Alexandra Ayoubi (Challenge #2):
– Alex should have felt comfortable from the beginning to go and talk to his boss, especially if he knows his boss is an understanding person. However, the fact that Alex was scared to talk to his boss shows that he doesn’t have a good relationship with his boss. Generally speaking, in a good and healthy working environment, you should never feel embarrassed and afraid to talk with your boss if something is bothering you. Companies that value empathy are built on the idea of good relationships among employees no matter the ranking.
– The moment the situation starts impacting your performance and concentration, it means it is a serious matter and you should directly go and discuss it with your boss. And usually if your boss is attentive and observant, he will come and ask you what’s wrong. Good leaders have high emotional intelligence and empathy. They usually also have the ability to notice that someone from their team is struggling and they would just go and talk to him in order to help him out instead of waiting for him to come to them.
– The fact that Alex had already prepared the solutions shows that he is open to reaching a compromise where he would be able to work well and deal with his personal situation. Generally, in this case, the boss would be more open to accommodating to his employee’s needs.
– I feel like the whole waiting period (1 week) is a big time for situations like these because for instance, this would increase Alex’s stress levels and might impact his work for the worse. Moreover, since the boss had already experienced the same situation, he would have been able to take a decision in a faster time period and he could have provided Alex with some coping mechanisms or solutions in order to make him feel better and help him resolve his issue.
– Even if he is the boss, if the employee comes and shares something with you from his personal life, you should try to help him out and not just focus on the good of the company. This shows the person how much you value them and care about them which makes the environment better and the employee satisfaction higher. Leaders who have good social skills tend to have better results because their employees are more prone to be motivated in a working place where they feel appreciated.
– I work in a healthy workplace, so I haven’t had any bad situations like these especially that my boss is very empathetic and is a very good communicator. Of course, I have had situations where I have felt bad due to personal issues, but my boss is generally very understanding. For instance, my grandfather passed away recently and when I spoke to my boss about taking some time off and explained to him my relationship with my grandfather and all, he was extremely understanding and showed great amount of empathy.
