As a manager, are you responsible for problems facing employees during work? And how do you handle them?

As a manager of course I am responsible to (HELP) my team to find solution for problem facing them no matter what kind of problem it is because at the end of the day it will have bad impact on work process

There’s a naive belief among many new managers that employee personal problems should be irrelevant to job performance and therefore something that managers can ignore. We like to believe that when employees walk through the office door, all of their personal problems are left behind. To managers with this belief, employees are like robots: treat them all the same way and just focus on the work.

But the fact is that people are not like robots. And as much as we would like to believe that personal life doesn’t impact a person’s work, it very much does. Exhausted new parents suffering from lack of sleep due to a crying infant aren’t able to be as creative as they’d like. Workers dealing with problems at home often find their minds wandering, and don’t do their best work. Employees who are in pain — either physical or emotional — don’t operate at peak levels.

It’s our job as managers to get the best work out of our employees. But it’s also part of our job to keep our employees motivated and happy so that they will continue to be a contributing part of our organization for the long term. And to do that well we have to know the employees as individuals, and to help them through some of the personal issues that interfere with their ability to do their best work.

Here are some tips on how to help employees with their personal problems:

1. ListenOften it’s enough to just listen to the employee, be sympathetic, and offer kind words of encouragement.  But pay close attention to the difference between listening to an employee and solving the employee’s problem.  Remember that it’s up to the employee to solve his or her own problem.  You can listen, but you shouldn’t try to take charge of getting a solution.

2. Refer employees to appropriate resourcesAs much as you would like to give personal advice, it’s seldom the best course of action. A better approach is to steer employees toward professional counselors or clergy, or at least refer them to understanding and sympathetic family and friends.

If you have personal experience with a similar problem, then you can tell your own story and describe your solution. But be careful to keep the focus on the employee — it’s not about you, it’s about them. And don’t try to solve the employee’s problem yourself or try to force your own solution on the employee — just gently push the employee toward finding their own personal solution.

3. Accommodate short-term needsBe as flexible as you can in making temporary accommodations to help the employee through a crisis. But make sure you communicate that these changes are in fact just temporary. Work out a date when the accommodations will end, or at least a date when you will get together with the employee to reassess the situation.

4. Be flexible in working hours or working locationThis is usually one of the easiest accommodations to make. Give short-term time off if it’s needed (use vacation or sick time if it’s available).  Or if the problem will continue for a while, then maybe work can continue as is but with a revised working schedule (e.g., come in an hour later, but leave an hour later to make up for it). Or maybe the employee can work from home on certain days.  Offer alternatives which meet the needs of the employee.

5. Temporarily assign an employee to different work that is better suited for the employee’s current state of mindThis is a more extreme accommodation but it may be required in certain situations. For example, you may temporarily assign a project manager to other work, putting someone else in place as temporary project manager.  Or for an employee who typically travels a lot for the company, you may temporarily assign the employee to a job that requires little or no travel.

6. Make it clear that these are short-term accommodationsIt’s important to make it clear to the employee that long-term continuation of these accommodations may ultimately result in a change in job title and/or reduction in pay. Don’t make this a threat — just let the employee know that you’re willing to let things slide for a while, but ultimately the employee will be expected to deliver the same level of performance that was previously provided.

7. Keep in touch with the employee during the crisisMonitor the situation to ensure that the employee is in fact taking steps to resolve the situation. Provide encouragement and positive reinforcement along the way.

8. When the crisis has passed, refocus the employee on the steps needed for success and career advancementCongratulate the employee on making it through a difficult situation. Then provide assistance to help the employee get back the focus that they once had.

ConclusionEvery employee is an individual with their own personal strengths and issues. You can’t expect to take advantage of an employee’s strengths without occasionally running up against some of the issues. Management is about achieving business results by focusing resources, and to properly focus human resources you’ll need to deal with employee personal problems.

I think it is part of our job -we must obviusly help them, we also must be very attentive, even it is personal or health problem and there is something we can do and it is not in conflict with company interest we can support-for example-employee is learning in university  and has final year project-as more expirience person when asked I always give expert  advise, give more flexible schedule.

As for job problem, they always know my door is open. Also important is if problem is repeating it is signal for me to take global measures-process is to be simplifed, communication is to be improved, etc. it is also useful, I show them how I solve and next time they can try to solve without help, or I advice solution and let them first try to solve in adviced way but keep an eye on them to support if needed-if they succeed it gives them more confidence.

For the job related matters it is100%.

For me , I always make daily meeting for only30 minutes to know our Physical status on Work flow and Other meeting in middle of day for any enquiry or needs for my team and of course I informed them honest if it will be solved or even give a try and if we can't go through as we all side to side.

Managers are not responsible for the problems employees face, however if the problem is in fact work related then manager should help employee in resolving these issues. If my employee had a hard time working, I would suggest methods to ease the situation. If it is outside work and the employee is having difficulty in completing tasks then it would be healthy for employee and organization to give time off for employee to cope and deal with their own problems. 

In some countries, the organization will go the extra mile to help employee with their problems even if they were personal. For example an employee of great rank can experience marital problems and the organization would help the couple receive marriage counseling. 

Yes the manager has to exhibit that responsibility directly or indirectly as the productivity of that individual takes a hit. Consultative approach would be best suited to make contribution for resolution and to build confidence that WE are ONE TEAM.

For work problems, the manager is definitely responsible. The problems of employee's should be listened carefully and it is important to resolve those problems as well for making the employees productive at work place.

If an organization has a team leader next to the Manager of course the manager allowed his team leader to lead in situation. If its just a simple situation let the leader find him a solution. Thats why in a company we have supervisor, HR and Manager. Manager is the one who can approved all the requirements that his employee needs. If he failed to do so, then he is not a good manager as he must know the meaning of to manage and welfare. I did not searched nor ask to answer this question I just made it through myself and experiences. 

Yes it is sure that as a manager i will tackle and solved the problems of workers during the job