Ipinnaiye Opeyemi
'Mike has made a good reputation in his organization for his efficiency in carrying out his duties effectively, he has won so many staff awards and enjoyed promotions because of his outstanding performance but things suddenly changed, Mike comes late to work, he cannot meet up with deadlines as usual and prefers to keep to himself? What has gone wrong with Mike?'
This is where counseling plays a meaningful role in an organization. At times everyone feels stressed out, depressed, angry, anxious or confused, sometimes these problems gradually go away on their own or they get better with the support of colleagues, friends and family. However there are other times when these problems can cause major disruptions in our lives and affect our performance at work and interaction with others. It is necessary to seek for counseling to help identify the problems, as the saying goes 'a problem shared is half solved'
Counseling is a process where a counselor assists a counselee to take informed decision of problems related to personal, social, academic and career concerns. It is very important to seek for counseling when you discover that a situation is weighing you down.
Some workplaces do not have provision for a professional counselor but line managers, supervisors or colleagues can be in a position to assist in taking the necessary course of action.
There are three areas where counseling may be required at the workplace; it maybe needed because of issues arising within the individual, caused by the organization or emanating from sources external to both the individual and organization.
Problems arising within the individual may be psychological or due to uncontrollable events like illness. Examples of psychological problems include frustration, lack of job satisfaction, arrogance and inability to succeed.
Problems caused by the work organization acting on the individual include technical incompetence, under-utilization, relationships with colleagues and superiors and uncertain future where there may be work changes or threats of redundancy.
Problems from outside the individual and work place may not really have an impact on the quality of the employee's work. This could be in form of problems around money, marital or sexual relationship, family (behavior of children, illness and bereavement.)
Establishing the main problem is the key factor in any successful counseling. The main problem is almost always something personal and very close to the individual being counseled and it is the recognition and solution of this emotional content which makes counseling so effective.
Effective counseling requires high level of interpersonal skills such as establishing rapport, ability to discern meaning, as well as being able to summarise, clarify and ask the right questions.
The request for counseling may be formally or informally made to the individual’s immediate supervisor. It may take the form of, 'can I have a few minutes of your time?' The manager plays an important role in many work- related issues. The manager can often deal with the personal problems but if it is beyond the scope of the manager, he or she can refer the individual to a more experienced counselor. It is important that managers display interest in their staff, create mutual confidence, be impartial, consult staff and set an example. This will give the staff a sense of belonging to approach their managers for counseling.
Do not let your problems get the best of you; seek for counseling before it affects your performance at work. Remember counseling helps you to help yourself!
Opeyemi Ipinnaiye is the Programme Support Officer Secure Livelihoods of VSO Nigeria.
'Mike has made a good reputation in his organization for his efficiency in carrying out his duties effectively, he has won so many staff awards and enjoyed promotions because of his outstanding performance but things suddenly changed, Mike comes late to work, he cannot meet up with deadlines as usual and prefers to keep to himself? What has gone wrong with Mike?'
This is where counseling plays a meaningful role in an organization. At times everyone feels stressed out, depressed, angry, anxious or confused, sometimes these problems gradually go away on their own or they get better with the support of colleagues, friends and family. However there are other times when these problems can cause major disruptions in our lives and affect our performance at work and interaction with others. It is necessary to seek for counseling to help identify the problems, as the saying goes 'a problem shared is half solved'
Counseling is a process where a counselor assists a counselee to take informed decision of problems related to personal, social, academic and career concerns. It is very important to seek for counseling when you discover that a situation is weighing you down.
Some workplaces do not have provision for a professional counselor but line managers, supervisors or colleagues can be in a position to assist in taking the necessary course of action.
There are three areas where counseling may be required at the workplace; it maybe needed because of issues arising within the individual, caused by the organization or emanating from sources external to both the individual and organization.
Problems arising within the individual may be psychological or due to uncontrollable events like illness. Examples of psychological problems include frustration, lack of job satisfaction, arrogance and inability to succeed.
Problems caused by the work organization acting on the individual include technical incompetence, under-utilization, relationships with colleagues and superiors and uncertain future where there may be work changes or threats of redundancy.
Problems from outside the individual and work place may not really have an impact on the quality of the employee's work. This could be in form of problems around money, marital or sexual relationship, family (behavior of children, illness and bereavement.)
Establishing the main problem is the key factor in any successful counseling. The main problem is almost always something personal and very close to the individual being counseled and it is the recognition and solution of this emotional content which makes counseling so effective.
Effective counseling requires high level of interpersonal skills such as establishing rapport, ability to discern meaning, as well as being able to summarise, clarify and ask the right questions.
The request for counseling may be formally or informally made to the individual’s immediate supervisor. It may take the form of, 'can I have a few minutes of your time?' The manager plays an important role in many work- related issues. The manager can often deal with the personal problems but if it is beyond the scope of the manager, he or she can refer the individual to a more experienced counselor. It is important that managers display interest in their staff, create mutual confidence, be impartial, consult staff and set an example. This will give the staff a sense of belonging to approach their managers for counseling.
Do not let your problems get the best of you; seek for counseling before it affects your performance at work. Remember counseling helps you to help yourself!
Opeyemi Ipinnaiye is the Programme Support Officer Secure Livelihoods of VSO Nigeria.
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