People have problems. Few of us go through life without being hit by painful, stressful events of one kind or another and good employers will actively look to support their staff at such times. Partners and departmental heads will often say they have an “open door” policy but all too often they merely pay lip service to the idea. When someone really is in trouble they are to busy or too distracted to provide anything of value. The best will have genuine concern, really will want to see what they can do to help, and will push work to one side, giving full attention to a troubled member of their team. In return they will earn a loyalty that will reward them fully.

And don’t forget that you need policies to deal with serious problems, such as problems with alcohol. In such cases the best employers will be fair but firm. They will give all the support they can but on the clear and strict understanding that the employee accepts professional help and sticks to the programme decided upon; caring and compassionate but without being a soft touch, since by allowing yourself to be taken advantage of in this way you will help neither the employee not your firm.

The word “stress” is mentioned more and more with regard to work. It is essentially an overload, a situation in which we are faced with more volume or more pressure than we can handle, often both. It can lead to actual physical symptoms such as chest pains and breathlessness and a very real feeling of being unwell. Productivity always drops heavily, leading to feelings of inadequacy as the pressure builds further and becomes unbearable. Indeed, feelings of guilt and of low self-esteem frequently accompany stress, despite the fact that the employee’s commitment is all it could be expected to be.

Good employers work closely enough with their people to spot the signs long before they start to do damage. They spend time with their staff, taking care to see for themselves how each is coping and they make sure that workloads never go beyond “challenging”. They make sure that staff work sensible hours and if anyone begins to work late too regularly they find out why. They know that stressed people do not do high quality work and that their health is at stake and they will care enough to make changes before anyone begins to suffer.

Even if we only look at this from the commercial perspective, the simple fact is that stress cause significant falls in productivity. Our businesses will only ever suffer, in a whole variety of ways, if we allow it to develop. Risk Management is a major subject these days and any employer that takes this seriously has to keep stress under control; stressed people ar far more likely to make critical errors.

The Work/Life Balance

Some firms have a “long hours culture”. Anyone seen leaving before 7.00 pm is frowned upon and seen as lacking commitment, and when considering the contribution of individuals too much emphasis is placed upon the sheer number of hours put in. This is a real mistake. Happy, well- balanced staff are more productive and make better judgments than over-worked, stressed people. If you work your people half to death you will lose them and may face an employment tribunal as a result – employers have a duty of care to their staff and fail in it at their peril.

Your assessment of an individual should be based on the quality and the quantity of the work they do, their productivity and their contribution to the future of your business, not on the hours they work. And if there is a problem the first question should be “How can we help this person to achieve more?”

Alcohol & Drugs
The work in a professional office is demanding and challenging. It needs a clear brain and complete concentration. Alcohol is freely available in society and we use it often but when mixed with work it does little good. You will want to consider your own policy but I suggest you do draw one up, making it clear to all staff. Personally, I take the view that alcohol and work can simply never be mixed and that no drinking whatsoever should be acceptable during the working day. After all, quite apart from the effect on menatl processes, do we really want any of our people breathing alcoholic fumes into the faces of our clients?

LawCare
LawCare is devoted to helping the profession. A helpline is staffed by caring, knowledgeable people is available to anyone with personal worries, which could be caused by stress, drinking, drugs, relationships, bullying, abuse or virtually anything else that might be on someone’s mind. It is available to all categories of lawyer – solicitors, barristers, legal executives and judges and to their staff. Once a problem is understood LawCare will often be able to guide the caller towards the right kind of help and will continue to support them for as long as is helpful. Full information is on the LawCare website: Click here: