Really? I'm pretty sure "taking care of your people" is a huge part of a boss's job. I certainly take it as part of my job as a boss. Would you fire someone with a broken leg who refused to go to the doctor? What about a torn ACL? You can walk without an ACL, your abilities are just degraded.
> /almost always/ leads to an even more negative reaction than just firing them outright
From a young, single man's perspective, maybe. But in the end you're just helping this person kick the can down the road.
> Hey you, you need to go get some medication
That is definitely not what I'm advocating. But a boss should definitely have the gumption to assess the situation coldly, understand all the options, and expect the employee to make a decision before firing them outright.
>I'm just saying ... I'm just saying
You need to talk less and think more.
Telling someone "go see a psychiatrist- get medicated" /almost always/ leads to an even more negative reaction than just firing them outright. I mean, this is something that is /very difficult/ to tell someone who is a close friend without encountering a negative response.
on the other hand, if you /can/ provide health insurance that covers that sort of thing, by all means, do so. If you can encourage people to use the psychiatric portion of the company provided health insurance during the insurance orentation (not singling out one person) that's also great.
I'm just saying, you can't really say to a guy "hey you... you need to go get on some medication." I mean, it probably brings up all sorts of legal issues, too; I'm just saying on a social level, you are going to get a better reaction telling the guy to jump off a bridge, even if you have a good point.