A study into the experience of clients being coached in the workplace whilst facing a stressful life event at home

Many adults will experience a stressful life event at home during their time at work. Evidence suggests that working under such circumstances can impact presence, performance and commitment. In these cases, organisations typically offer counselling for their employees and coaching to a much lesser extent. Yet my own experience as a coach and client in these circumstances suggests coaching can play a valuable role in support and action. This study explores the experience of clients being coached in the workplace, whilst they faced stressful life events at home. A transcendental phenomenological methodology was followed, consistent with the study’s constructivist interpretivist paradigm, to gain vivid descriptions of subjective experience. Five participants were interviewed, and their descriptions of experience and meaning were synthesised into an overarching essence of being coached. The findings highlight how they faced varying levels of support and silence as the stressful events impacted performance and presence at work. They valued the safety of coaching, and the challenge, despite being challenged at home. Boundaries, sharing, perspective, control and goals were key themes, as was the interplay of coaching with their concurrent therapeutic interventions. When coaching in this context, coaches should view boundaries as multi-dimensional and systemic and consider their own capabilities. For organisations, the study supports the use of coaching as a tool for employee wellbeing and performance and the creation of an emotionally literate culture