Employees Personal Problem Effecting On The Crucial Work

Greetings of the day, Seniors,

I work with a service-based company and have identified a specific issue hindering our work progress. An employee who joined a year ago, due to personal reasons (a longstanding love issue as his partner recently left him), is causing significant disruptions to the assigned tasks. He recently attempted suicide.

Despite receiving several counseling sessions, there has been no improvement in his behavior. He seems to disregard the company's management policies and is not paying any attention to them.

I kindly request your guidance on finding a valuable solution to address the aforementioned issue.

Regards,
Vikram

Dear Mr. Vikram,

Kindly provide training on the following topics:

1. Interpersonal Skills
2. Conflict Management
3. Negotiation Management
4. Emotional Intelligence
5. Time Management
6. Stress Management

After all the above training, don't forget to gather feedback from their departments. You will definitely see the results.

Regards,
S. Mohd. Shuaib

You have already tried several rounds of counseling, but it has not worked. Being an old hand at the company, he has assumed that no one is going to take action against him.

First, the senior management needs to call him and appraise him that he is under watch due to non-performance, deliberate disturbance, and failure to work efficiently. The management needs to make it clear that while they support him in his problems at home, it cannot be at the cost of the business of the company.

If the situation does not improve, you need to first consider moving him to a different function, and finally, you need to consider terminating him; otherwise, you may have others following his footsteps in not doing their work.

Dear Vikram,

My answer would be a little offbeat. Have you researched on the Employee Life Cycle and its challenges? No matter how efficient the talent you hire, it's bound to be affected by life-cycle issues.

A great salesman can get trapped in EMIs and lose his disposable income. Similarly, an unmarried female employee may eventually start a family and require support from the organization to advance her career.

Before we delve into what happened to the employee, please share the supportive measures you have in place. We have already heard about counseling and supportive bosses.

Here's a blunt question for you: Is the counselor trained in managing divorce, debt traps, and break-ups? I know many professional psychiatrists who still do not see this as a challenge. Most of us are least prepared for any mishaps, let alone equipped to deal with them.

Please review and ensure that your work environment is de-risked from these challenges. Remember, any talent can fall into such a situation. It is entirely up to us to help them or isolate them.

Suicidal cases are not rare in the workplace. Check on the clinical counseling help that you need to establish. Please do not rely solely on regular counseling as it may not be equipped to handle such situations. I know several firms that offer this as a service to top MNCs.

What would work in your situation? We can understand better if we discuss further.

Thank you.

Dear Ms. (Cite Contribution),

I was using this site only to check and promote my business all along. Your reply to this post made me rethink my approach. I really appreciate you for the sincere advice given to Mr. Vikram. Keep up the good work.

Dear Mr. Vikram, please tell me your location, and I will refer you to a support person in your area.

Dear Vikram,

As important the "Work-Life balance" is in personal life for everyone; it is also important in the professional life of the supervisors. You need to decide how much you can get involved into his personal life (Depends on your processional relation, friendship, & availability). This also depends on your organization size (Big MNC’s can afford some extra facilities like contracted counselors, but a small service firm may not be able to afford it).

The more you try to become personal to him, the more understanding he would be expect from company. The more you remain professional, the more he will have to do so as well.

Counseling is needed, but during these discussions you should keep your view as professional as possible. You need to keep the counseling focused on improving his work attention/involvement & not to cheer him up for a good life. You can surely ‘suggest’ some external counseling for his personal help.

When you say that "Though several counseling given to him could result in no change and took the management policies into granted and not paying any attention." Then you have to move forward from just counseling to some disciplinary action. It does not mean you have to let the employee go, but to bring him to reality some harsh awakening might be needed. (Don’t put him in 'losing his job' dilemma, but you can start with a short & clear verbal message/warning.) I think the suggestions made by Saswata are right on track here.

I believe soft skills trainings at this time may not be able to influence him much, as he will not be in a state to absorb any learning from them. Sometimes people just need time & respectful attention from surrounding & they come out of such issues on their own.

Are you in a HR role in company, or just his supervisor? If not HR, then please involve HR into all the discussions with employee henceforth, as suicide attempt is an offence per Indian law & you might be enquired by authorities in case of investigations (Even about your counceling). These investigations may disturb the other employees, but HR would be able to handle them wisely, so the impact is minimal.

Most importantly, try to avoid to mention his personal issues 'outside cabin', even with management peers for guidance. The more sympathetic the organization becomes towards him, the more difficult it will be to bring him back to his good work-rapport again.

Best of luck!

Best Regards,

Amod Bobade.

Sorry, I did not see the date on the post before responding. I hope the matter is already resolved to a good result. :-)

Best Regards,
Amod.