Hi Heather,

I suppose I would start from what the employee thinks will make the difference to them - they usually have a good idea of what will allow them to keep working. I'd then be looking at how flexible the organisation can be to meet that change, whether it's a short or long term adjustment and what impact agreeing to the change might have on other members of the team.

I think this is the bread and butter of an HR role - certainly I spend a lot of my time (particularly since the pandemic) helping staff who are struggling with work where it doesn't align easily with family commitments. I work in a school, so there is much less flexibility for home working or adjusting a person's hours (a teacher pretty much needs to be in the classroom, and to work when the pupils are present), but there are still other ways I can support them.

One thing I think is invaluable is a good EAP service that you can point your staff to - both as a referral because you know they're struggling, or as a general access support tool for people who would never admit that they needed help. In the past six months, as well as telephone and face-to-face counselling, I know our EAP service has helped colleagues with probate, tenancy issues, money worries, care of an older relative concerns and health issues.

I hope that helps.

Nina

In reply to Nina Waters:

Hi Nina,
Yes thank you, that's really helpful. It sounds like an EAP is a valuable backup with such a wide variety of issues it can support on, and it caters to those who want to access support independently. If they are not altogether clear on what they want or need, I can see that the EAP is a good first point of call.
Thank you - I appreciate you taking the time.
Heather