• To the extent that a person’s personal problems DON’T impact the work environment they may not be our business and team members are not obliged to share their issues, but nevertheless we want to see them solve these issues successfully.
• Where the problem does impact the work environment we have a responsibility to resolve that impact as quickly as practicable.
• You don’t have to solve the personal problem to solve the work impact.
• We are not counsellors and while our managerial responsibility is to encourage and support employees to solve their problems, offering solutions is dangerous and a conflict of interest.  Council makes available professional resources to help employees with personal problems.
• The purpose of our conversations with employees, in these cases, is to resolve any workplace impact and also to help employees solve their problems themselves, if possible.
• If we can get them moving forward with the issue and connect them with the right expertise that’s good progress.

• Changes in reactions to co-workers (personal problems often show up at work first).
• Normally easy-going – snaps at co-workers over minor things.
• Usually sociable team member  now distances himself from others or is abnormally quiet.

• Usually upbeat, enthusiastic, motivated – now needs encouragement.
• Noticeably more pessimistic or makes remarks like “I don’t care anymore”.
• Loss of concentration appearing distracted.
• No longer takes pride in their work.

• If a person feels differently, they behave differently. If they behave differently, they perform differently.
• Makes mistakes, does ‘silly’ things.
• High levels of absenteeism, missed deadlines, poor attention to detail or quality.
• More often than not, job performance suffers when a personal problem surfaces at work.

• Anything that is out of the ordinary is a clue that something is wrong. However, be careful not to make assumptions too early.
• Look for patterns that develop over a period of time.

Substance use can be a contributing factor to poor performance.  Council has a policy that provides for reasonable cause testing.  In some cases it may be appropriate to require the team member to undertake testing.  The policy provides guidance on when this should occur and the steps to follow.

• If an team member has a personal problem, that’s one thing. If there’s no job-performance concern, then someone else’s personal challenges are not strictly our business.
• If you learn a team member has a personal problem and you link them with the right support – that’s a good outcome.
• If a team member seeks you out for help, it frees you up to provide some advice about their problem solving options and some perspective. Remember not to counsel because;
  • Offering good advice is often not easy and we lack the qualifications; and
  • If ‘our’ solution proves wrong or ineffective we may damage our working relationship; and
  • By becoming entangled in the team member’s private life we may compromise our ability to make managerial decisions about the team member.
•  If it is affecting their performance in the work environment, that’s where you need to get interested and, if it is also impacting other people in your team, you need to get very interested.  It’s time for a courageous conversation.
• You definitely have a vested interest in fixing this.  But, from a problem management point of view, just make sure that you understand what problem you need to fix!
• In summary, if the team member has a personal problem they are ultimately responsible for solving it.  You, however, have a different problem.  Your problem is that your team member’s personal problem is impacting work.  That’s the problem you need to fix.

• Organisational Development and Capability can help you, as a manager, to develop alternatives and a strategy.
• Team members have access to EAP services.
• Encourage them to talk with friends and family.
• Encourage them to talk with Church and other support groups.
• Guide them towards specialist agencies and services (Budget Advisory Service etc).
• Talk with them using our conversation plan: personal problems
• Bear in mind that, from a performance management point of view, you are fixing the work problem that is the consequence or by-product of your employee having a personal problem.  The start point is to listen to what they are willing to tell you about their problem.  Don’t try to probe too much; just take what they are willing to offer.  If they need to think about what you’ve said overnight – that often helps.

PREPARE: by collecting what facts, you can about the nature of the problem and its effects. You need to be able to show that it is impacting the person’s work.  It’s OK to talk to fellow team memberss provided they are reliable, you explain the context and you are prepared to tell the team member themselves when the time is right.  Ensure your conversation is not being interrupted or overly visible to others.

OPEN: with empathy; “This conversation may be a sensitive one”.
Use the ‘2 problem’ approach i.e. “We see evidence in the workplace that there may be a personal problem” (outline that evidence……lateness, moodiness, unusually emotional, uncharacteristic moods, distracted, poor attendance etc) “AND there’s a workplace impact that can’t be accepted” (describe that impact; e.g. poor quality, productivity, customers let down, colleagues having to cover for you etc).

Indicate what typically happens if these workplace problems are not sorted. “These issues generally get worse if not sorted out quickly”. (e.g., other team members having to cover this person’s workload; limits to the amount of leave available, damage to workplace relationships, impact of ongoing poor performance on their prospects and remuneration etc, etc).  Use real judgement here.  What you say depends on the severity and duration of the workplace effects.  Our purpose in talking consequences is simply so the team member recognises the present situation can’t continue indefinitely.  People often get absorbed in their personal problems and lose perspective on the effect they are having on others.  Also, you have a team to manage and an obligation to mitigate the impact a team member’s issues have on overall performance.

Make clear that your obligation: “It’s my responsibility to resolve the workplace impacts BUT also I’m committed to try and help you help yourself through personal problems”.

Repeat the outline of the story or main points back to check you understand.  Check that they appreciate there is a work impact. “Do you agree the problem(s) that need to be sorted out are….” (summarize work and personal problems and confirm their agreement to that summary).

The question to ask at this point is “What are your options or ideas to solve both these issues?” You are looking for viable solutions to both work and personal problems.  Creating options is particularly powerful in addressing personal problems where people can often feel powerless or ‘stuck’.  Be clear whether the ‘work’ solution is OK by you or whether some other solution is required.  Avoid the temptation to add your own solutions to the personal problem even if you are confident you have them.  Usually the furthest you would safely go would be to ask questions about an option to help them test its worth. If they are stuck – ask them who they know well and trust who could help them develop options. Give them reasonable time.

If you offer options or a solution, and they do not work, the person is worse off having discussed the matter with you and you are conflicted in taking action over their not sorting the work impact out.  In addition, what works for you may not work for them.  Their context is unique.  Your objective is to help the person find their own solution rather than try to solve their problems for them.  Respected friends and family who know a lot more about their situation can best assist. We can support by helping them to find a professional organisation or service to help them.

When the person has selected an option (including how things at work are going to be improved), it is good practice to explore how they are going to implement it.  “How will you / we put that solution in place? (actions, dates etc).  This enables both of you to think through the workability of the solution and identify any pitfalls.  Sometimes, at this stage the chosen option is discarded because it is too risky or the chances of success are small. You can guide them through their objectives and they can then check to ensure that their chosen course of action is going to help them reach their objective.  Push back on the ‘work’ solution until you are satisfied it meets your needs.

Give the person plenty of encouragement. “You have my support to work through your action plan – do you commit to delivery?”  To the extent that you can put their mind at ease about the work situation. Don’t compromise on the need for work impacts to be fixed but remove unrealistic fears they may have, such as the fear of losing their job. Make sure that you follow-up with the person to ensure progress.

• Allow a little time. People have a lot to deal with and there are often big decisions to make.
• Be firm that progress must be made. People often resist decisions and taking steps over personal problems. There’s a lot at stake.
• With anger, frustration, sadness, depression and other emotions potentially involved, we need to be particularly careful to listen actively and build an accurate picture of what’s going on.
• Be assertive
  • Your initial statement of the impact the problem is having on the workplace and on the individual needs to be firm, exact and accurate.
  • You must convey that you have a responsibility to solve the impact of their personal problem on the business – this does not make you unsympathetic to their problem it’s just “doing your job”.
  • You must be firm that they need to be finding options and solutions (EAP, counselling, asking for time off etc) and taking responsibility for getting themselves back on track.
  • You must be firm around deadlines for progress and evidence of progress. Procrastination is a real risk with these kinds of problems.