Over the course of running your business, it is inevitable that, at some point, a valued employee will go through a rough patch in life. No matter how professional your employee is, life tends to happen; whether it’s injuries, personal life changes, housing problems, or financial worries, it’s impossible for any employee to ever maintain a strict boundary between their work and personal life.
However, as an employer, an employee informing you that they are going through a tough time can be difficult to handle. On the one hand, it’s good that you know, and that your employee felt they could be honest. On the other hand, it’s also a challenge: how should you respond? What can you do to help without infringing on their life?
If you’re experiencing the above situation, and the confusion that tends to surround it, then here are three practical ways you can help a valued employee through a difficult time in their life.
Offer Counseling Services
No matter what issue your employee is experiencing, the opportunity to talk to a neutral party is sure to be appreciated – and you can now ensure they can access such support with relative ease. As https://www.apa.org/ details, online therapy is becoming more and more common, and you could offer your employee time during their working day to partake in sessions if they feel doing so would be beneficial.
Guide Them Towards Reparative Options
Sometimes, people going through a difficult period in life cannot see the wood for the trees; they focus on getting through this day, or this week, rather than looking at the bigger picture. It can, therefore, be helpful to ensure your employee is aware of potential reparative options; if they’re dealing with an injury due to the negligence of someone else, you could guide them towards the likes of https://866attylaw.com; if they’re experiencing a difficult time with their landlord, then you could give them an afternoon off to view apartments, and so on.
Essentially, your role can simply be to ensure that your employee is aware that there are ways and means of at least easing, if not outright solving, potential problems – there’s no need to go overboard, but a brief conversation or two can help to point your employee in the right direction.
Ensure Their Working Life Continues As Normal
Both of the above ideas can be hugely helpful, but you may have noticed that they are not particularly dramatic; providing 20 minutes during the day so your employee can speak to a counsellor, or requiring a quick counselor. We have not suggested that you give your employee time off or lighten their workload, even though many employers automatically default to this position – and there is a reason we haven’t.
Many, many employees will want you to know they are experiencing a troubling patch, but they won’t necessarily want their working life to change; nor will they want time off. They’ll want you to know, but otherwise to let them continue to work as normal – work can be a great distraction, so insisting employees take time off is far from ideal. If the employee requests that you lighten their workload or allow them to take time off, then these measures should be considered, but there’s no need to insist that such steps are essential. Let your employee be your guide on what works best for them.
In Conclusion
Everyone goes through rough patches in life, and as an entrepreneur, you will need to ensure that you do all you can to support valued employees who are experiencing a difficult spell. By showing your support during their time of need, you can build trust, deepen the employee-employer relationship bond, and ensure that your employee can return to their best as soon as possible.
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