March 28, 2016

Step 1 - Prepare to talk with the employee

• Confirm the problem
• Decide who will talk to the employee
• Decide what will be said
• Know work environment and job

Step 2 - Begin the discussion

• Have a private meeting
• Allow enough time
• Be sensitive, but straightforward
• Explain the problem, expectations, timeframe
• Offer to help

Step 3

- Employee denies the problem

• A university professor was known to keep a lot of books and papers in his office, but recently wasasked to clean it out when university officials became aware of a rodent infestation. A few weeks later, the professor still had not cleaned out the office. When confronted, he said he needed everything he had and refused to remove anything.Employee acknowledges the problem, does

- Employee acknowledges the problem, does not mention disability

• An employer started receiving customer complaintsabout a sales rep’s appearance, that she’s beendisheveled and smelled like she wasn’t bathing. When the employer talked to her, she said she was goingthrough a divorce and hadn’t been taking care of herself. The employer suspects the employee is depressed.

- Employee acknowledges the problem, discloses disability

• After receiving complaints from coworkers about an employee passing very smelly gas frequently, anemployer sits down with the employee to discuss the problem. The employee said he is aware of the problem, but didn’t know it was that bad. He indicated that he has a gastrointestinal disorder that has flared up recently.

Uncomfortable Conversations Scenarios:

• A receptionist had been leaving urine on her chair and her workspace smelled of urine. Coworkers had to use the space when they filled in for the receptionist during breaks and lunch. When approached about the issue, she indicated she was trying new medication that might take a couple weeks to work. The employer offered leave, but she wanted to continue working.

• A claims processor with hyperhidrosis (excessive sweat) asked for a new supervisor because her current supervisor stressed her, which  caused her condition to worsen. The employer did not want to change the supervisor so asked why the employee needed the change. The employee explained that the supervisor often looked angry and sounded like she was yelling.

• A food service worker started coming to work with what appeared to be wounds. However, when the wounds started smelling, the employer found out the employee had an infection. The employee indicated that he could not afford to take leave while the infection was being treated so he asked to keep working.