RightToLead.com

We all remember the Disney movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Their world was a fantasy land. Remember the dwarfs and the song they sung on their way to work? “Hi ho, Hi ho, Hi ho, its off to work we go”! O.K. come on now, be honest! How many of us are that cheerful as we fight traffic to get to the office.

Fact is, today in our western world, life is complicated. The demands of home, work, kids, pets and outside commitments constantly pull us in all directions. As employees, we come to the workplace with all types of things on our mind. And then we hear the statement; leave your personal life at home!

Employers, think about that statement for a minute. Is it possible to do that? Can an employee really check the personal stuff at the door and do their jobs with excellence. My contention is that they cannot. Study after study has shown that employees who are struggling in their personal lives are not productive employees. With the pressures of today’s economy, we must have productive employees committed to excellence to be successful. Customers have to many choices to just be mediocre.

So what is an employer to do? Is it our responsibility to deal with our employees personal problems so that they can be productive at work? Should we let a person go, when after many conversations, they just cannot seem to perform their jobs? How much “empathy” is enough? How flexible can we be? Can’t they just “grow up” and do their jobs!!! Ugh!

As employers, I am sure we have all had thoughts like those. How can we address this issue?

Let me suggest some things to think about as you wrestle with the balance between being a nice guy and running a business.

Here are a few:

1. How adept is your HR department or person at spotting issues before they get out of hand?
2. Do you even have an HR Department or HR Consultant to help you in these matters?
3. Do you promote an environment where an employee or their co-worker feels safe about asking for help?
4. Do you train your managers to recognize the signs associated with bringing personal issues to work?
5. Do you require folks to take their earned vacation, so that they have a break from the job?
6. Are people in your organization is the correct jobs? Satisfaction in their role in the company makes it easier to be productive, even when struggling with a personal issue.
7. Do you acknowledge that in the current economy, folks are struggling?
8. Do you tolerate gossip and rumors in the workplace?
9. Do you avoid dealing with one employee who is having a really hard time. and what effect does that have on all the other employees?
10. Do you ever do anything fun in your office?

One other thing that you can consider, is to bring in some outside training for employees. Teach them skills to deal with issues in their personal life. Lunch and learn session, EAP programs, substance abuse counselors, basic financial training; those are just some ideas that might help. The biggest objection to training, is that the financial cost is too high. I understand that comment, but consider the alternative. Loss of productivity, training cost of new employees, absenteeism and Workman’s compensation cost will all outpace the cost of some simple training in the long run.Employees who bring their problems to work will always be an issue in the marketplace. How you as the employer choose to deal with it will determine the damage it causes in your organization.

Dealing with the the situation in a positive manner, head on, with some appropriate training is the best solution, In My Experience.