In February 2020, a manager contacted the Life Health Solutions Employee Wellness Programme (EWP) for help with managing an employee performance issue. The employee in question was increasingly late for or absent from work, and had already received a final written warning as a result of improper conduct.
The first step was to meet with the manager and advise them on how to talk to the employee about their referral to the EWP. It was important to make it clear to the employee that the referral was about supporting – not punishing – them.
A well-being consultant from the EWP then reached out to the employee to discuss their counselling preferences. During this consultation, the employee shared that they’d been involved in a disciplinary hearing the previous year and welcomed the support offered by the EWP. The employee was referred for a series of face-to-face counselling sessions.
In the first counselling session, it came to light that as a result of the disciplinary hearing the year before, the employee had experienced a depressive episode that resulted in their being hospitalised. They reported that their depression now felt under control, but that they doubted their ability to perform at work and felt insecure and scared of making mistakes. As a result, they were demotivated, struggling to concentrate and frequently didn’t turn up for work.
To address this, the counselling sessions attended by the employee were focused on equipping them with self-care strategies, coping skills, stress-management techniques, time-management skills and self-actualisation practices.
In addition to counselling, the EWP well-being practitioner suggested that the employee continue with treatment and monitoring of their depressive symptoms by a medical specialist. During this time, the well-being practitioner continued to provide counselling and followed up regularly to check that the employee was taking the medication prescribed by the specialist.
Upon completion of the final counselling session, the well-being practitioner reported that the employee showed improvement in their medication compliance and general mood. The employee reported having benefited from the counselling and shared that they were feeling more confident in performing their duties at work. They were also attending work regularly.
A final report was submitted to the referring manager and recommendations were made for supporting the employee going forward.
For more information on the Life Health Solutions EWP and counselling services, get in touch at sales@lifehealthcare.co.za.
