Dealing with employee who is always in crisis
Frenchie
116 Posts
Hi All,
We have an employee who has been with us for four years. She has very good work skills, however her personal life is a disaster and has been since she started. It impacts us because she is constantly on the phone dealing with one crisis after another. I sympathize with her on the problems she has, some that are out of her control. However, she is impacting moral because she works in an open team environment and everyone on the team has to listen to her. We have counseled her repeatedly about being on the phone during work time. She will get better for a short period and then be right back at it. I have recommended the EAP, but I don't think she is using it. At this point, we don't believe her behavior will change and are considering termination. That will add one more problem to her already big pile. Any suggestions??
We have an employee who has been with us for four years. She has very good work skills, however her personal life is a disaster and has been since she started. It impacts us because she is constantly on the phone dealing with one crisis after another. I sympathize with her on the problems she has, some that are out of her control. However, she is impacting moral because she works in an open team environment and everyone on the team has to listen to her. We have counseled her repeatedly about being on the phone during work time. She will get better for a short period and then be right back at it. I have recommended the EAP, but I don't think she is using it. At this point, we don't believe her behavior will change and are considering termination. That will add one more problem to her already big pile. Any suggestions??
Comments
This is something we have done in the past with employees - sometimes it is successful and sometimes not. If she refuses either option then your only option is to focus on her performance and terminate accordingly.
Went thru the same things you mentioned. She never did stop and we let her go. Won at UI hearing, too.
Good luck.
If this has been her pattern for the past four years, I dont think its going to change.
Even "fixing" a few of her problems might not solve anything. New problems will emerge soon enough to maintain the level of drama and noise that this employee seems to want.
I would begin a process of discipline and clearly state that unless she changes her behavior in clear, observable, lasting ways, she will be terminated.
Since these people do not recognize the line of demarcation between their time and the Employer's time, they never will. Cut the employee loose and do not look back. You will be grateful in time.
If this employee has "very good work skills" you might want to reconsider. You don't want to look like the bad guy who kicked an employee when she was down. On the other hand, the calls and disruption has to stop.
I would require the employee to use the EAP, and let her know why. However sympathetic you are, you cannot continue to have this kind of thing going on on company time. Then use progressive discipline for any mis-use of the phone. Other employees will appreciate your efforts, both in that you are protecting them from having to put up with it, and also in the knowledge that you will be fair and upfront with them.
A few years ago we had a marginal employee who lived in a constant crisis state. The employees gathered around her and supported her, but eventually got burned out on all the trauma. We made the rules clear and then gave her enough rope to hang herself. Of course the other employees felt bad for her when she terminated, but no one held us to blame and moral was improved.
I don't envy you your situation. Good luck!
Nae
As to her work performance, I would suggest you begin to address it without any mention of her crisis. Concentrate on her behaviors and how they are affecting her work adversely. You mention in your note that she has been spoken to several times. You do not mention documentation. Your next step should be a verbal warning and, of course, the first thing you do with a verbal warning is to reduce it to writing. In that verbal warning meeting and in the documentation, reference your progressive discipline policy and clearly list what behaviors are expected of her to avoid additional discipline.
As to EAP, I am again a voice crying inn the wilderness. If you make a referral to EAP, you risk giving her the protection of the ADA. The referral could allow her to raise a case on the point that you regard her as disbled. I think you are better off to concentrate on the behaviors and your progressive discipline poklicy. Unless you make her change she will not change.
Good luck!
Nae
Don't consider termination - if she hasn't considered it. Another way of saying this is, don't let it be a surprise. An employee that's "good for awhile" but then falls back into old routines is as much the employER's fault as the employEE's. The behavior has been tolerated by the company up to this point with only, at least it sounds like it, verbal warnings with no actionable consequences after it continued. The good news is that you can change this now by meeting with her and documenting the verbal warning on paper. When she falls back, then sock her with a written warning and should she fall back again, let her go.
Of course, you could terminate her right now for her behavior and disruption to the staff, but why not give her the opportunity to change her behavior?
Finally, everyone has problems - some are just more vocal than others - don't let one employee use the other employees as their own Xanax or Zoloft pills. EAP is a good suggestion - if it works - you can't force her & some people just like complaining about their issues - good luck!
I hope you will let us know how you decide to handle this situation.
We put a telephone in the lounge for our employees to make personal calls on their breaks. They can use their cell phones on break - in the lounge, smoking area, or off the floor. Maybe a little simplistic but it does help us manage the employees need to handle some personal business during work hours.
Now if you are willy, nilly sending people off because the ain't acting right, maybe I can see it. But surely none of us would do that.
I believe that EAP referrals can be extremely helpful in some situations. If you do it correctly there should not be a problem.
Bcolton, could you show us a case where this has happened?