Corporations on the Couch

Lynn Friedman, Ph.D., Psychoanalyst, Clinical Psychologist and Executive Coach

A monthly column published in the Washington Business Journal

You answer to everyone, even if one employee asks (allowing an employee flex-time to pursue psychotherapy (or any other personal goal)

You are high up in the echelons of administration, and John, one of your longtime star performers, approaches you requesting an accommodation to his work schedule. He'd like to leave for two hours in the middle of the day, nearly every day, but would continue to work the same number of hours by coming in earlier and staying later. You're not worried about his work ethic or his productivity. Moreover, because you serve the entire country, you see some advantages with his offer to work evenings. There is a precedent for this sort of arrangement, he reminds you; several of the mothers start early and leave in time to pick up their children. Discrete by nature, John hasn't explained how he intends to spend this time. But you have your suspicions. You've heard through the grapevine that he's having some family difficulties, and suspect he's seeking psychotherapy. Your HR department is up to speed on the Americans with Disabilities Act and the federal laws regarding family leave, and by virtue of his managerial role, John is too. But John isn't presenting himself as disabled. You imagine that he doesn't view himself as ill, just as someone seeking greater self-awareness. He isn't disclosing his personal business. He's not asking for any special dispensation. He's just trying to reconfigure his hours. From an organizational perspective, you're not sure how to view John's request. For a moment, you wonder if you should ask John to explain why he's seeking this arrangement. Earlier in your career, you asked these questions. In response, you heard from distressed employees about marital discord, unwanted pregnancies, fitness programs and psychotherapy, all of which you placed firmly under the category of "none of my business." After their disclosures, those employees and you endured the awkwardness associated with knowing someone else's private business. To you, asking personal questions feels intrusive and disrespectful. Beyond that, hearing their personal stories thrust you into the untenable position of having to judge the legitimacy of someone's request. It left you open to criticism for any decision you made. In some cases, it became extremely difficult to say "no" even when the requests meant another person had to assume the employee's workload. As a savvy corporate leader, you recognize that your response to John's request will cascade throughout your organization -- and beyond. Other companies look to your corporation as a model, benchmarking their policies against yours. You believe in psychotherapy, and you've read the arsenal of research that suggests it can lead to increased effectiveness in the workplace. Should you allow this request? There are many organizational considerations. First, is the request organizationally viable? If John is covering a shift or needs to be available on a moment's notice, granting his request may not be fair or even possible. Consider the effect on productivity if every employee at his level sought the same arrangement. If his request would require you to subordinate company goals to personal ones -- especially if someone else had to shoulder John's workload -- then allowing it may hurt morale. In denying the request, it's important to remember that John opted not to explicitly state his reasons for the revised work schedule. For all you know, he's pursuing a fitness program during work hours (not an all together unworthy goal in itself). If he does have pressing need to seek medical care, John can always explore his options under the ADA. However, if you feel the request will not compromise work flow, it may be important to consider it, particularly if it fits within an existing flextime policy. Second, assuming no work exigencies stand in the way, consider what sort of message you'd like to send regarding conventional workplace hours and employees' pursuit personal goals -- in this case, psychotherapy -- in the middle of the day. Allowing this sort of flextime may generate unexpected benefits in staff productivity. Also, it will convey a potent message that you prize productivity and service over a rigid 9-to-5 schedule. Third, if others infer that John is seeking psychotherapy and you (albeit indirectly) support it, you'll be sending a powerful message that you support your employees' quest for self-awareness. This action in itself may go a long way toward destigmatizing psychotherapy in the workplace. This may have a profound effect on how employees construe your corporate culture. For example, it could lead employees who do not view themselves as disabled to seek psychotherapy, thereby addressing stresses, dealing with relationship difficulties and identifying concerns before they become debilitating. Employees might view such a non-intrusive, respectful, policy as friendly, nurturing and liberating. It may improve workplace morale. This article , You answer to everyone, even if one employee asks (allowing an employee flex-time to pursue psychotherapy or any other personal goal), by Dr. Lynn Friedman, clinical psychologist, psychoanalyst and work-life consultant, is reprinted with permission from the Washington Business Journal. (Find the original article here.)

Connect with Dr. Lynn Friedman, psychoanalyst, psychologist, work-life coach

Dr. Lynn Friedman provides organizational consultation and works with professionals and professionals-in-the-making to help them to achieve their work-life goals. Is your career off-track? Are you unhappy at work? Do you find it impossible to follow through on the suggestions of career books and coaches? Download Dr. Lynn Friedman's pdf file examining the kinds of help that might be useful. If you'd like to schedule an appointment with Dr. Lynn Friedman, feel free to give her a call at: 301-656-9650 Subscribe to Dr. Lynn Friedman's blog feed, "All Things Psychoanalytic" Corporations on the Couch Read Dr. Lynn Friedman's monthly, Washington Business Journal, column on understanding workplace dynamics. For your questions about relationships, psychotherapy and psychoanalysis, check out Dr. Lynn Friedman's new website, The Washington Psychoanalyst.

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