How to Handle Crying at Work

As a manager, you’re used to dealing with a variety of employee personalities and dispositions. So what happens when you stroll by an employee’s cubicle and you hear the unmistakable sounds of muffled crying? Do you say something? Do you just turn around and walk away? Your response to hearing an employee crying at work could be an important test of your ability to manage your team.

According to a recent Monster poll, 8 in 10 workers admit to crying at work, so it’s a situation you’re likely to encounter. Knowing how to handle these situations takes superior management skills. A good manager can even use them to improve employee relations. Monster spoke to experts to find out their advice.

Find Out Why They’re Crying

According Anne Kreamer, author of “It’s Always Personal: Navigating Emotion In the Workplace,” people cry at work all the time. They may be going through an emotional rough patch – like losing a loved one or getting a divorce.

Often, however, they’re frustrated with their jobs. That’s where a manager’s emotional intelligence can make a difference. Being able to identify work-related triggers for why an employee is crying at work gives a perceptive manager the ability to find solutions and workarounds. Not only can this improve employees’ job satisfaction level and performance, but it can also earn their trust and respect.

In a survey of 700 employees, Kreamer found that 41 percent of women said they had cried at work. Nine percent of men said they did too. Men largely reported that they cried at work for personal reasons — like an illness in the family or the death of a pet. A “large majority” of women said it was “something that happened at work — being unfairly blamed or criticized, someone else taking credit for work — that made them cry.”

For a manager, the job is to understand why an employee is crying before doing anything.

Hiring the right candidates should bring you to tears — of joy

The best managers know how to get the best out of their teams. When one member is struggling, a good boss doesn’t yell. She listens and tries to understand why an employee may be crying at work. Get a better handle on management strategies to deal with these situations as well as effective approaches when it comes to workplace hiring by signing up for Monster Hiring Solutions.