AN EAP ROLE IN A HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT
Ken Scroggs, LCSW, LPC, LMFT, CEAP

The tiger symbolized strong, physical (or earthly) energy in the ancient Chinese culture. This tiger, as a character, represented a situation or a person that was short-tempered, in conflict with authority, and hasty in decision-making. Though courageous and powerful, they were often suspicious of others. To ride the tiger without being eaten was a very difficult accomplishment. It may be appropriate to compare riding the tiger to the role of the EAP in a hostile work environment. The purpose of this article is to get some ideas on how to approach the tiger without being eaten.

When a company is concerned about a hostile environment, the EAP may be its most helpful resource. As defined by core technology of the EAP, “Consultation with, training of, and assistance to work organization leadership (managers, supervisors, and union stewards) seeking to manage the troubled employee, enhance the work environment, and improve employee job performance...use of constructive confrontation, motivation, and short-term intervention with employee clients to address problems that affect job performance."

The following are some specific examples of the EAP assisting in a variety of interventions. These include, but are not limited to the following:

  • Suicide intervention when an employee makes a threat at work. After a major trauma such as a homicide, the EAP may conduct a critical incident stress debriefing (CISD).
  • Workers in conflict may need the EAP counselor to facilitate a conflict resolution intervention.
  • Seminars on preventing violence in the workplace may also be conducted by the EAP.

All of these require maximum support from corporate or organizational leaders. Anything less may mean you could become the tiger's lunch.

Perhaps, the worst situation for any supervisor, coworker, personnel manager or EAP counselor is one involving suicidal threats. Major depression is the number one mental health problem facing companies and organizations today. It is estimated that 17.5 million Americans suffer from clinical depression costing 36.2 billion dollars in health care claims and heavy losses in productivity. Educate your client companies to always take a suicidal threat seriously. Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary condition. The EAP is always there to provide assessments, brief counseling, referrals and follow up to prevent a depressed person from committing suicide. In these cases it is the follow up that is a most critical part of the intervention.

Some of the warning signs include, sadness, crying, poor concentration, forgetfulness, sleep disturbance and/or outbursts of anger. These may cause work performance issues involving tardiness, absenteeism, poor communication, isolation, missed dead lines, etc.

The EAP may intervene by educating the work population about the signs and symptoms, by being readily available to provide an assessment, and by assisting the employee or family member through the managed care process in a timely manner. Referrals often include a psychiatric evaluation to consider medication and on going counseling beyond the limited counseling sessions provided by the EAP. The EAP counselor should always ask if there is a history of suicide in the family, if the individual has suicidal thoughts and most importantly if the individual has a plan to commit suicide. If there is a plan, it is highly recommended the client not be left alone. You may consider calling a family member to assist the individual to the nearest psychiatrist or psychiatric hospital covered by their insurance policy. It is also helpful to specifically say in your own words to the person, "Don't do it." Many suicidal people are hyper suggestible and this simple, positive statement may make an important difference once rapport is well established. Also, suicidal thoughts often include two critical elements. First is the deep emotional pain that the person often obsesses over and second is the time distortion. Time distortion occurs when a person loses hope and believes that the emotional pain will never end. They may then feel justified in killing themselves. They may feel that loved ones would understand their taking their own lives because of the never-ending pain. It may help to explain to the person that their time distortion is a component of depression and that it will diminish within a few days especially if they are willing to explore medication. Always get a "no suicide contract" with the person, in writing if necessary. Have them write in their own words something like, "I will not kill myself either accidentally or on purpose." If they will not do this, get them to commit to not killing them selves for 48 hours if possible. In any event do not leave them alone until the family member arrives and until they are in front of a psychiatrist. After normal hospital hours remember that many psychiatric hospitals can no longer afford an MD on staff 24 / 7. So the nearest emergency room will get the attending physician to contact the psychiatrist. If a police officer must be involved in transporting the person, do not let that deter you from complete coverage. It is only by taking these steps that the organization, the workers and family members know that you have done everything possible. If you have not, a hostile work environment may develop and the tiger may roar.

One of the first cases I was called in to conduct a debriefing involved the homicide of the oldest employee at a company that had a healthy family atmosphere. The employee was a retired policeman who related well to everyone and was referred to as "Pop". The morning after he was murdered many employees heard the news that Pop was dead on the radio driving to work. As a result the employee grapevine traveled extremely fast that day. However, a detective came to the company and told management they were investigating the case and not to say anything to the employees. The employees kept waiting for management to make some kind of statement about the funeral, sending flowers or maybe time off to attend the funeral. Nothing was said. This led the employee population to believe that management just wanted one more day’s work before they announced Pop's murder.

Two days later they called the EAP to come conduct a debriefing.

Confronted with a very hostile audience, I was able to help most everyone see the bind the detective had put management in by not allowing them to make an immediate announcement.

The grieving process often entails anger and blaming. Perhaps they were blaming management a bit too harshly. In such cases EAP intervention needs to be timely. If possible, be onsite the same day or the next day. If this is not possible, make an immediate announcement that you will be there at a specific time that should be within two or three days. When conducting a debriefing be certain to include the following steps:

  • Take charge of the first five minutes to help everyone see that the meeting will not be unorganized or lack in focus.
  • Have someone in authority briefly tell what happened and what is being done about it. E.g. “Pop was murdered, and the police are doing everything possible to find the person. We are sending flowers to the funeral home, and you may take the afternoon off to attend the funeral tomorrow at 2:00. Mr. Scroggs is here from our EAP to talk about their counseling services. He is available for anyone who would like to see him afterwards or set up an appointment to see him at his office.”
  • Thank everyone for coming and encourage everyone to know how important it is to share his or her feelings of grief about this person. It may also remind them of a deceased loved one. They may feel more comfortable talking with a spouse at home.
  • Have everyone say something about the deceased person or at least help them feel comfortable to do so. Each group is different. Some will speak little and others a lot.
  • Briefly remind them of the grieving stages, denial, depression, anger, blaming, confusion and acceptance. Encourage them to know that these feelings come and go in cycles, but that the feelings should diminish over time. If however, these symptoms are getting worse and they experience sleep problems and eating problems by doing either too much or far too little of either, they should make an appointment with the EAP. It is normal for people to wait two to four weeks before they call.

Remember that a key element is to follow up after the debriefing with supervisors as well as individuals even if no symptoms were displayed during the debriefing.

The EAP office may receive a call from a supervisor when there is a dispute between two employees. The request may be to evaluate the employees for anger management and/or to facilitate the employees toward resolving their conflict and working together in a professional manner. Often the two employees are told to work it out or they may both lose their jobs. Often the problem has had a negative impact on the performance of the work group as well. The EAP counselor may consider working with both individuals as well as the work group depending on the severity of the incident(s). If both individuals have developed a following among their coworkers and the work group is divided, it may be important to consult with management as they consider removing one or both of these individuals. This is an extreme measure and should be avoided if possible. Ultimately, it is the organization's decision to make such a change. The EAP as a consultant only offers options. This adjustment is preferred to companies who may feel so threatened that they shut down entire plants, and move to another state or country.

Early intervention by the EAP may help to avoid such drastic and costly moves. If the two employees have had a physical altercation, litigation may further complicate your facilitation. Facilitation works best when the company has discussed the problems with the two employees and encouraged them to go to the EAP for help.

This meeting with the supervisor and human resources representative is best conducted when the specific work problem is defined in simple behavioral terms, as well as, when the employee's behavior will next be reviewed. This is then provided to the EAP counselor. Most important is the clear understanding that it is each individual's responsibility to improve their work performance along with their attitude, and if not what specific consequence will occur. The EAP can set the stage for a positive outcome. Often times a request is made for both employees to come in together the first time if they can be in the same room together. I ask if they are willing to learn to walk away from confrontation with one another as responsible adults until we have an opportunity to work out the issues.

It is explained to them that I will help them work out their differences, if they so choose. It is important to remind them that they have more control over their behavior and the situation than anyone including the supervisor, human resources or certainly the EAP counselor. If either of them does not wish to work it out, they may have another source of income and not need to remain employed at their present company. This must be communicated in a very professional and respectful manner. Furthermore, it is their responsibility to convince me that they are truly mutually willing to reach a professional working relationship. They are not expected to become best friends necessarily. Finally, they need to know that a release of information must be signed for me to report to their company that they have attended the EAP sessions. The nature of our discussions is kept confidential and is not shared with anyone. There are however, three important pieces of information that I do report, attendance, full participation, and completing of the EAP sessions including any referrals that may be made. I do not normally report on the specific referrals made. After the first session, the individuals are seen separately to complete an assessment of their mental status, anger control, chemical dependency history, support system, etc. With this in place, I begin to provide a course of conflict resolution that offers both people the opportunity to identify their hot buttons and ways to put on the breaks when necessary, then communications skills for advancing the communication, task and relationship forward. The basic concept is to stop and start the process of working together similar to driving a car. We all agree that no one gets in a car and drives through stop signs and red lights without hurting someone else and possibly ourselves as well. So why would we expect to plough through a conversation or situation without observing the warning signs? Once such ground rules are established, it is important to have them do most of the talking and observe their communication as attempts to be either a part of the problem or part of the solution. In individual sessions it is important to address the person's need to self-express so they do not get the idea that the goal is to repress their desire to act or say exactly what they feel. Instead a clear statement of the goal is only to temporarily repress the instinctual desire to be inappropriate until you can withdraw to a more acceptable place. Studies also show that encouraging anger by shouting or beating up a bozo the clown doll stimulates more aggression and increases frustration. Instead, a better skill to cultivate is to truly calm down and move to a more relaxing activity such as going for a walk, enjoying a hobby or companionship of family and friends.

Again, the message is to distinguish the difference between "in-control anger" and "out-of-control anger". Both are normal human experiences but being out of control requires the ability of the individual to withdraw. This is extremely difficult and best learned at an early age. When we do not learn to put ourselves in "time out" when we are angry and out-of-control, we may be put in "time out" by our company in the form of job termination, by society through imprisonment and in prison by solitary confinement.

So learning to withdraw into a self-imposed timeout as an adult is a normal response to the human emotion of anger. We all walk on the tight rope of life, and we all occasionally fall. The difference is whether we have a safety net of self-control and supportive family and friends to catch us when we are falling. Working with such hostile cases requires the EAP counselor to remember to keep open access to the exit door because these people may become violent. Encourage them to take a temporary break if they must and consider it practice for a later "time out" when they may be at work. Don't you become their tiger's snack for the day.

Conducting violence prevention seminars is a very useful service for EAPs to provide their client companies. These seminars may be best conducted with the participation of the human resources department and the security department within the organization. The agenda may include some of the following issues: providing a safe workplace; reviewing corporate security policies and procedures such as wearing identification; not allowing strangers to enter the building; education about violence at work and in the home. You may review examples of violence in the company, community and current events, as well as impact to the organization in human terms, productivity and costs. Warning signs such as individuals with a history of violent behavior, verbal threats, preoccupation with weapons, chemical dependency, impulsive and erratic behavior, mood swings, paranoid or suspicious behavior, obsessive thoughts, stalking, significant loss, hopelessness, etc. Review the corporate response to violence, telephone numbers, exits, and police contacts. The EAP's role is onsite counseling and debriefings and immediate availability for crisis management for the individual and family members. The EAP’s role is prevention through seminars and Worklife resources, which can be found on the web 24/7 with additional encouragement to call for a face-to-face appointment.

These and other activities may assist your companies and organizations with effective ways to deal with and prevent hostile work environments from becoming unmanageable. Maintain a close relationship with your client companies and make certain you have their support before you intervene with their employees. Otherwise you may fall off the tiger and be eaten. And when that happens the EAP counselor may need assistance as well. We are only as good as our last successful intervention. The Chinese counterpart of the tiger is the dragon. The dragon represents strong, spiritual (heavenly) energy. The ability to fly through the heavens and to rise above the situation and keep things in perspective is a wonderful skill to possess. The hidden dragons in your EAP services may balance crouching tigers in your client companies. Keep your spiritual spin on life through healthy habits and daily cultivation and your perspective will make you a more effective agent of change. Good luck with the hungry tiger, and never pull his tail.