Should a manager go into the personal issues of an employee?

During a recent workshop, in which I was working with a leadership group to increase their understanding of mental health issues in the workplace and enhance their ability to manage any warning signs quickly and effectively, a participant raised several concerns about dealing with his colleague’s “personal issues” and queried where and when he could “cross the line”.

After a few questions clarifying his concerns it became apparent that he believed there were “work” or “performance” issues he could easily address with his staff and then there were “personal” issues he seemed to think were out of bounds. Although understandable to a point, I noted that I thought there were a few logical flaws and potential problems to thinking about workers in this way.

First, is it reasonable to assume a person, any person, can cleanly and completely separate their working and personal lives? I don’t think so! When any employee walks in the door of their workplace, no matter who they are or at what level they’re employed, they bring with them all sorts of personal characteristics and attributes, as well as issues both good and bad.

To believe these will be somehow left at home is both absurd and potentially negligent (in fact it’s just as absurd to assume employees leave all their work issues in the office when they go home at night). Regardless of job description or level or responsibility within a team or organisation, employees are people and they need to be treated as such to ensure they’ll be satisfied and engaged and, therefore, perform at their best.

Which leads into my second point; what we know from the management and positive organisational scholarship research is that the best managers treat their people as… well, as people! This might sound obvious but it’s vitally important.

The best leaders or managers recognise that their employees and/or colleagues have a job to do and need to do it well but also that these people have husbands and wives, children and pets, hobbies and interests and, to put it bluntly, lives outside the office. The best managers and leaders also know that they have a choice.

They can ignore all these tricky and complicated features of their employees’ lives or they can attend to them and take an interest in them and in short, the best managers do the latter for one simple reason… they know that by doing so their colleagues will be happier and more engaged; as a result, they’ll contribute more and perform better. Now who wouldn’t want their colleagues to achieve that?

So what does this mean for my aforementioned workshop participant?

It means he can, if he so chooses, focus only on issues that are specifically or directly linked to KPI’s and work performance issues. But in my opinion, if he does so he risks missing out on helping his colleagues fully engage in their work as a whole person. Alternatively, he can choose to take an appropriate interest in his colleague’s personal life, good and bad, and as a result send a very important message to all those with whom he works… that he’s interested in celebrating the good times with them but also, that he’ll be there to support them through the bad times.

Mental health problems in the workplace are tricky and messy, and unless you’re a qualified psychologist you’ll probably also find it scary to address. But fear should not be used as an excuse to avoid doing the right thing. With appropriate training and advice, all employers and managers can learn how to diplomatically and compassionately broach ‘personal’ issues and as a result ensure their people get help when needed and function at their best as often as possible.

Dr Sharp is presenting a free Webinar titled ‘10 Simple Steps to Overcoming Depression on July 23. Click here to register.

Dr. Sharp’s latest book (out now) is ‘100 Ways to Happiness: a Guide for Busy People’ (Penguin). You can find out more about corporate programs, presentations and coaching services at www.drhappy.com.au and www.thehappinessinstitute.com. You can also ask him questions using the comments panel below.

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