[Challenge] Day #21 - Employee Assistant Program (EAP)

What is Employee Assistant Program or EAP? Is it about support to employee or only about counselling? What the benefit for employee and organization? 

Employee Assistant Program or EAP is a work-based intervention program design to enhance the emotional, mental, and general psychological well being of all employees and includes services for immediate family members. EAP used by organization to provide preventive and proactive intervention for the early identification the problem of employees that may affect performance and well being of them. The problems and issues are about relationship, health, trauma, substance abuse, gambling, other addiction, financial problem, depression, anxiety disorder, psychiatric disorder, communication problem, legal, coping with change, or anything about their personal life who may affect their performance.  

EAP is benefit for the employee and also to organization. EAP results a benefit for organization in term of lower medical costs, reduced turnover and absenteeism, and higher employee productivity. EAP programs include a brief counseling and consultation services, crisis intervention, assessment and referral, educational and training programs, and supervisory consultation. 

The main focus of EAP is to support employee and make them more satisfaction to their life. When they happy about their life, it will increase their performance and more productive at work, 

Generally speaking, Employee Assistance Programs provide value in three ways (An Employer’s Guide to Employee Assistance Programs). 

1. EAPs leverage the value of the organization’s investment in its workforce by: 

o Encouraging employee engagement. 

o Improving abilities of employees and dependents to successfully respond to life’s challenges. 

o Offering employees short-term problem-resolution services or referring employees and dependents to mental health treatment services when indicated.

 o Developing employee and manager competencies in managing workplace stress and improving work team performance.

 2. EAPs address the costs of doing business by: 

o Reducing workplace absenteeism and unplanned absences. 

o Decreasing workplace accidents.

o Lowering employee turnover and related replacement costs. 

o Facilitating safe, timely and effective return-to-work for employees after short-term and extended absences. 

o Reducing healthcare costs. 

o Improving the value of organizational investments in wellness and health promotion, self-care management, continuity of care and work-related efforts. 

o Increasing efficient use of health care through early identification, care management and recovery efforts. 

3. EAPs mitigate business risks by: 

o Reducing the likelihood of workplace violence or other safety risks. 

o Managing the effect of such disruptive incidents as workplace violence, injury or other crises and facilitating a swift return-to-work after adverse workplace events.

o Supporting disaster and emergency preparedness and minimizing disruption after such events.

o Smoothing the adjustment to mergers, acquisitions, site closures or other workforce change events.

o Reducing the likelihood of legal action or liability (e.g., maintaining business practices that promote a violence-free workplace). 

o Promoting and supporting drug- and alcohol-free workplace policies and programs.

In conclusion, EAP have provided value to employers, employees and families. EAP provide an array of services that include responding to emergencies, managing business risk, preventing and addressing workplace violence, reducing turnover, increasing morale, improving relationships with customers and managers, and training mangers to deal with complex emotional, cultural and diversity issues. EAP can enhance organizational performance and help organizations achieve their business goals. However, rapidly changing market forces and the evolving needs of today’s workforce present the EAP field with structural, measurement and service-delivery challenges. Recent studies suggest that employers who take a proactive approach to managing EAP succeed in sponsoring programs that provide high-quality and relevant services. Results also show that employers should successfully leverage employee assistance programs by coordinating the roles and responsibilities of their EAP with other health and productivity programs. Organizations need to clearly define the scope of covered EAP services, strategically align EAP activities within their human resources organization and leverage EAP performance data.

DAY 21 -- I will try hard to write