Employee Assistance Programs in the US

Introduction
While Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) have been on the scene in some form for the past 90 years, it has been the only in the last 25 to 30 years where these programs have increased in popularity in the business community. Employers have increasingly recognized the importance of providing this assistance to help their employees maintain the ability to be socially adjusted and productive members of their work forces.

Background
According to research performed by the TAG Group, at any given time, 25% of a company's workforce has personal problems that impact their ability to perform the job related duties. This same group will also experience 3 to 5 times higher absenteeism than normal and are 25% less productive. Eventually over 80% of all employees will experience workplace problems severe enough to affect their job performance (http://www.theallengroup.com/BeneEAP.html retrieved July 27, 2006). In 1917, R.M. Macy and Co. was the first to recognize the need for an Employee Assistance Program. By the 1940s most EAP's were created to deal with the increasing instance of alcoholism among white collar workers. Gradually these programs evolved and began treating mental, emotional, financial problems, and those problems caused by alcohol and drug use (http://www.worklife.state.ny.us/eap/history.html retrieved July 27, 2006).

By the early 1970's the business community recognized that many everyday life stressors could also negatively impact performance on the job by 2003 it was expected that 96% of all Fortune 500 companies would have an EP in place(http://ohp.nasa.gov/cope2/history.shtml retrieved on July 27, 2006).

What Are Employee Assistance Programs?
Employee Assistance Program refers to a program that provides business and industry with the means of identifying employees whose job performance is negatively affected by personal or job-related problems. The EAP arranges for structured assistance to solve those problems, with the goal of reestablishing the employee's effective job performance. The services of the EAP may be contracted or the program may be an employer's own creation, designed to fit the unique needs of the company. EAP's typically provide professional, confidential, no or low cost assistance for employees with personal problems (http://www.bookrags.com/other/business/employee-assistance-programs-ebf-01.html retrieved on July 27, 2006).

In addition, Employee Assistance Programs are an employee benefit that is used to help employees cope with life events that can impose stressors affecting the employee's quality of life or workplace performance. These programs provide the employee and qualified dependents access to counseling, financial advice, and programs designed to address situations and conditions being experienced. EAP's have access to various social and governmental programs that may not be easily accessible directly by the individual. It may also be used as a tool by the employee's supervisor to assist in correcting issues related to poor work performance, absenteeism or other issues affect the work environment.

Employee Assistance Programs can vary from employer to employer. Some employers contract with health providers for these services while other employers choose to create an EAP program themselves tailored to the specific needs and unique situation of their employees. For example NASA may need assistance in the area of astronaut stress in space. This would not be a standard menu option for most employers. Some employers focus on drug and alcohol use while other employees add counseling services for specific life issues such as birth of a child, marital issues, divorce, family conflicts, financial concerns, legal referrals, parenting issues, spouse/child abuse, stress management and aging related/retirement concerns. No matter what services are provided under the EAP umbrella, all EAP plans have a common core goal to provide support and guidance to employees seeking assistance.

How Do Employee Assistance Programs Work?
EAP's help employers by identifying troubled workers, by either supervisory referrals which may be recommended or mandatory or self-referrals. Each referred employee is assessed, and a plan of action is designed to suit his or her needs. The ability to uncover the employee's primary problem is required. The goal is to enable the employees to work again at peek levels. An effective program requires knowledge of resources available in the community (http://www.bookrags.com/other/business/employee-assistance-programs-ebf-01.html retrieved on July 27, 2006).

Access to an EAP also varies by employer. Employees are given the access telephone numbers by which to access the services. The EAP provided typically contracts with the employer for a set number of no cost face to face sessions and typically unlimited telephone consultations. The employee's access is confidential and no employer notification is made when an employee initiates the referral. If the employee is referred by the supervisor, only the referring supervisor is legally allowed to be updated about the referral by the EAP. Typically the EAP provider will not discuss the details of the counseling but only provide that the employee attended scheduled sessions and is complying with the course of treatment or counseling. Specific information would be shared when the information relates to changes needed in the employee's work environment or schedule.

EAP's are staffed with counselors that hold master's degrees in social work or PhD's in social work or psychology. These counselors are trained to handle most social issues that affect employees and their family members. Counselors offer proven techniques in coping skills and have suggestions for ways to change behaviors or improve social interactions. In some cases, counselors provide referrals to other agencies that can provide detailed support for specific needs. For example, a referral to a drug treatment program to address employee addiction to prescription pain killers or a referral to a credit counseling agency to help with debt management.

For an EAP to be successful, it must first be accepted by employees; they must not be afraid to use it. Experience has shown that certain elements are critical to the success of an EAP. The ten important elements are: Management Backing, Labor Union Support, Confidentiality, Easy Access, Supervisor Training to help assist employees during the receipt of assistance, Union Steward Training, Insurance Involvement to help cover the cost of extended treatment plans, Breath of Services - the availability of assistance for a wide variety of problems, Professional Leadership, and Follow up and evaluation (Rue, L. & Byars, L., "Supervision, Key to Productivity, Eighth Edition" (2004), McGraw Hill, New York, NY).

How are EAP's important to First Line Supervisors?
First Line Supervisors are the organization's primary interface between the employees and the organization. The supervisor is concerned with encouraging the members of a work unit to contribute positively toward accomplishing the organization's goals and objectives. When employees are not contributing positively, the supervisor needs to set in action a plan of corrective action to set the employee on a positive course. A supportive leader is genuinely interested in the well being of the group member. Such a leader is sensitive to the employees as human beings. A supportive leader wants to build morale, avoid conflict, and help the employee gain personal satisfaction (Rue, L. & Byars, L., "Supervision, Key to Productivity, Eighth Edition" (2004), McGraw Hill, New York, NY). When an employee of a supportive leader has an issue or demonstrates that there are underlining reasons for a lack of performance, the EAP is a powerful tool to complement their supervisor's management style. While the supportive leader may benefit from the use of an EAP, both Directive and Transformation leadership styles can utilize the services of the EAP to help keep their staff's productivity on plan.

The cost to hire and train a new employee is increasingly more costly as the workforce ages and replacement workers are less available. It is a goal to attempt to retain skilled workers and with an EAP program, the ability to assist an employee with otherwise job ending issues his a big plus for both the employee and employer.

Summary
The past management practices would have allowed for the covering up of poor employee performance until it could no longer be hidden. Once the supervisor could no longer hide the fact the employee was having issues and demonstrating poor performance the employee would be terminated. This practice served neither the employee nor the employer well. With the creation of Employee Assistance Programs, the stresses of daily life were recognized as negative influencers of employee productivity and conditions such as alcoholism and drug addiction seen as illnesses instead of human weaknesses. EAPs have proven themselves to be an important part of today's employment experience.

References

http://www.theallengroup.com/BeneEAP.html retrieved July 27, 2006

http://www.worklife.state.ny.us/eap/history.html retrieved July 27, 2006

http://www.bookrags.com/other/business/employee-assistance-programs-ebf-01.html retrieved on July 27, 2006
Rue, L. & Byars, L., "Supervision, Key to Productivity, Eighth Edition" (2004), McGraw Hill, New York, NY