You have a fine team of people working for you with you. You know each other fairly well, they do the right thing by the organisation, and you hope the organisation does good things by them too. Then one day things aren’t what you think they are, but it took you a while to notice. Perhaps it’s all of a sudden, perhaps it has taken a while to creep in, but you now have a challenge to face.

Perhaps there were some clues, lets run through a possible range.

• They start taking more days off, they pull the usual excuses
• They communicate less
• They might seem grumpy
• Their work is shoddy but has gone under the radar
• Perhaps they are a bit short tempered these days…
• Others start telling you about these things but you have been a bit busy to notice
• They don’t take on new tasks like they used to
• They find creative ways to avoid doing tasks, or they just avoid some tasks.
• Younger staff are able to show them up, with ease

Over a bit more time something happens, something you maybe didn’t see coming, maybe something tragic.

Perhaps they just say they have had enough and move on, perhaps they just decide to go part time and start to fade off the radar.

But what’s really happening? It could be lots of things…

• They have grown to hate the job
• The job has changed – Technology – People – Systems
• Taking on more than they used to be able to cope with in the job and it leads to mistakes
• They have a death in the family and it hits them hard but they don’t let on
• They are challenged by new things but this pushes them over the threshold just that bit too much
• They have personal challenges
• Mental health issues (minor – major)
• Becoming overwhelmed by too many things which build up and take their toll. (Personal and professional).

It could be a range of other things too, I’m sure you will soon think of your own list.

The outcomes can be very serious, and often people will say “We didn’t see that coming” Hopefully however it’s not serious and they just need a break. Long service leave is one of those things which I believe is there for a very good reason and people need more than their annual holidays and the ‘personal health day off’

The challenge however is figuring out what to do for people in these situations and although it would be great to be able to prevent the situation happening in the first place, it’s not always that easy.

I’m sure many in smaller businesses will say “I hope it doesn’t happen in my business, I wouldn’t know how to deal with any of that.”

Dealing with it if it comes as a shock is tricky, but if it comes up as a regular ‘minor’ thing you might become a bit ‘ho hum, here we go again’. Lets hope you get to see it coming and sit down and have the time to think things over to see how you might assist your work colleague to make it through a challenging time.

• Focus on the positive – They might just see the negative (maybe you too), but perhaps they are missing the good things about the job, their skills and abilities perhaps explore these along the way
• You work with them to make a list of the things which bother them in the workplace then develop a plan of action to assist them to overcome the challenges, one by one
• You chat a bit more in depth with them about personal issues and discuss what they might see as possible solutions (start out by asking if they want a solution…. you could  be surprised!)
• Brainstorm with them or their team to come up with ideas
• Cut them some slack – But ask RU okay? At some stage to monitor the situation
• Give them a fresh challenge which has some fun in it, or you know they really enjoy that type of challenge
• Refer them to someone professional who will willingly chat to them in a way they feel comfortable
• Give them a ‘work break’ perhaps it’s a time off work at work, where they get pampered during work time at work’s expense, just because you can… It may be you send them to play golf that day. Pick something you know they love to do and let them do it (not as a reward, but as a break from usual duties, a chance to cool off perhaps).
• Tell them to take their long service leave -  They may well need it if they have been just working for work sake.
• Do a training audit and send them to be better trained in an area they need help with

There’s a whole lot more I am sure you can add. One things for sure though, make sure you can identify when it’s going to happen, preferably before it happens so you can plan to deal with it in a way which keeps everyone happy. Here’s a lead on article to help you go the next step.