‘This will never work’ or ‘Good going, genius, now we’ll never meet the deadline.’” Example #2: Bill demonstrates an attitude of entitlement. He stated to the team, “You all are wasting my time; doing this work is not why I was hired.” Adding coworker or customer impact strengthens documentation.
FrontLineSupervisor is for general informational purposes only and is notintended to be specific guidance for any particular supervisor or humanresource management concern. For specific guidance on handling individualemployee problems, consult with your EA professional. ©2026 DFA Publishing & Consulting, LLC.Gender use in Frontline Supervisor content is strictly random.
Q. What is “Lone Ranger syndrome” as it pertains to supervisor practices and using the employee assistance program (EAP)?
A. Lone Ranger syndrome describes a set or pattern of behaviors commonly attributed to supervisors who believe they are responsible for managing employee performance problems and helping troubled employees resolve personal issues, typically without relying on organizational resources like the EAP. In short, it refers to a strong, often misguided, sense of independence. These supervisors view themselves as solid and loyal performers, but they risk becoming overwhelmed and easily subject to burnout. Their inability or unwillingness to ask for help is viewed as a risk to the workplace. The term was coined in the 1970s by federal Office of Personnel Management Employee Relations Manager Art Purvis in a widely published and circulated monograph. Examining Lone Ranger syndrome helps supervisors gain self-awareness and understand the value of EAPs in relieving them of the impossible burden of involving themselves in employees’ problems. The key hurdle is convincing oneself that it is okay to ask for help.
Q. How can a supervisor effectively implement a structured debriefing after a workplace incident? Or should we rely on the EAP to help manage these types of events?
A. EAPs are available to help organizations communicate with workers and address the emotional impact of traumatic events. Call upon the EAP when a serious accident, an assault, a robbery, the death of a coworker, or exposure to such events and the resulting secondary trauma affect your workplace. Secondary trauma means that even employees who were not directly involved may experience anxiety, irritability, sleep problems, and changes in work performance. Early EAP involvement helps employees normalize reactions and reduce long-term impact. In the meantime, consider talking with the EAP about your role and your work unit’s needs in advance of an incident. Also review your organization’s critical incident policies and procedures, if available. (Do not wait for an incident to occur before diving into this material.) Conceivably, an incident may require you to take a leadership role in managing a workplace response, and having clarity about expectations, resources, and procedures beforehand will help you step in to manage the situation appropriately and bridge the response until EAP assistance can be arranged.
Q. We have an employee who visited the EAP. She shared with us her struggle with anxiety and burnout and requested time off for a couple days. Can the EAP help verify whether the work she is doing is too much for her nervous system? She wants to keep her job but we need expert input.
A. Although the EAP can work with your employee to address her mental health challenges, it cannot render an opinion regarding her ability to perform essential functions of her position. That determination rests with management, in consultation with Human Resources and, when appropriate, occupational health or medical providers whom they may want to consult. The EAP’s role is supportive, focusing on helping employees and connecting them with community resources. It does not assess fitness for duty, certify disability status, or recommend job restrictions. These functions are managerial in scope. EAPs that involve themselves in such roles potentially undermine the program’s ability to attract employees. If this happened, word of it would spread fast among employees.
Q. What strategies optimize EAP engagement when employees are reluctant to use external resources due to confidentiality concerns or fear of judgment?
A. EAPs attract employees struggling with personal problems because they are perceived as professional, convenient, at no cost, confidential, and nonjudgmental. These elements should be promoted among supervisors and the organization, with top management especially underscoring them and visually supporting the program. This is how the effective marketing of an EAP occurs. Promoting an EAP is much like marketing any other product—it requires consistent, meaningful communication that builds trust and highlights the program’s value. The issue that creates the most concern is whether the EAP is confidential, and the frequent marketing of this aspect of the program is what drives EAP utilization and prevents the erosion of perceived confidentiality that can occur naturally.
Q. How can managers distinguish between performance problems due to skills deficits and those arising from unmanaged mental health problems?
A. This is one of the classic questions of supervisors when first learning about EAPs, but the good news is that you don’t have to distinguish between the two to take appropriate action. Keep your focus on attendance, quantity of work, quality of work, attitude, conduct, and availability (being ready and able to work). In other words, simply be a good supervisor and help employees perform to the best of their ability. If problems emerge, persist, fluctuate, or reappear after coaching and corrective steps you take naturally, consider referring the employee to the EAP. Use the procedure recommended by the EAP or established by your organization. Your referral to the EAP should always be based on performance issues, not mental health or other health problems you believe explain an employee’s behavior or performance decline.
FrontLine Supervisor is for general informational purposes only and is not intended to be specific guidance for any supervisor or human resource management concern. For specific guidance on handling individual employee problems, consult with your EA professional. ©2026 DFA Publishing & Consulting, LLC. Gender use in Frontline Supervisor content is strictly random.
