Hi everyone, it’s many years since I posted here last and this time I’d appreciate some guidance regarding another work colleague.
Whilst trying to understand some performance issues which in fairness are out of character for this lad, he eventually confided that he’d occasionally self harmed and had experienced suicidal thoughts since he was 14/15 (he’s about 23 now) and these are still prevalent.
He’s told his parents but feels guilty about sharing his feelings with them too much as he doesn’t want to upset them.
He doesn’t want to see a doctor or take advantage of our employee support programme as he doesn’t feel he deserves to feel better (his words).
I feel at a loss as he clearly has some serious issues but no inclination to address them. As his manager, I appreciate that I can’t push him to seek help but as a father with a son only a little younger than him, I feel that I want to help in whatever way I can. He’s a genuinely nice lad, very timid and overly polite and it’s awful knowing he’s in such an awful place and feeling he doesn’t deserve support. Any ideas how to handle it?