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Featured in this issue:

• I notice some firefighters are resistant to self-referral so SAVE. Confidentiality concerns a few, but others think asking for help will tarnish their macho image. How can I help reduce this resistance?
• There are hundreds of resources on becoming a better supervisor, but who has time to read this stuff and incorporate it into one’s supervision style? I think supervisors often must muddle through with trial and error until we learn how to be supervisors, right?
• What is “upward bullying”?
• At a Memorial Day party I saw my DOT employee at a distance smoking a joint. He has a regulated, safety-sensitive position. I pretended not to notice, but now that I am back at work, I must act on our policy and refer to testing. I fear this is going to cause quite an upset.
• I have referred my employee to SAVE, but he says he won’t go because his neighbors work in the same office building and he might get spotted, thereby losing his confidentiality. This sounds like a good excuse. What can I do to persuade him to go?

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Featured in this Issue:

• SAVE helps employees with personal and professions challenges and protects the bottom line of the company by reducing absenteeism and costs, including those related to workers’ compensation. But what about improved morale? How does one put a dollarsand-cents measure on it so SAVE gets credit?
• My employee injured his foot playing soccer over the weekend. The story is suspect, but he is on crutches and wants to avoid lifting for a few weeks. I asked for a doctor’s note, but honestly, it looks fake. Does SAVE get involved in situations like this? Our small company doesn’t have policies or procedures.
• When an employee seeks help from SAVE, how is it different from counseling services offered in the community by a therapist
  in private practice?
• Many personal problems are very difficult to overcome. Addiction is one of them. How does SAVE help employees with this illness if a client only self-refers because of some trouble or symptom related to the addiction? People in total denial are going to pay attention only to an immediate fix, right?
•  Please offer a few important tips, perhaps including a few of the most overlooked, supervisors should consider when making a referral to SAVE.

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Featured in this Issue:

• My employee’s father died of COVID-19 last fall, and there was no real funeral. She appears depressed, and some days not very functional. Friends are worried because she was previously treated for drug addiction and is now drinking. How should I approach a SAVE referral?
• Complaints and problems that employees seem to “drop on my desk” are the part of my job that I like least of all. Sometimes I snap at employees when they walk in and “deliver” me problems. How do I better manage this process for less stress and so I feel like the boss, not a support desk?
• SAVE helps resolve personal problems such as stress, depression, workplace conflicts, and substance abuse. What about SAVE’s ability to teach critical skills, like better listening? That’s what my boss recently said I should consider improving.
• My employee is a hothead, but most of us are used to it. When does anger become a performance issue?
• Can SAVE sit with me and my employee to serve as a mediator in a conflict we are having about performance, strategy, and my expectations for what needs
  to be done in her position?

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Featured in this Issue:

• I notice some firefighters are resistant to self-referral to SAVE. Confidentiality concerns a few, but others think asking
  for help will tarnish their macho image. How can I help reduce this resistance?
• There are hundreds of resources on becoming a better supervisor, but who has time read this stuff and incorporate it into one’s supervision style? I think supervisors
  often must muddle through with trial and
  error until we learn how to be supervisors, right?
• What is “upward bullying”?
• At a Memorial Day party I saw my DOT employee at a distance smoking a joint.
  He has a regulated, safety-sensitive position. I pretended not to notice, but
  now that I am back at work, I must act on our policy and refer to testing. I fear this is going to cause quite an upset.
• I referred my employee to SAVE, but he says he won’t go because his neighbors
  work in the same office building and he might get spotted, thereby losing his
  confidentiality. This sounds like a good excuse. What can I do to persuade him to
  go?

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Featured in this issue:

• During supervisor training for drug and alcohol awareness, I discovered that I am probably an alcoholic. (Actually, I have suspected it for years.) I have referred many employees to SAVE, so I feel too embarrassed to bring my own problem to them. Should I seek help elsewhere?
• When I make a formal referral to SAVE, should I try to reduce the tension associated with constructive confrontation by having the meeting outside of my office? Would the employee’s office be better, or perhaps a quiet spot in a more neutral area?
• Can I ask SAVE to give me an opinion on the likely impact of a certain type of disciplinary action on an employee’s psychology? My concern is that the employee might “go off” and become violent.
• We referred our employee to SAVE on a supervisory referral because of behavior and attendance problems. He entered detox at a hospital, but the rumor is that he was discharged from treatment for conduct problems. He wants to come back to work. How should we proceed? What is the role of SAVE?
• I have a superstar employee. He earns outstanding performance evaluations yearly. My concern is his gambling. After hours, he reportedly plays poker. I’ve heard that there is a lot of domestic conflict as well. Is it improper for me to comment, inquire, intervene, or involve myself in this situation?

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Featured in this issue:

• Our management team is concerned about an employee’s absenteeism. We filled out the supervisory referral form and the release of information form signed by the employee which gives SAVE permission to notify us when the employee has scheduled the first session. We now know that the employee has become a client. We’re taking a wait-and-see approach because he just recently got help. Should we be skeptical?
• No supervisor wants to shortchange an employee who divulges a serious personal problem by not offering some advice. I think most supervisors are good listeners and problem solvers; otherwise, we would not be leading others. Still, how can we show support but still refer an employee to SAVE?
• I understand that presenteeism is the practice of employees coming to work while sick or adversely affected by emotional distress. What about employees who work remotely? What can supervisors do to help them, and do they have the same issues?
• I need to be more self-confident. I don’t know if it is a learned trait or a natural part of one’s temperament, but can SAVE help? Also, how does acting and feeling confident influence the work unit?
• I recommended my employee visit SAVE to resolve problems with a roommate whose partying and disruptive behavior are causing the worker to come in late nearly every day. This was not a formal referral, but how long should I wait to see changes in the [employee’s] attendance?

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