Small Firm, Big Problems With a Key Employee
Question: I’m a mid-level manager at an insurance company. We have been downsizing, and we are down to a few core employees, so everyone is handling a lot of work. A key worker has been dealing with serious depression and alcoholism, which is keeping her from meeting her responsibilities. She has had to miss multiple days from work. The entire office is supportive of her, but it is now affecting the ability of the office to function. She is one of the few employees here with check-signing authority. This has been going on for about a year. Any suggestions?
Answer: “In a small operation, when key people are impaired, it can totally disrupt the office’s operations and even bring them to a standstill,” said employee-assistance counselor Bernie McCann, chairman of the resource committee at the Employee Assistance Professionals Assn. in Arlington, Va. The group provides information to managers, human resources officials and workers coping with personal problems affecting the workplace. McCann said fears about downsizing are probably exacerbating problems.
Alcoholism and depression can have ripple effects in a company, he added, with co-workers struggling with increased workloads and morale-busting disputes over how to handle the issue. He said the staff will frequently splinter: “One-half of the building will be enablers who view the situation sympathetically, and the other half will say, ‘I’m sick and tired of the bum,’ ” he said. McCann said some co-workers jump in to work 12-hour days to compensate, and others goof off because, with managers distracted, they are less likely to get caught.
McCann suggested that the letter writer meet with the co-worker and urge her to contact an employee-assistance professional, who is a counselor and management consultant trained to deal with these situations. The woman may need a leave of absence to recover or may need to switch to a part-time schedule, he said.
Most companies now employ an EAP organization that can provide such help; companies that don’t have a regular EAP arrangement can find one through the Arlington-based organization’s Web site (https://www.eap-association.com).
McCann said the office would benefit from a group discussion conducted by a qualified EAP therapist, who could help reassign tasks more appropriately for now.
He stressed that co-workers should be aware that the woman’s job is protected under the Americans With Disabilities Act because both depression and alcoholism are areas covered by the legislation. Thus, any employment actions should be taken thoughtfully and carefully.
Alcohol-related problems are particularly widespread. Surveys indicate that about 6.5% of executive, administrative and managerial employees drink heavily, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
The Center for Substance Abuse Prevention operates two helpful hotlines: (800) WORKPLA, which provides work-oriented advice, and (800) 662-HELP, which can refer callers to treatment resources within their own communities.
Q: I would like to know if an employer has the technology to capture your e-mail messages when you log on at work. I sell telecommunications equipment, but I have a small business on the side selling arts and crafts items to retailers. I usually only get about two e-mails a day at work. But I have my suspicions about whether the company has begun capturing and reviewing my messages.
A: A timely question. In a recent study by the American Management Assn., 37% of companies said they track, record and review employees’ office e-mail. An additional 9% of firms nationwide reported that they plan to begin monitoring workers’ e-mail in the future. There are new software packages that make it easy for companies to keep such records.
Some companies told the association they consider misuse or private use of office e-mail to be a firing offense. About one-quarter of the firms surveyed said they terminated workers for doing it, and about half the companies said they had given workers either formal or informal reprimands or warnings.
Companies are generally viewed as within their legal rights if they terminate workers for improper use of company-owned equipment--and operating your own business on company time might well qualify, with or without the e-mail.
The recent survey of 1,139 firms found the practice of monitoring e-mail most common among financial services firms and at companies with more than $1 billion in annual sales, with about half of these firms reporting they do it. The monitoring is least common in public administration positions and among companies with fewer than 50 employees, with less than one-quarter of the employers saying they do it. The survey was conducted for the association by research firm TechnoMetrica, based in Oradell, N.J.
Kirstin Downey Grimsley can be reached via e-mail at downeyk@washpost.com.
