WORKING WITH TROUBLED EMPLOYEES

During my more than twenty years as an EAP Administrator my experience has been that whether one is looking at productivity within the Government Service or in the Private Sector one thing holds true when it falls to unacceptable lows, and that is the effect that employees with personal problems have on the efficiency of the  Department as well as on the morale of other employees with whom they must interact. Supervisors are often called upon to motivate workers whose deteriorating work performances have begun to affect the effectiveness of the Department in which they function  and which in turn is causing a rippling effect throughout the Organisation, as other workers fail to understand why some workers are apparently treated with favour at the expense of others.  But with very few supervisors having specialized knowledge of why persons behave the way they do their motivational skills fall woefully short and they themselves become frustrated in the process. Many supervisors and co-workers have become all too familiar with the term “ enabling” and although they may not wish to have that label ascribed to them the truth remains that it really is very difficult to discipline a worker who has had a successful history with the organisation and so unintentionally they do tend to make excuses for the individual’s lapses. Governments have been known to change hands because of the perception by voters that the Political Directorate is not doing enough to lift the standard of service to Citizens, and while upon sober reflection many will agree that the employees themselves may be culpable the fact remains that the ultimate blame will fall upon the ruling administration. Yet there are long standing programmes which were specifically designed to treat with “troubled” workers  and in the process maximise productivity and profit,  but  because of the lingering  belief  that the personal problems of employees are not the responsibility of the Employer these programmes have remained largely underutilized. Let’s look at one such intervention that has been around for decades, the Employees Assistance Programme. According to the Employees Assistance Professional Association, Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) were created to serve organizations and their employees in multiple ways, ranging from consultation at the strategic level about issues with organization-wide implications, to individual assistance to employees and family members experiencing personal difficulties. As workplace programs, the structure and operation of each EAP varies with the structure, functioning, and needs of the organization. It serves to improve and/or maintain the productivity and healthy functioning of the workplace and to address a work organization’s particular business needs through the application of specialized knowledge and expertise about human behavior and mental health. More specifically, an EAP is a workplace program designed to assist: (1) work organizations in addressing productivity issues, and (2) "employee clients" in identifying and resolving personal concerns, These personal concerns may include health, marital, family, financial, alcohol, drug,  legal, emotional, stress, or any other personal issues that may affect job performance. EAP AND DRUG ABUSE Many EAPs endorse a Broad Brush approach that offer a wide range of services to their clients. Though trained in areas of Management and social work my own area of expertise however has been in substance abuse which is a specialized field without which most EAPs would fail to impact upon those with drug dependence problems and the area in which I have worked for more than thirty years. According to NIDA nearly 75 percent of all adult illicit drug users are employed, as are most binge and heavy alcohol users. Studies show that when compared with non–substance abusers, substance-abusing employees are more likely to change jobs frequently, be late to or absent from work, be less productive employees, be involved in a workplace accident or file a workers’ compensation claim.                     OPTIONS FOR THE EMPLOYER §  Develop a Drug use policy for your workplace. §  Where possible lobby for random drug testing for workers in high risk occupations. §  Maintain a Drug Free work environment by having social gatherings away from the Office. §  Establish an Employee Assistance Programme. §  Train Managers and Supervisors to identify, manage and refer troubled employees to the EAP. §  Advertise EAP availability within the workplace. Eric Ribeiro is a certified EAP Administrator and Addiction Counsellor.