ABSTRACT

For managers to successfully support employee access to mental health resources, they must first be able to recognise if and when an employee may need help. To manage employees effectively, managers must be able to recognise changes in employees’ work behaviour that may indicate when an employee is struggling at work. In study 1, we develop and establish the structure of the 20-item Signs of Struggle (SOS) checklist as comprising five factors that describe the warning signs of health impairment at work (i.e. distress, withdrawal, reduced attendance, degradations in performance, extreme behaviours). In study 2, we show that manager-rated signs of struggle correlated substantially (r = .72) with participant-reported strain. The SOS tool provides managers a way to recognise when employees may be struggling and could benefit from workplace resources. We recommend that for maximal benefit, managers also receive training on how to use the SOS, and also on how to approach and assist employees who are displaying warning signs.

摘要

为了使管理人员成功地支持员工使用精神健康资源，他们必须首先能够识别员工是否以及何时需要帮助。为了有效地管理员工，管理人员必须能够识别员工工作行为的变化，这些变化可能表明员工何时在工作中挣扎。在研究1中，我们开发并建立了20项奋斗迹象（SOS）清单的结构，其中包括描述工作中健康受损的警告迹象的五个因素（即，困扰，退缩，出勤率下降，绩效下降，极端行为）。在研究2中，我们表明经理定级的奋斗迹象之间存在显着相关性（r = .72），且参与者报告了应变。SOS工具为管理人员提供了一种方法，以识别员工何时可能处于困境中并可以从工作场所资源中受益。我们建议，为获得最大利益，管理人员还应接受有关如何使用SOS以及如何接近和协助显示警告标志的员工的培训。