The human resources department is not just there to terrify employees that might have had an extra drink or two at the company happy hour. HR can be of use to staff as they are there to help despite popular opinion. There could be employees having personal turmoil and it begins to impact their performance at work. HR can help in certain circumstances but they have to know what is going on. The following are issues employees might have and how HR can help the employees.
Going Through A Divorce
Divorce can be tough and there are so many adjustments in lifestyle that go along with divorce. Allowing a person to work from home once or twice per week while going through the divorce can make a huge difference in your employee’s life. Not to mention the employee will remember the company taking care of them if they are offered other opportunities in the future. The company might find that the employee is more productive working from home than in the office.
Harassment Via Management
Management is not immune to treating people unfairly due to a personal vendetta. HR is the only place that an employee in this type of situation can go and it has to be done tactfully. Bringing this to the attention of the manager doing the harassing is going to be tough as they will have an idea of who brought about the complaint. The manager needs to be written up if they try to address this situation outside of the HR process as it could be seen as bullying. When management takes part in harassment HR needs to stick up for the employee’s well-being and rights in the office.
Family Member Unable To Care For Themselves
The choice between having a career and caring for a loved one that can no longer take care of themselves is gone in states like New York. The Consumer Direct Personal Assistance Program allows the family member to pick their healthcare assistant so an aunt, uncle, nephew, or grandchild can be eligible to provide care.. Letting an employee know about this type of program can be life changing. This will allow the employee to continue working while knowing their family member is in good hands.
Substance Abuse
Substance abuse in the office should never be acceptable as you do not want someone under the influence interacting with client can have devastating consequences. Many addicts do not bring their addictions into the workplace but there production numbers could decrease. An employee that comes to the HR department asking for guidance of where to get help should not be fired but rather helped. Keep this confidential as it could impact the employee’s future with the company even if they recover and stay sober for years. The adage “once an addict, always an addict” is not something that a staff member wants hovering over their head for their duration of employment at a company.
HR can be a huge tool to utilize for employees but they have to ask for that help! What are some areas that HR can help an employee that were not listed?
