Employee with possible mental health problem - Need Advice URGENT

HRStork

We have an employee who went through a personal tragedy a year ago. She is now showing signs of depression. These problems are having an obvious affect on her job performance (ie. absences, lowered production, etc.) Her immediate supervisor considers herself a personal friend of this employee and wants to help. We are a close-knit company and want to help as well, but at the same time I don't want to put us at risk legally.
What is the best way to deal with this situation and what are some of the pitfalls we need to avoid? Thank you for any help or advice you can provide.

Margaret Morford

While mental illness is the second most common disability that is the subject of ADA claims, depression is not usually considered a disability. However, Chronic Depression is considered a disability. But Chronic Depression is a psychological term for someone who has been depressed for years and has under gone significant mental changes because of it. You also need to look at your state law to see if it's more liberal than the federal. Several states are.

With that said, I applaude your willingness to intervene and would encourage it. In my opinion, you don't run much legal risk if you discuss with the employee the absences, etc. stating that this kind of performance has not been the norm for her and you are concerned. Suggest that she is clearly under stress and that she would probably benefit from some "stress counseling." I always use the words "stress counseling" because that seems to be less emotionally charged and more acceptable than "mental health counseling." Remind her that when she is physically sick, she goes to a doctor and that her mental health is equally important. Get her a referral through your EAP if you have one. If you do, call the EAP rep yourself and ask them to walk this one through their system. They will make a bigger effort for the employee if you ask them to. If you don't have an EAP, call your medical insurer and do the same thing.

Hope that helps. Call me if you want to discuss this further call me at 615-371-8200.

Margaret Morford
theHRedge

Margaret Morford
theHRedge

Hatchetman

Well, assuming you're covered by ADA or a smiilar state law, you may have a thin line to walk, balancing your concern for the individual and her status as the employee of the company.

While it may seem insensitive, what I am about to write may be the best balancing approach to take. Address the issue of her performance -- concentrating on the absences and lowered production -- those are of valid concern to the employer. Let the employee raise the explanation of depression. Don't have supervision or management suggest that as a problem, or even mention it.

If the employee does raise that an an explanation, then, perhaps, the supervisor and the employee can then work out something, with the expectation that the work problems with disappear. The problem at that point will be for the supervisor to walk the line -- to remember she has two aspects in which she relates to the individual, but is primarily at that point the employee's supervisor, not a personal friend. Certainly the supervisor can be supportive and friendly, but must not use the personal friendship to draw out or pressure the employee to provide more information than the employee is willing to identify or for the supervisor to assume that the employee is clinically depressed and needs help because she wants to help her friend.

The employee may identify that she is depressed, and the supervisor, as supervisor, can of course work with the employee to identify what the company can do to help, with the expectation that the performance problems will go away.
Or the employee may not identify any medical or psychological reason. There may not be any, in fact. The supervisor needs to keep her primary role at that point in focus. If it looks like there will be a problem for the supervisor in doing that, then use the supervisor's supervisor to handle this.

If the employee says she is depressed and that's the cause for the poor work and poor attendance, then the supervisor should follow through and establish that through documentation in trying to work out reasonable accommodation under ADA or similar state law (as provided in your policy) -- unless your company would accommodate an employee merely upon request regardless of whether the employee was "disabled" or not.

Cheryl S SPHR

I think we, as employers, have to be careful not to "diagnose." Rather, you must deal with the performance issues. If you believe that personal issues are affecting performance, I would encourage you to refer the employee for an evaluation as a condition of continued employment. Along with that, indicate they must follow through with the recommendations set forth in the evaluation. There is a fine line between work/personal issues but when the personal issues affect the work, the employer can and should take some action.

Be sure to check your local and state laws to ensure you are within yours and the employee's rights.

Good luck.