- 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. I do not always provide an accurate rating of my employee’s performance. I tend to grade higher than what is deserved. My purpose is to avoid conflict and the souring of the relationship, which I depend on to get work done. What am I risking with this practice?
A. The practice of grading an employee’s performance higher than you should is called “rating inflation.” It’s a well-known phenomenon in management, and often the reason it occurs is that the manager is trying to keep peace with the worker whose performance is problematic. Unfortunately, the short-term gains of rating inflation are usually outweighed by the long-term negatives. For example, getting a higher rating than they deserve will give your employee a false sense of pride in their work, and it can undermine their career growth, lower productivity standards, and prevent your employee from realizing their potential in the current position. Consider meeting with the employee assistance professional to examine this issue more fully. Discuss what contributes to your fear of grading the employee properly. Also discuss communication strategies likely to help you meet your goal to establish a more truthful supervisor-supervisee relationship that will benefit you, the employee, and the organization.
Q. My employee went to the EAP. She is a domestic abuse victim, and there are legal, financial, and child custody issues that she is dealing with. She is off work right now. I want her to take all the time she needs, but how long should I wait? What’s fair? What is the EAP’s role?
A. It is commendable that you are accommodating the employee’s needs, but you will need more details regarding the amount of time she anticipates being away from work. You and your manager, along with your HR advisor, must stay in close communication. Choose someone as lead communicator. Ask the employee what conditions are necessary for her to return to work. Then follow up. A break down in communication and a lack of being proactive to keep communication moving along are what cause situations like this to get more complicated. This also adds to management’s frustration. Timely communication and clear expectations will help your employee remain engaged, follow through, and complete numerous stressful tasks she likely must handle. Patience is important, but your organization’s mission is also important. If you ask the employee to sign are lease of information and speak to the EAP, you will feel more assured and less anxious about the employee’s status and return to work.
Q. What are the most important steps for supervisors and managers in helping prevent workplace bullying?
A. The single most important step for a supervisor to take in preventing workplace bullying is informing employees that the behavior won’t be tolerated. Even if your company has an anti-bullying policy, as about half of all companies do, personally stating your position will make a lasting impression. Be aware of the work climate, and do not hesitate to ask an employee you suspect of being victimized about whether they are being bullied in any way. Periodically educate employees about workplace bullying. Also, have a discussion about different types of bullying behavior, because some employees may be practicing bullying behaviors while being completely unaware of their seriousness. Your EAP or HR advisor can offer guidance on education and awareness. Hint: Searching for bullying prevention materials associated with specific professions may yield a more applicable list of workplace bullying behaviors. Consider a meaningful staff follow-on discussion about the content.
Q. I am a new supervisor. What are some important tips to follow, mistakes to avoid, and considerations to think about to help keep me on track to becoming an effective manager and leader?
A. Here are a collection of tips worth considering: Avoid assuming your position gives you the privilege to be pushy and demanding. Admit you need help as a new supervisor, and turn to experienced managers for it. Understand nearly everything you say and do is modeling and will be remembered. This includes what time you come in, how late you stay, how organized you are, how you dress ,the loyalty you demonstrate to your employer, admitting what you don’t know, and whether you practice work-life balance. Prepare to discover that being a supervisor is more challenging and demanding than you expect. As the boss, you have more control over your schedule, but do not abuse this privilege by doing personal business on company time--especially managing a side business--or taking longer lunch breaks than others do. Don’t be “invisible,” hide behind closed doors, or have your employees wondering where you are. Do not borrow equipment or supplies for personal use. Engage with your employees. Identify their strengths and yearnings, and then leverage this knowledge to achieve the goals of your work unit.
Q. On several occasions over the past year, I was told that my documentation was not good enough to support a disciplinary action. Needless to say, I am frustrated. What are the most important issues in documentation for supervisors?
A. Most supervisors have heard repeatedly that writing “the facts” and details--what, where, when, and who--are the critical parts of documentation. The parts to avoid, of course, are your opinions, analysis, and psychological appraisal of the worker. Less discussed, however, is timeliness of documentation, which refers to the lag time between the incident and when you write it. You may be busy, but as more time passes between an event and documentation, the less accurate that documentation will tend to be and the more likely it will contain judgments and overtones of your emotional response to the incident and the employee’s personality. The reason is that you will remember how you feel and emotionally respond to the worker or incident longer than you will remember the facts and details of what actually occurred.
Q. Urine drug testing is part of our comprehensive drug-free workplace program. I know that a test will tell us whether indeed someone is positive and what drug they are using, but will it also prove they were impaired? My employee insists he was not impaired.
A. Your company may conduct a urine drug test in accordance with its policy, and a positive test alone is grounds for taking administrative action. However, a urine test does not prove impairment. But that is not the focus of the policy, so your employee’s argument that he or she was not impaired is irrelevant. An employee can be completely sober but still test positive for a substance, because metabolites can be present in the urine for days or even weeks. Many people confuse the objectives of business organizations that test for drugs of abuse with those of law enforcement officials, who must be able to prove impairment if a person is arrested for drunk driving. A field sobriety test or a certain blood alcohol level establishes the legal existence of this impairment.
Q. My employee apologizes constantly for her inadequate performance. I know she is sincere, but I feel a bit guilty putting pressure on her and taking some action that could cause her to lose her job. She won’t go to the EAP. I feel torn. I am more frustrated with myself than with her!
A. Your employee may indeed be sincere, but she is not a satisfactory performer. When she apologizes without correcting her performance, she effectively avoids disciplinary action you are unwilling to take. Until now, you have been manipulated to avoid taking stronger measures to correct her performance. But remember, discipline is not punishment; It is a tool for correcting performance. Your own performance is suffering because you are not managing this situation properly. What’s more, if her problems are chronic, eventually the current performance issue will get worse. This could lead to a crisis you want to avoid. Consider this: By not acting more decisively, you have enabled her problems to grow worse. Not all employees are defensive when confronted. Some simply agree with you, do not feel motivated enough to change. Consult with the EAP about your indecisiveness. The EAP won’t tell you to take disciplinary action or suggest what that action should be, but it will help you with personal issues that keep you avoidant and indecisive.
Q. My employee participated in a court-mandated driver education course related to alcohol and drug use after a recent DUI arrest. The court did not refer him to treatment and I disagree with that decision. I think he’s an alcoholic, because frankly, I am recovering myself. Can I involve the EAP?
A. If your employee’s job performance is satisfactory and the employer has not determined that the arrest and court referral constitute a business concern (i.e., “conduct unbecoming of our employees”), then you don’t have a basis for a formal supervisor referral. You do know about the DUI, however, and that an assessment of alcoholism was not made by the court. How did you come by this information? Did the employee volunteer it? If so, suggesting a self-referral to the EAP as a source of help and assessment is appropriate. Regarding your status as a recovering alcoholic, be cautious. There is nothing wrong with sharing personal information, but don’t diagnose your employee or engage in a diagnostic discussion. Realize that the crisis has passed, and the pursuit of treatment for alcoholism is usually motivated by a sense of urgency based on circumstances. You’re not likely to inspire a revelation. Still, such conversations can play a role in a future decision to enter treatment.
Q. The EAP has been a wonderful service for our organization. Many employees have been helped, and it is a great resource for our supervisors. I’ve noticed not all supervisors use the EAP equally. Other than simply lack of training, why might some be resistant?
A. Although EAPs help both employees and supervisors, and protect the organization by reducing behavioral risk, some supervisors may feel that the EAP takes away something that has given their job meaning: counseling or at least advising employees about personal problems, in addition to using persuasion to inspire changes. Some supervisors possess a style that includes being a confidant, a friend, and a wise advice giver. Some supervisors are more empathetic than others and are more interested in the human experience. This is positive, but their identity may be too closely connected to how others look up to them beyond pure performance and leadership matters. The desire to play a larger role in employees’ lives can conflict with the role of supervisor and the critical link needed in facilitating referral to the EAP for troubled workers with severe problems that the supervisor is unable to resolve or possibly even identify.
Q. What is the “Lone Ranger Syndrome” that is sometimes used to describe supervisors and how they conduct themselves in their role?
A. The Lone Ranger Syndrome is a construct originated 50 years ago by Arthur Purvis, an EAP author and federal employee personnel specialist. It describes supervisors who take on so much responsibility for managing workers’ performance as well as their personal problems that they begin to burn out. They may feel anger, confusion, frustration, and helplessness, and their state of overwork may lead them to ineffective management practices. When EAPs first originated in the mid-1970s, it was important to recognize this construct in order to motivate supervisors to come forward and take advantage of what the EAP could offer them in the way of relief. It’s considered a classic in EAP education and training.
