Mr. Roy, Manager of a process in a BPO approached the EAP Service with an attendance related problem of one of his team member named Sundar. Mr. Roy mentioned that off late, Sundar was taking many leaves and was requesting work-from-home several times. also, his performance had deteriorated drastically in the last month. Sundar’s changed attitude and behavior were worrying Mr. Roy.
Mr. Roy and his other team members had made various attempts to understand Sundar’s problems and also offered help like financial assistance and commute to office etc. But things were only going downhill, to the extent that, Sundar was taking advantage of those help offered to him. The issue, now had escalated to the level of senior management and Sundar’s job was at risk.
Mr. Roy mentioned the following chief complaints about Sundar to the counselor:
- Increased absenteeism at work
- Lowered work performance
- Increased addiction (smoking and drinking) noticed by colleagues and friends at work
- Frequent requests for borrowing money from people at work
After preliminary session with Sunder, the counselor requested to meet some of Sundar’s friends at work and also other colleagues. Based on the behaviour symptoms described by his friends and colleagues, the counselor concluded that, Sundar was suffering from serious mental health issues that were affecting his overall health and behavior at work. He was referred for further diagnosis to psychiatrists on the EAP Service panel.
Sundar was diagnosed of Bipolar disorder which is a serious mental illness that required Psychiatric intervention along with counseling support. With the help of his family and his well-wisher at work, Sundar was encouraged to take the needed help from a psychiatrist and he was offered on-going counseling support at work.
The EAP service consultant also worked with Sundar’s team providing people management advisory service to develop support system and create a conducive environment at workplace to help Sundar recover at the earliest.
Within 4 weeks, Sundar was back to work feeling much better and healthier in behavior and attitude. Slowly, he regained his colleagues lost trust and respect. After about 3 months, Sundar was able to come to terms with his illness and develop an insight into his problem. Today, Sundar has once again earned a promising career and a happier work-life.
