Dealing With Personal Problems At Work Essay Examples

Every individual experiences some kind of leaving personal problems such as drug abuse, taking care of the elderly, divorce, or losing a babysitter among other personal issue at home is a difficult task. Such problems affect the emotional and psychological mindset of employees and this could affect the work productivity of the affected individual. However, since employees’ personal problem is not a manager’s responsibility, most managers are likely to overlook issues related to personal problems. It is however the responsibility of a manager to have concern on such matters and to ensure that employees’ are given moral and professional support in resolving their problems as Reece et al (2010) states. This involves creating a favorable working environment where free and open communication is encouraged between colleagues and the management so as to ensure that employees open up to the managers for necessary assistance.
As a manager, it is essential to be assertive when handling employees with personal problems. This involves getting to know the employees, monitoring performance and offering moral support to help the employee find a solution to their problems. Providing a free one-time or continued discounted professional help is also preferable since this creates a win-win bargain for both the employee and the organization (Bryson, 2011). It is also necessary to apply unpaid leave for the employee to give them time to solve his/her issues as this guarantees job safety other than taking aggressive measures such as firing an employee for poor performance. Despite the fact that a manager one supposed to be considerate and show concern, it is also an essential duty to ensure that employees have some sort of accountability (Dyer, 2013). If an employee is hard to handle in that even after providing personal and professional help they are not willing to change, it is essential to let them know that they should be accountable especially if the issue goes beyond your limit. This is because; some employees are likely to abuse the manager’s empathy or sometime blame personal problems for their poor performance.

References

Bryson, J. (2011). Managing Information Services: A Sustainable Approach. NY: Ashgate Publishing.
Dyer, G.B. (2013). Team Building: Proven Strategies for Improving Team Performance. NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Reece, B. et al. (2010). Effective Human Relations: Interpersonal and Organizational Applications. NJ: Cengage Learning.