Someone Just Broke Down in Your Office. You Have Four Seconds.

When an employee breaks down in your office, your instinct is to fix it, hand over a resource, or route them to HR. In the first moment, each one makes it worse. This is a manager's guide to what to actually say when someone shares a personal struggle at work: the first line that keeps them in the room, the small choices to offer, the follow-up three days later, and the two instincts to kill on the spot. No clinical skill required.