Introduction

Some of the critical personal problems that significantly affect the performance of the employees at the workplace include coping with the needs of a sick family member especially one who has a terminal disease, getting a divorce from the spouse, dealing with a teenager who is already a drug addict and losing a reliable babysitter among others. This essay aims at critically addressing various discussion prompt questions that relate to the issue on whether a supervisor or manager should assume the role of a counselor or mentor when an employee brings to his or her attention a personal problem and whether such a manager should consider giving that employee a special consideration such as less demanding work or time off.

Question One: Whether to Assume the Role of a Mentor or Counselor when Personal Problem is brought to a Manager’s Attention

As problem solvers, managers tend to receive all sorts of reports and complaints from the employees within a workplace setting (DeCenzo, Robbins & Verhulst, 2016). However, not all those problems can be effectively solved by either a manager or supervisor when they are brought to his or her attention. That is because some issues especially those that are personal and not work-related are very delicate and may require the intervention of a professional (Reece & Reece, 2016). Therefore, it is increasingly important that any supervisor or manager does not in any way assume the role of mentor or counselor whenever employees bring to his or her attention personal problems that they are facing. The supervisor or manager should instead advise the employee having the personal issues to seek professional help from counselors who have the required knowledge, skills and experience to advise him or her on the best course of action to take (DeCenzo, Robbins & Verhulst, 2016).

Question Two: Whether to Give a Person with Personal Problems Special Consideration or Not

Once a manager or supervisor gets the attention of the employee regarding the personal problems affecting him or her, the manager should then consider giving such a worker special considerations such as assigning him or her less demanding work, giving time off or even paying for professional help that may be provided to that employee. The main reason as to why an employee with personal problems should be given special consideration is because such an employee is not in his or her best state of mind and health to adequately undertake the assigned roles (Reece & Reece, 2016). Such a worker may even make drastic mistakes while conducting his or her responsibilities hence resulting to adverse consequences to the firm such as loss of clients, reduction in sales, and stoppage of operations and production processes (Armstrong, 2010). Such outcomes are mostly caused by depression and pressure from those personal problems (Armstrong, 2010). Moreover, such considerations act as part of the motivation programs that managers should implement in the workplace in the effort of creating excellent working relationships with the employees and showing them that they are increasingly concerned about their welfare and being (Reece & Reece, 2016).

Conclusion

Conclusively, it is essential for managers or supervisors to direct their employees to professionals who have the skills to solve mental and emotional problems of the workers having personal issues instead of taking up the role of a mentor or counselor whenever such cases are brought to their attention. That is because they do not have the required skills to deal with such issues that need professional help. Moreover, managers should consider giving employees with personal problems some special consideration such as assigning them less demanding work and giving them some time off to help them effectively recover from their current conditions and avoid cases of severe losses that may emanate from mistakes and inefficient operations of such workers.