Page 112 - Anne Bruce - Building A HIgh Morale Workplace (2002)

92 Building a High Morale Workplace

then simply listen, but don’t necessarily attempt to make
the situation better.
• Here are some helpful questions you might want to ask

during the discussion:
– “What options do you have?”
– “What are you specifically asking for in this situation?”
– “Are you open to other solutions?”

– “I’m really interested in what you have to say. Can you
tell me more?”
– “How do you plan to solve this?”
• Finally, let the employee know that you intend to monitor
the situation, especially the impact on morale among

employees. Explain the importance of creating a high-
morale work environment and the energy drain that takes
place every time someone complains without offering a
viable solution to the problem. Put the complainer in the
shoes of others who are being affected negatively.

Arrange to follow up at a specific time and date.

Manager’s Morale Challenge #4: Personal Problems

We all have personal problems. Generally we can leave
them behind when we come to work or at least get our

minds off them enough to do our jobs. But sometimes
our personal problems affect our performance and even
hurt morale.

Before you became a manager, you probably never imag-
ined how involved you would become in your employees’ per-

sonal problems. But by now you know that’s part of the job.
However, lots of managers, maybe you’re one of them, feel very
uncomfortable when it comes to any kind of personal counsel-
ing of employees. But you know you’ve got to do something
when you sense that an employee’s personal problems are
affecting his or her job performance and morale.

Try putting to use some of these tips in your toolkit for deli-
cately uncovering personal issues that are bringing down morale.