There is always a joker in the pack. The team comedian who interjects flippant remarks into the team briefings. Irritating if you’re the boss, amusing if you’re not. But this joker is not a clown but a gifted professional who often demonstrates unique insight. True they are not impressed by their new line manager and some of those interjections are a veiled criticism . Some one who often feels awkward and out of step with their colleagues. Never one to open up about their feeling and now struggling following the sudden death of their partner. Have they returned to work too early? How much of their social awkwardness is down to bereavement and how much a challenging personality? Having said that their work doesn’t seem to be suffering and their different way of looking at things continues to be very useful to the team’s work. Never the less their newly appointed line manager is struggling to deal an attitude close to insubordination and approaches HR for advice.
It’s not just the manager who is finding it difficult, colleagues feel uncomfortable and don’t know what to say to the individual. They sent a sympathy card and flowers, there was an HR home visit, they didn’t expect to see their colleague back at work so soon, they have taken it in turns to express their “sorrow for your loss”.Now everyone just wants things to get back to ,”normal”.
The advice from HR is be sympathetic, show empathy, encourage the individual to talk about their feelings if not to you to someone else, offer grief counselling and be flexible about time off, accept that a dip in performance is to be expected for several months and be sensitive to any anniversaries or events that might upset the individual.
Blair Mcpherson former director author and blogger www.blairmcpherson.co.uk
