The Stress Doc's Q & A
Work Stress
(Ed. Note: This Stress Doc Q & A first appeared in WorkforceOnline.com.)
1) Dealing with a Supervisory Breach of Confidentiality
Q. My issue is a part-timer who has had lots of personal problems who attempted suicide over the weekend. The sister of the part-timer called her supervisor here, who told her supervisor, who told me. The first supervisor insisted on telling the other members of her work team, against my strong advice to the contrary. In addition, because much of the part-timer's work is out in the community working with volunteers, we have already had a call from one "outsider" asking what was up. My advice to those who know is to respond to inquiries with, "Margie has some personal issues she has to take care of and she is on leave for a period of time, but we don't know how long at this point." Is there anything else I should be doing? What about the rest of the staff who may learn of this as gossip through the grapevine? (I don't have great confidence in people's ability to keep something like this quiet.) Any thoughts would be greatly welcome.
Susan
Director, Human Resources
A. You certainly are right to be concerned on several levels: a) the privacy rights of Margie, b) the unprofessional actions of the first supervisor, c) the grapevine effect and, perhaps even more unsettling, d) employees fearful that their confidentiality might be compromised in the future.
The above issues invite parallel strategic interventions:
1. Privacy rights of Margie. Your suggested response to inquiries about Margie was right on point. How about some further problem solving, for example, the need to meet with Margie to inform her that the first supervisor inappropriately spoke of her condition to other team members? If Margie wants to express her anger about this with the supervisor, you may need to hold a meeting. Assuming you have an Employee Assistance Program, you may want to bring in a counselor to help facilitate this conflict resolution process.
Also, Margie might conceivably wish to address her team members upon return, though this may be less likely. If she does, I recommend EAP coaching for you, Margie and the first supervisor. He not only needs to apologize to Margie one-on-one, but needs to acknowledge his error with the entire team.
2. Unprofessional supervisory actions. A verbal reprimand, if not some warning note in the supervisors record, seems appropriate in light of both her not respecting privacy rights and her deviating from your "strong advice." (In the future a direct order would be better.) If there is not a strong confidentiality policy in the personnel and/or supervisory manual, remedy this ASAP.
Consider using this incident for having EAP training on employee privacy rights and supervisory responsibilities for insuring confidentiality for all management personnel. I think this sends the right message to all personnel.
3. Grapevine effect. Unfortunately, rumor happens and can't be absolutely suppressed. Also, when the issue involves extreme, uncontrollable human behavior (suicide attempt, workplace shooting, etc.) team members' anxiety levels naturally rise: What pushed the person to the edge? Was it his or her personal life or work environment? Some colleagues will wonder if they face a similar predicament, while others may try to block out these concerns and passive-aggressively act them out, e.g., being argumentative, coming in late, etc.
Of course, facts will invariably become more distorted as the rumor mills and cycles around the team, department and organization. And while people may push you to clarify "What's going on with Margie?" you have to hold to your professional response. You may need to allow the team to vent their frustration at the "lack of solid information." As previously mentioned, some of the frustration may stem from the anxiety stirred by proximity - physical and emotional - to a traumatic event. Some may be angered that management did not recognize Margie's vulnerable state nor provide assistance soon enough. Others may feel guilty for not intervening soon enough.
Also, if there has been any significant preexisting covert or overt tension in the work team or between the work team and larger organizational systems, employee trauma can become a catalyst for the indirect surfacing of or acting out of anxiety and anger. Again, individual and/or group "critical incident" debriefing with an EAP counselor or trained conflict resolution consultant may help personnel work through any post-traumatic issues.
4. Employees fearful of losing their privacy rights. Finally, addressing the confidentiality problem comprehensively as outlined above is vital for assuring all employees that upper management understands that privacy rights are a critical part of a healthy and productive work environment. If one person's rights are violated and the dysfunctional components i.e., the supervisor's behavior and management's and Human Resources' response to the same are not addressed - through reprimand and retraining - then employee trust and morale will be compromised in the long run.
Hopefully, these four critical intervention strategies will help you fulfill your role as active leader and will enable you, management and employees to…Practice Safe Stress!