We all have life events that distract us from work from time to time — an ailing family member, a divorce, the death of a friend. You can’t expect someone to be at their best at such times. But as a manager what can you expect? How can you support the person to take care of themselves emotionally while also making sure they are doing their work (or as much of it as they are able to)?
How to Manage an Employee Who’s Having a Personal Crisis
We all have life events that distract us from work from time to time — an ailing family member, a divorce, the death of a friend. You can’t expect someone to be at their best at such times. But as a manager what can you expect? How can you best manage someone who is going through a personal crisis? Make yourself available. If you maintain an atmosphere of compassion in the office, people are more likely to proactively come to you when they’re going through a tough period. Don’t ask prying questions. Listen first. Your employee may just want a sounding board about the difficulties of caring for a sick relative or an opportunity to explain why a divorce has affected their attention span. If you immediately suggest they take a leave of absence or adjust their schedule, they may be put off if that’s not what they were thinking. Know what you can offer and check in regularly. You also have to consider whether prolonged absences will adversely affect clients or team members. If so, mitigate those risks by easing the person’s workload. And be consistent. Employees will take note of how you treat the struggling colleague and will likely expect similar consideration if they too run into difficult times in the future.