For many businesses, looking after employee wellbeing and workplace productivity is seen as a balancing act when they work in tandem. Quite simply, if your employees are not feeling looked after by the company they work for, that is likely to hurt productivity.
Employees are people and not just a number in a system. They have their own lives outside of the workplace and, with that, their own problems. While they may do their best to keep any issues in their personal lives separate from work, it isn’t always possible – sometimes, what is happening behind closed doors doesn’t always stay there.
Identifying When an Employee Needs Help
The signs are not always obvious and employees that could benefit from some assistance, or even just a little understanding, are even less forthcoming. Often, they will feel embarrassed about speaking to their line manager or someone in HR about their issues because they are worried about what will be said and/or what will be thought about them.
Issues can either directly or indirectly affect an employee, such as mental health (feelings of stress, anxiety, and/or depression), having to care for a loved one, and other circumstances that you may not always be privy to. While an employee may not display any signs of going through a difficult time or of their circumstances when they are in the workplace or in how they communicate with their colleagues, increased absences and/or decreased productivity could be a sign.
This is especially true if the employee has previously had an almost spotless track record and always hit their targets. Rather than pulling them into the office and reprimanding them, a manager should first seek to open up a dialogue and ask if there could be any underlying issues that could be affecting performance and attendance.
When Employees Most Need Support
While personal problems can affect employees at any point, it is during the winter when employees are most likely to require a little extra support and understanding from their employers. This is a time when issues can arise for various reasons, especially in the case of informal carers who may be under additional pressure due to colder weather which will bring about an increased risk of respiratory illnesses (not just COVID-19).
Employees who are dedicating their spare hours to caring for an elderly relative who either lives with them or on their own are likely to feel the additional strain. Around a fifth of the UK’s population in full-time employment provide informal care to a loved one and, unfortunately, this is the demographic least likely to be open about their struggles – mainly because they feel that they have to remain strong.
Parents
Parents of young children are also likely to take more time off at short notice due to sick days and lack of childcare. In the current situation, this is only going to increase with schools and other facilities on heightened alert due to the pandemic, requesting that any child that displays any of the COVID-19 symptoms stays at home. Through no fault of the employee, they will be forced to either request to work from home or take unpaid leave to look after their child – this, of course, will have a knock-on effect on the business.
During these times, as frustrating as it may be for the business, the majority of employees would rather not place their employer in such a difficult position. After all, they also face losing out on money as a result, so it is not in their interest.
Discuss Options
If, as an employer, you recognise that you have employees that fall under this category then it will serve you well to discuss options. This may mean offering flexible working hours to accommodate outside commitments or offering to put the employee in touch with services that may be able to help with their situation.
When an employee feels supported by their place of work, they are more likely to stay with the company and remain productive in the workplace.
