- EAN staff is available when our office is closed to help you manage personal crisis or traumatic events in the workplace. Call our office at 828-252-5725 and press ‘0’ to reach our crisis management team member by phone.
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. My employee was admitted to a psychiatric hospital for depression. The doctor phoned to discuss the employee’s return to work. I suppose I can do it, but would it be better for the EAP to play this role? I gave the EAP phone number to the employee, but I’m not sure there was follow-through.
A. Provide the phone number of the EAP to the doctor so the program can be contacted regarding back-to-work issues. Also provide the doctor’s phone number to the EAP. Explain the circumstances. The EAP will contact the doctor, who will in turn engage the worker and arrange a back-to-work conference. The employee will then likely become an EAP client with proper consent forms signed so appropriate information can be released to you. The above process will allow the EAP to discuss clinical matters with the doctor without your involvement. Later, the EAP will monitor the employee and follow any discharge instructions. Reasonable accommodations, if necessary, will be shared with you for your consideration. Supervisors are less burdened when they rely on the EAP to manage communication issues like the one discussed here. And of course, recovering employees are better managed, and the reputation of the EAP as a helpful service to all is enhanced.
Q. I have referred many employees to the EAP over the years. I often notice the personal problem gets resolved, but performance also improves. This is expected, but it is often beyond what even I anticipated. What explains this surprising level of performance improvement after employees visit the EAP?
A. When employees participate in the EAP, they are not only assisted in resolving a personal problem, but may also need to participate in ongoing activities or personal efforts to maintain and improve mental and physical wellness. Preventing relapse of a substance use disorder especially requires a lot of self-care for the patient/employee. This may include focusing on improving one’s diet, attention to health needs, better stress management, chronic disease education, better problem-solving, psychotherapy, goal setting, work-life balance, and attending to relationship problems at home, the continuation of which would jeopardize recovery. It is sometimes said that employees who visit the EAP for help with a personal problem get “better than well.” This is the phenomenon you are witnessing.
Q. My employee has had serious attendance problems. I referred the worker to the EAP, and a release was signed. Everything is going well I hear, but should I expect attendance problems to stop immediately or should I give it some time?
A. You should expect complete resolution of the attendance problem the next time your employee is due to beat work, no matter how long the attendance problem has existed. Attendance problems are symptoms that stem from the problems that create them, whether it be a faulty alarm clock or a serious substance abuse issue. Consider, if the worker can’t engage in the essential substance abuse issue. Consider, if the worker can’t engage in the essential functions of the job, one of which is coming to work on time, then the worker is not qualified to be in the job. So you should expect a return to the approved schedule. If the EAP informs you that the employee will miss work for specific periods of time necessary to address a concern or need associated with the resolution of the attendance problem, and this accommodation is one you can grant without undue burden on the employer, then this informed absence or lateness to work would be appropriate.
Q. What is the underlying reason some supervisors bully employees? Is it insecurity or psychological problems? And what are the most common types of bullying behaviors exhibited by supervisors?
A. Most supervisors do not bully employees because they are insecure or have psychological problems. Instead, research appears to show motivation to bully is predominantly driven by the need to control subordinates and fear that they won’t successfully do it without being intimidating. Research also shows that some supervisors feel better and get an energy boost from intimidating others, but the penalties arrive shortly in the form of poor productivity, morale problems, and turnover – everything a supervisor doesn’t want! The most common types of bullying include 1)yelling at employees or speaking to them in a way that causes them to feel intimidated; 2) making inappropriate personal criticisms; 3) giving unreasonable deadlines and work; 4) showing favoritism toward only certain workers; 5) constantly criticizing; 6) threatening employees with disciplinary action or termination (e.g., “I’m going to write you up!”); and 7)micromanaging (nitpicking and controlling the details after delegating work).
Q. I referred my employee to the EAP for being quarrelsome with coworkers. I don’t know what the underlying issues were with this employee, but the program worked! After nine months, the EAP still lets me know the employee is participating in the program. Is this necessary?
A. It is likely the EAP made a decision that feedback to you would be important to help the employee remain both focused and motivated to continue treatment or involvement in whatever help was determined necessary. The leverage of the formal referral you made, which employees always perceive to be linked to their job security (whether stated by you or not), is what created(or helped create) a sense of urgency to get help for the quarrelsome behavior. Dozens of health issues or conditions could contribute to such behavior: poor sleep, chronic pain, depression, alcoholic withdrawal, and a plethora of psychological issues or habits of communication. Be sure to periodically praise the employee’s performance and cooperation with others at work. Realize that the role of a manager in influencing the employee’s productivity and wellness doesn’t end after the referral. Instead, it is often the beginning.
Q. Can the EAP help me stop worrying about whether others are judging me as a new supervisor? I don’t want to go through a big therapy process. I just want to stop being so self-conscious so I can engage with my peers, be more relaxed, and stop worrying about whether others are judging me.
A. Discuss your goals with the EAP. The program can help you by giving you a plan to practice, monitor, and gauge progress in overcoming these habits of thinking so you feel more confident. Your struggle is a common one many people are hesitant to admit, but you can learn social and engagement skills that will help. You will discover positive self-talk affirmations, how to avoid becoming preoccupied with these thoughts, how to focus on others rather than yourself, and how to overcome false beliefs about what people are thinking in social settings. You will learn to stop thinking about making an impression and instead concentrate on engaging effectively. After an assessment, or later on, you might become interested in exploring other challenges related to your immediate goals. If so, the EAP can offer ideas or other sources of assistance.
Q. How can I be less stressed out as a supervisor? Yes, I know about work-life balance, finding a mentor, and even relaxation exercises, but there must be more generally helpful ways to cope. Perhaps other supervisors who are less stressed than I am have some tips they can share? How can the EAP help?
A. Unfortunately, many supervisors are stressed, and it might be getting worse. A Gallup survey last year found that 35% of supervisors report being extremely stressed out. Being stressed and experiencing burnout grew after 2020and was worse in 2021. With the EAP’s help, examine your stress more closely. Often, stress management requires a closer look at a person’s unique circumstances. For example, you know you are overworked, but is being bullied on the job making it worse? You are overworked, but is feeling you don’t measure up to the job making it worse? You are waking at night with work worries on your mind, but is drinking heavily before bed a contributing factor to sleep disturbance? A discussion with the EAP can help you see the bigger picture so that you can employ proper strategies that are more likely to be effective. Later, the EAP can help monitor your progress.
Source:www.gallup.com/workplace/357404/manager-burnout-getting-worse.aspx
Q. Did the COVID-19 pandemic influence the way workplaces run be-sides the remote and hybrid models we have seen emerge? Specifically, I am talking about the supervisor-employee relationship, communication, and supervision models?
A. One study examined the impact of the pandemic one employee and supervisor relationships. In June 2022, a survey group found that employees are more desirous of, and more productive with, a boss who is empathic, authentic, emotionally available, and willing to be flexible in responding to the needs of workers. Forbes has also written about this topic, labeling it “human leadership.” Is the pandemic contributory to a desire for employees to experience this type of leadership, or has it always been present? That question isn’t answered. Today’s employees might be more responsive to authority figures who are less aloof. We know supervisors play significant roles in facilitating employee engagement and that engaged employees are more productive—research shows them to be up to 27% more productive. Whether supervisors can learn to be more “humanistic” in their supervision style may be discovered in the future. Right now, only 29% of employees report having a humanistic supervisor.
Source: www.gartner.com [search “identifies human leadership evolution”]
Q. My employee is an outstanding performer and until recently was my best salesperson. Sales performance has lagged, however. Is it appropriate to refer this worker to the EAP for the sole purpose of increasing sales? No personal or emotional issues are apparent.
A. For decades, the accepted practice was to base supervisor referrals to EAPs on employee job performance issues. The most valuable metric of your employee’s performance appears to be sales units. If so, any reasonable attempt to help improve sales performance is justifiable. Can the EAP help? It depends on what factors influence the ability to close more sales. There could be a personal issue requiring some help or intervention. It may be something beyond the scope of your ability as a supervisor to influence. The EAP may be the best resource for help because some issue beyond sales management skills could be influencing the decline in performance. Your problem with this worker illustrates another important convention in EAP programming–don’t diagnose or rule out the cause of performance issues you can’t correct. In this case, it would be tempting for some managers to assume the EAP is not an appropriate source of help.
Q. I am now supervising remote staff. I can see how communication, trust, and engagement (trying to ensure remote employees are happy and delivering their best) will be challenging. What are the supervision challenges that will delay my referral of a problem employee to the EAP?
A. Communication is the key issue that affects remote workers and your relationship with them. The other two concerns you cite—trust and engagement— have mostly to do with the effectiveness of your communication strategy. It is crucial to create communication protocols and systems so those you supervise do not feel left out or unsure of what you want them to do and are working with recognition, value, and parity with office employees despite being off-site. Any deficits in these three areas likely would result in cynicism, coworker conflicts, loss of engagement, and diminished loyalty and turnover. Employees may compensate for their feelings of disconnection by reducing productivity or splitting their work time between work and personal needs. Some of your employees may have productivity issues even under the best workplace conditions. The degree to which you measure the quality or quantity of work assigned to their essential functions will determine the ease of being able to refer them to the EAP if they need assistance of some type.
