Question

Sameera Sharma is a Team Leader and leads a team of 10 employees. Akanksha who has been part of Sameera’s team has just resumed from her maternity leave. Akanksha is having trouble managing her 7-month old baby, home and work. Akanksha is a committed and hardworking employee yet extremely stressed with the situation. Akanksha is thinking of quitting and approaches Sameera for a counselling session. What steps should Sameera take to ensure that the counselling session is meaningful and achieves a successful outcome.

Answer 1

The situation is that Akanksha is not able to perform well and is, therefore, mostly stressed. She has been a good performer throughout and not being able to deliver her best post her delivery is another reason for her stress and her decision to quit. Sameera should discuss everything with her. Maybe Sameera should lighten her job responsibility a bit, giving her time to understand everything just like an intern is handled at the job. Since she has resumed her work after a long, she feels overburdened with the things and is not able to understand the changes the organization has gone through post her absence. Sameera should provide her counseling, and training if needed. She should help her in reviving her career. When it comes to a child, she should ask Akanksha to get a babysitter or manage for some time from home, if possible for the organization. Letting go of the finest mind will not be suggested unless the situation is worse.