G
Gray Area
New member
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2010
- Messages
- 3
Hi everyone,
Just joined up today and already asking for advice - some people eh? Seriously though all suggestions will be welcome as I'm currently at a bit of a loss. Apologies if this is in the wrong section by the way.
The situation is this. My job entails running a small team of office workers. A couple of weeks ago one of my staff, a woman who's been working with me for the past two years or so, asked to speak to me privately about a personal problem. I'm not going to go into too many details, but basically it was over an awkward relationship she had had. She believed (still believes) that other people in the office were laughing at her because of it. I advised her to simply ignore it, telling her people can be petty but quickly move on to other topics if ignored. Plus, of course, anything she did in her private life was no-one else's business anyway.
Since then we've talked a couple of times and each time she's told me that the problem isn't going away and in fact it's getting worse. She now thinks there is some sort of whispering campaign being waged against her. I should probably add at this point that since our original conversation I'd been keeping my ears open for anything like this but hadn't heard a thing.
What has me worried at the moment is our most recent conversation. She was telling me about things she'd overheard (managers calling for her to be sacked, people talking about solicitors if she took her problem to the union or HR, etc) which I know to be untrue.
At one point she even refused to talk for a few minutes because she was convinced someone was listening at the office door.
For what it's worth I believe there may have been some basis to her original claim (although I have no evidence of it) but she appears to have let the situation spiral out of control in her mind to the point where I'm genuinely worried about her mental health.
I know she has spoken to a few of her friends in the office about the situation, but as they were apparently quite dismissive of what she claimed was happening she tells me that I'm now the only person she can confide in.
I really don't know what approach to take in trying to help her and would appreciate advice, especially from anyone who may have been in a similar situation.
Also, just to make it clear, please don't think I'm asking as an employer. I'd just like to do the best I can for a person I regard as a friend and who seems to be going through a tough time at the moment.
Thanks very much!
Just joined up today and already asking for advice - some people eh? Seriously though all suggestions will be welcome as I'm currently at a bit of a loss. Apologies if this is in the wrong section by the way.
The situation is this. My job entails running a small team of office workers. A couple of weeks ago one of my staff, a woman who's been working with me for the past two years or so, asked to speak to me privately about a personal problem. I'm not going to go into too many details, but basically it was over an awkward relationship she had had. She believed (still believes) that other people in the office were laughing at her because of it. I advised her to simply ignore it, telling her people can be petty but quickly move on to other topics if ignored. Plus, of course, anything she did in her private life was no-one else's business anyway.
Since then we've talked a couple of times and each time she's told me that the problem isn't going away and in fact it's getting worse. She now thinks there is some sort of whispering campaign being waged against her. I should probably add at this point that since our original conversation I'd been keeping my ears open for anything like this but hadn't heard a thing.
What has me worried at the moment is our most recent conversation. She was telling me about things she'd overheard (managers calling for her to be sacked, people talking about solicitors if she took her problem to the union or HR, etc) which I know to be untrue.
At one point she even refused to talk for a few minutes because she was convinced someone was listening at the office door.
For what it's worth I believe there may have been some basis to her original claim (although I have no evidence of it) but she appears to have let the situation spiral out of control in her mind to the point where I'm genuinely worried about her mental health.
I know she has spoken to a few of her friends in the office about the situation, but as they were apparently quite dismissive of what she claimed was happening she tells me that I'm now the only person she can confide in.
I really don't know what approach to take in trying to help her and would appreciate advice, especially from anyone who may have been in a similar situation.
Also, just to make it clear, please don't think I'm asking as an employer. I'd just like to do the best I can for a person I regard as a friend and who seems to be going through a tough time at the moment.
Thanks very much!
